Kevin Zhao's Blog

In my classmate Tim Martiniak’s blog post on the company Offsetters, he argues that in the long run the popularity of carbon-offsetting will not necessarily increase. I agree with this statement, however I believe that carbon-offsetting companies like Offsetters and Harbour Air will continue to find success from a financial perspective because there are certain tasks that people do that rely on industries that have a heavy impact on the environment. For example, although there are alternatives to air travel, there will always be people that depend on flying for transportation. Companies like Air Canada and WestJet may be able to decrease their environmental footprint, however in order to stay ahead in the market in a world where consumers are becoming more environmentally-aware in their purchasing habits, they need to rely on businesses with a priority and expertise on carbon-offsetting. Huge businesses may not find it beneficial to focus a significant amount of attention on becoming environmentally-friendly, and would rather hire a company like Offsetters with a proven track-record like Offsetters to do the work. Also, with increasing government regulations on environmental footprint, the number of businesses that require help in becoming environmentally friendly will increase as well. Corporate social responsibility will become not just be a responsibility of a company, but will also become an extremely profitable business model.

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In my Economics 101 class, we have been taught the Supply and Demand relationship. When things are scarce, like during the aftermath of a natural disaster, the demand for these items rises while the supply decreases. The first question is whether or not a company should stay open or not. In my opinion, this is barely even debatable. If a business sells essential survival items such as food, clothing or flashlights, then it should stay open and for as long as possible. I would not debate whether a business should just give away their products for free, as that would be an unrealistic idea, and would have to depend on the individual business owners. Second, as to whether employees should be required to work, it should be determined by the level of risk involved with working and getting to work. If the business sells essential items and the risk factor is relatively low, then employees should be required to work. Otherwise, a store selling computers should not be forcing its employees to work if risk is involved. With the third question, I relate it back to my earlier point referring to essentials. Prices should not rise when it comes to essentials. Denying a poor family the ability to purchase food when food is already scarce is simply unethical. The profit that could potentially be gained does not surpass the basic human ethics that would be violated.

Works Cited

“Ethical obligations during natural disasters.” Business Ethics. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Nov. 2012. <www.canadianbusiness.com/blog/business_ethics/104470–ethical-obligations-during-natural-disasters>.

“Sandy: East Coast braces for epic hurricane, life-threatening storm surge | The Lookout – Yahoo! News.” Yahoo! News – Latest News & Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Nov. 2012. <http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/sandy-hurricane-east-coast-nyc-forecast-142549538.html>.

Brian Wong, a UBC graduate at the age of 18 and now currently 21, has founded the company Kiip, a mobile advertising tech startup that provides tangible rewards or virtual currency for virtual accomplishments. The business already has huge investments from companies such as  Hummer Winblad and True Ventures in April 2011 and Canadian VC Relay Ventures in July 2012, which have invested $4 million and $11 million respectively. They share revenue with the game or app’s publisher as incentive for them to integrate Kiip into their games or apps. The brands, which currently include American Apparel, Proctor & Gamble and Sony Music, fund the rewards. Kiip has found a hole in the market that currently does not exist in the exact same form as the company, and thus provides opportunity in a huge market with an appropriate economies of scale. For Brian, as the CEO of Kiip, a new company, he must be able to plan, direct and control his company effectively. The strategy used is to provide customers with these rewards at random times for virtual accomplishments, when people are in a positive state of mind. It has already earned a large start-up capital, and therefore needs to be able to generate a sizeable profit if it wants to keep its investors. Kiip has the potential to grow significantly in a short period of time because of the lack of competitors that do what Kiip does in the market, so fairly soon we may see Brian as one of the most successful young entrepreneurs to come from Canada.

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Tablets have become such a hot commodity that now the industry is targeting toddlers in the United States. According to research conducted by MDG Advertising, “49 per cent of children in the U.S. have already used a smart device like a tablet”. That makes the potential market for miniature versions of the current tablets huge. Currently, LeapPad 2 is the industry leader, with Toy Insider ranking the tablet as one of the most wanted gifts for the holidays. Companies that are currently dominating the tablet industry such as Apple are gearing towards producing these mini-tablets. As they are already an expertise on tablets, and have such huge brand recognition especially in North America, Apple does not face as many barriers to entry as new upcoming companies do. They also already possess many patents protecting their current technologies, which will provide them a significant competitive advantage going into the mini-tablet market. Thus, companies like Apple will be able to provide more advanced mini-tablets at lower costs. That, along with strong brand loyalty will likely place them at the top of the industry in a few years. Sooner or later Canada will also be a target for this new development, as companies are sure to take advantage of such a huge market.

