Khalil Al-wazir blog

We were asked to answer this question; If  the United Nations was fully funded why would we need the Arc or social enterprise?

To begin with, the opportunities that the arc have created have changed the life’s of thousands of people, by the pro development programs that they implement in developing countries. The Arc provides tools that enable entrepreneurs in developing countries to achieve sustainable growth in the hopes of creating a positive impact in the area.

Even if the United Nations was fully funded, programs such as the Arc should be present, as the impact it had on thousands of people was enormous, it changed their lives in many ways, nevertheless by training and developing entrepreneurs they are helping the country to achieve growth, as these individuals can impact the economy if successful.

Depending on the UN in solving every issue would not be impossible due to the  infinite problems around the world, so initiatives such as the Arc are recommended to help improve society and have a better future. Reading about the arc made me more interested and passionate about helping out, the program that Sauder school of business offers is a great opportunity for every student to take advantage from and help the community.

I was thrilled when i read the article of ford’s ethical and social responsible methods in running their business, reading my colleague blog gave me a better insight on how a company can balance between their social responsibility and self interest of the company.

Seeking to be an entrepreneur , i found it very important to focus on the ethical responsibility of my business ,  as much it is important to focus on the profitability of my business. Being an ethical company will :

• attract customers to the firm’s products, thereby boosting sales and profits
• make employees want to stay with the business, reduce labour turnover and therefore increase productivity
• attract more employees wanting to work for the business, reduce recruitment costs and enable the company to get the most talented employees
• attract investors and keep the company’s share price high, thereby protecting the business from takeover

Companies increasingly recognize the need to commit to business ethics and measure their success by more than just profitability. This has led to the introduction of the triple bottom line that we took in class, also known as “people, planet, profit.” Companies report on their financial, social and environmental performance.

Moreover, Ford was able to motivate their employees by paying them more to increase their productivity so they can own a ford car. this was done by sacrificing some of the retained profits, but have led to the development of a highly motivated workforce that enhances the image of the company.

My colleague azhar wrote about an interesting topic that effects the economy in many ways, in his blog he stated a point that minimum wage should be increased in order to increase the living standards and increase the overall economic activity. I agree with azhar in some points, however i disagree in others.

To begin with, an increased minmium wage will mean a higher welfare for the workforce, which will result in higher real income , this means that they have more to spend on goods which will improve their living standards and increase the overall economic activity thus keep the money cycle floating in the economy  resulting in an increase in the GDP of the country which indicates growth.

On the other hand, an increase in the minmium wage will result businesses to reduce the quantity of labor , as shown in the diagram below, the minmium wage effect raises the wages, thus resulting in  excess supply of labor as the quanitity demanded is less than the quantity supplied. the increase in the minmium wage has back fired on the policy makers as they are facing a new problem now which is hihger unemployment .

In conclusion, the government should do a market research before adopting any policy or trying to increase the minmium wage because they might face a new problem which is higher unemployment.

Reading this external blog  which talks about the problems of  small shops and their weakness in the market,  was due to many reasons that me as an international student here in Vancouver understood very well. The blog exposes some problems that we are facing with shops in downtown and other areas.

To begin with, the working hours for most shops are till 5 and 6pm, which i consider very early. coming from a different country where shops close at 11pm. I found it very hard to buy my stuff and finish what i have to do before 6 pm in order to shop. moreover it is stated that  “70% of all consumer retail spending takes place after 6:00 pm.”  so this creates a big barrier to shops that wants to increase their revenue. Solutions to overcome this problems could be by opening during evening sales this could be done by tieing in with businesses that already do evening hours,  Check existing businesses to see if some, like banks, already stay open late. Use their open hours as an anchor to help attract other customers.

Moreover , shops should add more staff for a  night shift, even though this will be associated with a higher cost but it will generate higher revenues due to more opening hours and as stated before 70% spending takes place at evening time. This will not only increase the business profitability, but will also increase the living standards for consumers as they have more time to do shopping.

Sony has released the price of the new PlayStation 4 to be 399$,   looking at the price of the new PlayStation and comparing it to the ultimate competitor Microsoft and their 499$  Xbox one , Sony is planning to increase it market share by at least 10% .

Sony market based pricing is based on price skimming, this is the most commonly seen with new and innovative products, such as mobile phones and game consoles. The price is set high initially to gain those customers who will pay almost any price to get their hands on the latest gadget. once the business has profited from selling to those customers. it drops tje price to tempt other customers who may have been putt of by the high price originally. Sony is only able to this because is likely to be almost no competition in this market due to the cutting edge nature of the product, this can be related to the play station 2 where its being sold at a very cheap price of 80$ from an original price of 250$.

Moreover we can see that Sony and Microsoft use psychological pricing, where they set prices at just under the currency unit, such as 399$ rather than 400$. this is based on different reasons such as 399$ appears that it is offered at the lowest possible cost rather than being priced up to the nearest full currency unit.moreover psychological pricing pushes products into cheaper price bands.

This article faces a situation where the chief executive of a European equipment manufacturer recently faced a tough decision whether to centralize or to decentralize, this is a big dilemma that most companies has to deal with at a point of their business, so should they centralize or to decentralize?

