Monthly Archives: November 2014

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.