Works Cited

“Advertisement.” Macleans.ca. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2012. <http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/10/11/tablets-for-toddlers/>.

“Customer Support: LeapPad 2 Explorer.” LeapPad 2. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2012. <http://www.leapfrog.com/en/pages/support/product_pages/LeapPad2.html>.

“Deal of the Day.” Coupon Album. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2012. <http://blog.couponalbum.com/deal-of-the-day-target-pre-order-for-leapfrog-leappad2-tablet/>.

“Hot20_2012_Main | The Toy Insider.” Hot20_2012_Main | The Toy Insider. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2012. <http://www.thetoyinsider.com/?page_id=5618>.

 With a turn for the worse in its global image due to lack of quality in recent years, McDonald’s Canada is attempting to change people’s perspective on the company. It is doing this through a social-media campaign known as “Our Food. Your Questions” where any food-related question can be posed on the online forum, and McDonald’s will post an answer to it. This is an extremely risky venture for the company, as many facts about the food that McDonald’s serves are not the most beneficial. Nevertheless, CEO John Betts pushes through with this brave endeavour, in an attempt to persuade customers to see how the company has taken a large step towards fresher and healthier foods. It may not necessarily drive customers immediately, however the process will slowly regain the trust of people, which is certainly what the company intends through this campaign. Decision making is rarely done by intuition. Even though there is a fairly significant amount of risk involved with this venture, the company believes that this is a step that needs to be taken in order to stay on track with its core values. “You come first” and “Our Commitment to Our People” are McDonald’s values, and in order to commit to that, the company is determined that this online campaign is the right strategy to use. Although risky, this approach will show customers that McDonald’s wishes to stay loyal to its principles and its customers.

Works Cited

“McDonald’s campaign a success in customer dialogue | CanadianBusiness.com.” CanadianBusiness.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/102183–mcdonald-s-campaign-a-success-in-customer-dialogue>.

“How McDonald’s Improved Their Reputation through Social Media.” Catalina Verna’s Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <blogs.ubc.ca/catalinaverna/files/2012/10/Our-food-your-questions.png>.

“Values In Action :: McDonalds.ca.” English :: McDonalds.ca. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://www.mcdonalds.ca/ca/en/our_story/values_in_action.html>.

The assumption made by avid sports boosters is that the economy will take a significant hit due to the current NHL lockout. These people argue that the host cities will not be able to benefit from the hockey fans that would provide “economic stimulus” to the areas around the arena. Bureaucrats provide supporting studies that show that in the last NHL lockout, St. Paul, Minnesota suffered a $60 million hit. However, as the blog by Matt Lundy has refuted, the study was based on only two years worth of information,  and did not recognize that during the lost season, the city’s sales tax intake increased as opposed to decreased. The numbers that have been “crunched” and regurgitated are without substance as many key factors have not been addressed, similar to the topic of employees spending time during work to search up March Madness scores brought up during the management accounting class. In this case, having a lockout will not necessarily mean that the people who would normally watch the game sit at home and do nothing. There are many that would put the extra time to use, such as shopping or spending their money through various other methods. No legitimate evidence has shown the lockout to have a significant impact on the economy of a host city as a whole, which demonstrates how “number-crunching” without delving into the many variables that are affected can result in a theory without merit.

Works Cited

“CRAZY COOL GROOVY!!!: NHL LOCKOUT!!!.” CRAZY COOL GROOVY!!!. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. <http://www.crazycoolgroovy.com/2012/09/nhl-lockout.html>.

Lundy, Matt. “Why the NHL lockout won’t hurt the economy.” Canadian Business. N.p., 25 Sept. 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. <www.canadianbusiness.com/blog/business_briefings/99854–why-the-nhl-lockout-won-t-hurt-the-economy>.

In Stephanie Fung’s UBC Blog, she brought up the topic of banning shark fin soup in a joint effort by Vancouver, Richmond and Burnaby to pass a bylaw preventing the appearance of the Chinese delicacy on restaurant menus. The fact that it is a Chinese delicacy does not justify the fact that sharks are being senselessly killed simply to allow people to display their social status.  “No matter how it is served, none of the soup’s flavour actually comes from shark fin. It is essentially symbolic.” There are multiple alternatives to the delicacy available, ones that do not endanger a species from extinction while also symbolizing positive Chinese values and ideals. For example, goji berries represents fertility. These alternatives are becoming increasingly popular, with many weddings choosing to stay “Fin Free”. Global campaigns have already resulted in a 20 percent decrease in shark fin consumption in some restaurants.