To help answer this question i will be looking at both. To begin with centralization is  generally organized around a core business unit with a strict hierarchy. Several layers of management typically delegate tasks and set policy. Since those managers have full knowledge of what’s happening in the organization, they can maintain precise control over budgets and products, and can ensure that no risks or projects are undertaken without their knowledge. Moreover employees are not included in decision making because lower level employees lack the certifications needed for decision-making.This allows the company to take decisions quickly and with less risk however there is no room for creativity or new ideas from lower level employees.

On the other hand, Decentralization allows organizations to take advantage of division of labor by sharing decision-making across the organization. It also empowers employees and allows them to improve their performance by being able to act to improve deficient or inefficient areas immediately without approval from the top of the organization.  Moreover decentralization will allow for more creativity, however it can be very time consuming and have a very high risk level.

Finally, I recommend the chief executive to use a decentralized system, as this system has the advantage that decision making is closer to the people making and understanding the decision.

Native Indians in Canada have been losing their identity gradually, this was due to government  control most aspects of aboriginal life: Indian status, land, resources, wills, education, band administration and so on. Politically this has created tension between both the natives and the government, which made them fight over lands and different laws regarding aboriginal rights.

Socially, the native Indians were being robbed of their identity, as said in the article “kill the Indian in the child”. This would create external conflicts for Canada, as the native Indians create a big percentage of the population, it would effect the business, as they own lots of lands, the Canadian government is trying to take those lands to make economical use of them by building factories.

Recently, The surrounding First Nations in northern Ontario have many concerns about the impact of a giant mining development on their land and traditional way of life. The went on strikes against the government and started rebelling against the laws this would result in delaying and potentially cancelling the project which was expected to generate $230 millions.

In conclusion, the Canadian government must be aware of the conflicts happening with the aboriginals as they have their rights to live on there lands, and I recommend them to make a mutually beneficial agreement by giving them parts of the profits in order for business to use their lands.

Recently, McDonald’s the number one fast food company in the world started selling the McCafe at grocery stores, as shown in the article. MacDonald , johnny bets the sales manager said ” After tripling our coffee sales over the last five years and doubling our share we had been getting requests from our guests for several years [for coffee in grocery stores]“.

From my analysis i believe that MacDonald is moving towards a market penetration strategy, where they are targeting existing customers but in new markets, which are retail stores, the strong brand name of MacDonald will allow the McCafe to penetrate the market easily. MacDonald have conducted a market research by conducting both primary and secondary research, before launching their coffee in grocery stores, the research shows that coffee is an inelastic product, which mean the the demand on it will change a lot with a price increase, because Coffee is the most-ordered item outside the home after water.

Despite the high competition in the Coffee market , MacDonald has managed to be the fastest growing coffee brand, this was due to the increasing demand on their coffee between 2008-2013 in Canada. one of the most important factors which made them successful in this market is their strong relationship between them and their suppliers which made them offer their products at cheaper prices, where they benefit from economies of scales, which make their product competitive in relation to competitors such as Starbucks. nevertheless the brand name allows MacDonald to penetrate any market easily.

Toyota outlined the launch of a new era in hybrid technology with the arrival of the next-generation Prius, as shown in this article, Toyota is implementing various strategies in order to increase it market share and to be the number one hybrid car in the world.

Toyota follows a committed strategy towards environment sustainability, derived in the production of its cars which are equipped with innovative technologies and quality performance by launching the world’s leading fuel efficient car . Reflecting the demand on hybrid technology in emerging markets, Toyota has expanded its range of cars fitted with hybrid engines’ in respond to environmental awareness by consumers.

Toyota’s main rivals are Ford Motor Company, General Motors and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. However, the innovative technology that Toyota offers combined with the very loyal customer base and the company’s consistent, high-ranking quality marks assures a sufficient competitive advantage. (Walker, 2009)

The segment that Toyota occupies, especially the hybrid segment, is experiencing growth due to global economic factors. To sustain market position, many brands were encouraged in their own efforts to bring more hybrids to the market. Yet, new entrants to this segment have tried various strategies without much success.

In conclusion, Toyota is a leader in innovative technology, environmental initiatives, and quality. Nevertheless, given the financial situation the threat may come from other non-automobile personal transport or public transport. the company is recommended to penetrate emerging strategic markets and continue on producing its innovations such as Toyota Prius which took the first sales on the world wide level leaving Ford and GM behind.

This month the new apple 6 was released with two types, the first is the iphone 6, and the iPhone 6 plus, as shown in this article , Apple had a highest sales record ever by selling 10 million units in first weekend, where 4 million of them were pre-ordered from all over the world.

Apple increasing sales and market share is because of the innovation strategy they use, as the #1 cell phone company in the world, apple drives its innovation from technology pull as they are developing new products with the latest technologies to satisfy their customers needs which makes them ahead of competitors as  said in the article “Apple is certainly getting ready to turn Samsung over, and maybe to overshadow Google again too”. This only shows that apple is becoming the market leader in innovation.

Researching the derives of success for apple we can see that they have a high friendly working place, where employees are allowed to share ideas in which derives the inspiration for a new product. Moreover the different marketing mix they use attracts a wide range of customers, they also make high value to their customers and offer them a great customer service and in store experiences. it is also known that apple is an ethical company which makes its reputation better, look into my previous blog for the importance of ethics for  a business.