In terms of business ethics, this appears to be a case of unethical practice, where defending the slaughter of sharks for the purpose of displaying wealth is simply a case of people knowing what is wrong and choosing to adopt values that are self-serving. Shark fin soup is extremely expensive, and if there is high demand for the product, then regardless of the efforts made by the government to prevent illegal finners, there will always be people willing to bypass the law to sell a product of high value and high demand. Although some argue that it is a tradition, and therefore should be allowed to remain, there are many traditions that have been removed, such as foot-binding. What may be a tradition is also an unethical practice.

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Formula E Series is attempting to take over the world of auto racing with the use of  electric vehicles. Chief Executive Alejandro Agag hopes to promote wider use of  battery-powered vehicles through races that take place in the the center of the world’s most popular cities. The points of parity associated with the value proposition for this business allows Formula E to focus on the same target market as the Formula 1 Series, with the additional incentive of being able to promote to a large audience the message of sustainable energy. It still includes high-speed races between some of the best drivers in the world, which is what draws customers in. The business has taken Formula One’s strengths such as high brand awareness in the sport, in particular Formula One racing, and molded it with opportunities in the market such as environmentally-friendly racing. As the world has put more importance on maintaining clean mobility and sustainability, many countries and companies are willing to assist Formula E in promoting this variation of Formula 1 racing. The company is adapting to the changes in society’s values and beliefs, and thus is able to generate interest from some of the wealthiest people in the world, such as Carlos Slim, the richest person in the world. With cities already demonstrating willingness to support this commitment to sustainability, it would not be a surprise if electric racing dominates the racing market within the next ten years.

Works Cited

Formula E Racing Series Slated for 2014 Debut. Digital image. Greener Ideal. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2012. <http://www.greenerideal.com/vehicles/0830-formula-e-racing-series-slated-for-2014-debut/>.

Santos, Nina Dos. “Electric Cars: Future of Auto Racing?” CNN. N.p., 21 Sept. 2012. Web. 26 Sept. 2012. <http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/21/business/formula-e-agag/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1>.

 The impact that social media can have is far greater than what we expect. Many people who have an opinion on an issue do not express it. The one person who actually does speak up represents many more who share the same opinion. What is surprising is the number of views each Facebook ‘Share’, ‘Tweet’, follower and other forms of expression through social media is equivalent to. A comment on Forbes is equivalent to around 500 views of the article, a ‘Share’ on Facebook is worth 31 views, and a ‘Tweet’ is worth 32 views. The more effort it takes a person to express their opinion through social media, the more views it represents. For instance, writing a letter takes much longer to complete and to send than a ‘Share’ on Facebook.

The important idea to note here is the often underestimated power of these forms of expression. For businesses, they can utilize this information to track what consumers think of their company and what issues are the most significant. For example, if 50 customers write letters criticizing the customer service in a store, it would represent many more that share the same opinion. This would help companies meet the desires of their customers.

Works Cited

Facebook and Twitter Image. Digital image. Kiewa Socialising. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2012. <http://www.kiewa1913.com/kiewa-socialising/>.

Krogue, Ken. “The Currency Of Digital Media: Views, Shares, And Comments – Forbes.” Information for the World’s Business Leaders – Forbes.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenkrogue/2012/08/29/views-shares-comments-and-follows-the-new-currency-of-digital-media/3/>.

Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair declared that customers who fail to print their boarding passes  are “idiots” after a mom paid $380 for 5  passes. Some consumers have defended O’Leary’s concept of companies doing “whatever they wish, as long as it’s disclosed” . For companies such as Ryanair that provide bargain prices, they rely on ‘sneaky fees’. The punishments for the forgetful compensate for the discounted fares .

The ethical dilemma associated with “stupidity fees” relates to whether or not a company is justified in doing whatever they want, given it is located in the fine print. At times this would be appropriate as companies should not have to provide their forgetful customers with extra resources, as they have already stated that it is required. In this case, the consumer is in an extremely unfavorable position as the fee charged is considerably greater than the cost incurred by the company due to customer error.  If companies make these sorts of regulations on consumers while consumers can not impose the same regulations on the companies, the deal becomes one-sided, and therefore unjust. For instance, if a flight passenger is charged $150 for accidentally deploying an emergency water slide, but a pilot that makes the same mistake and delays the flight is not charged, is that fair?

Works Cited

Ryanair flight departs without passengers from Rijeka. Digital image. Ryanair Abandons Passengers in Rijeka. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2012. <http://exyuaviation.blogspot.ca/2012/09/ryanair-abandons-passengers-in-rijeka.html>.

Sullivan, Bob. “The Truth Comes Out: CEO Says ‘stupid’ Consumers Deserve Hefty Fees.”Red Tape. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2012. <http://redtape.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/07/13710824-the-truth-comes-out-ceo-says-stupid-consumers-deserve-hefty-fees?lite>.