Después de leyó el cuento de Cortázar, yo sentía muy confundido sobre qué ha ocurrido en esto. Lo parece que como la película estadounidense, “Inception”, donde los personajes pueden soñar en sus sueños. En este cuento, es muy difícil distinga entre lo real y lo sueño. ¿Es verdad que el accidente y la estancia en el hospital sean compuestos? Después de leerlo, me sentía muy extraño, como nuestra realidad no es real.

El estilo del cuento es muy difícil para entender. Leyó otro cuento de Cortázar antes, “La continuidad de parques” y el estilo de eso es muy similar a este cuento. Ambos tienen palabras confundidas y argumentos sumamente complejos. “La continuidad de parques” también tiene este estilo de surrealismo y la idea de dos líneas de tiempo. Sin embargo, hay diferencias entre los dos cuentos.

En “La noche boca arriba”, hay dos argumentos paralelos que conectan en el medio del cuento, pero la fantasía consume la moderna. La manera de que el autor empieza con el sueño moderno es engañoso porque pensamos que es la historia real. En la última mitad del cuento, la explicación que la realidad es el sueño nos hace tomar la manera incorrecta de pensar. Con tal de que yo todavía piense que la fantasía no es la realidad porque la sacrifica del hombre es como la cirugía.

Pregunta para discusión: ¿En qué manera afecta la trama la forma del cuento?

“McJob”; a colloquial term describing a low-paying or minimum wage job with few prospects for advancement.

Many workers on the minimum wage barely make ends meet and as Mandy discussed in her blogpost, they would welcome a wage increase. Concurring with her viewpoint, increasing the minimum wage would not solve the problems associated with it; rather it would increase cost pressures for employers. This would result in less employees being hired rather than improving the corporate culture problems linked with minimum wage jobs.

On Reddit and Alternet, ex-Walmart and Target employees share their common experiences of long, miserable hours of drudgery not worth the low pay. They also attribute their discontent to overbearing managers, harsh treatment, and lack of flexibility. Minimum-wage jobs are prevalent in the food and accommodation service sector, especially for companies where every single cent goes towards their profits. Economic theory states that the motive for every firm is to maximize profits; some firms take this to an extreme by sacrificing employee safety and engagement in order to increase profits.

However, this course of action is short-sighted and detrimental to the overall health of the company. Even though companies can use these savings to increase their stock prices and shareholder dividends, it would be a more worthwhile investment in the local community to have a positive and empowering corporate culture. The sense of fulfillment from work is priceless and cannot be assigned a dollar value. This investment would increase retention rates, employee morale, productivity and drive.

Enter Zappos, America’s leading online shoe retailer, paragon of employee engagement and happiness. As we learned in class, Zappos’ main objective was to “create a great environment where employees get so much out of it that they would do it for free.” (Tony Hsieh) Zappos has the model of employee engagement and happiness to the point where employees are willing to work for eleven dollars per hour. From this empirical evidence of “peppy, dedicated workers and a utopia of communal cheer and solicitude” (Alexandra Jacobs), it can be concluded that happy employees are the best workers.

I challenge Walmart and Target to revamp their corporate culture so that their minimum wage workers are fulfilled and engaged at their jobs.  I understand that cost pressures can prevent increases in the minimum wage, but that is no excuse for not valuing and respecting their employees.

Word Count: 392

Photo Credit

Photo found at http://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1628391,00.html – Credit to Mark Peterson/Corbis

References

Chau, Mandy. “The Not-So-Great Minimum Wage.” Mandy Chau’s Blog. UBC Blogs, 02 Oct. 2016. Web. 09 Nov. 2016. <https://blogs.ubc.ca/mandychau/2016/10/02/7/>.

Jacobs, Alexandra. “Happy Feet.” The New Yorker. Condé Nast, 14 Sept. 2009. Web. 09 Nov. 2016. <http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/09/14/happy-feet>.

Lydersen, Kari. “Target as Bad as Wal-Mart? You Decide.” Alternet. Alternet, 30 Apr. 2006. Web. 10 Nov. 2016. <http://www.alternet.org/story/35610/target_as_bad_as_wal-mart_you_decide>.

Osterndorf, Chris. “10 Reasons You Should Never, Ever Shop at Walmart.” The Daily Dot. The Daily Dot, 21 May 2015. Web. 10 Nov. 2016. <http://www.dailydot.com/via/walmart-labor-unions-bad-company/>.

While learning about the concept of Creating Shared Value (CSR), my classmates discussed Nike’s use of sweatshops. I immediately thought of Walmart; as a child, I used to love shopping for cute stickers and clothes at Walmart.

A quick Google search of “Walmart CSR” resulted in Walmart’s Global Responsibility Report popping up. Scrolling through the report, I learnt about Walmart’s commitment to shared value through sustainability, community investment, and economic opportunity. So far, they have met the triple bottom line of sustainability.

Walmart’s 2016 Global Responsibility Report

I recall Walmart’s “Faded Glory” clothing brand that is made in Bangladesh. After further research, I found out about a disastrous fire at a Bangladeshi garment factory that killed 112 people; Faded Glory clothes were made here. The factory lacked sufficient emergency exits and safety procedures and features.

Other articles point to use of child labour in factories that Walmart has contracts with to make clothing. These children are physically abused and work long hours for seven days a week, all for the pittance of 6.5 cents per hour. According to these children, “If they could earn just 36 cents an hour, they could climb out of misery and into poverty, where they could live with a modicum of decency.”

Faded Glory manufactured in Bangladesh

Walmart’s commitment to shared value seems to be a sham; how can it trumpet its contribution to Global Responsibility when it uses sweatshop labour?

“Just because you can doesn’t mean you should” -Professor Ann Stone

As the largest company in the world by revenue, Walmart has considerable buyer power in the textile industry. Even though it states that it is empowering workers in Bangladesh’s textile industry, Walmart is most likely still contracting out to factories which have unsafe working conditions and minuscule wages.

Walmart is a traditional corporation; it is understandable that Walmart is pursuing the motive of profit. But to create shared value, as stated as its corporate vision, the triple bottom line of social, environmental, and economic sustainability must be met. Walmart has doubled its fleet efficiency, reducing 650,000 metric tons of CO2 and prices for customers. Its investment in the community is admirable, however, this may be negated by its exploitation of workers in developing countries.

As fellow human beings, we all have a responsibility to treat each other with respect and dignity. Even though reinventing how the company functions involves risk and loss of profits in the short run, it is worth the investment; the world will be a better place for all.

Until then, I won’t be buying any more textile products from Walmart.

Word Count – 423

Picture Credits:

Walmart’s 2016 Global Responsibility Report – Found at http://corporate.walmart.com/2016grr; copyright to Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Faded Glory manufactured in Bangladesh – Found at http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/26/1164800/-Walmart-clothing-found-in-Bangladeshi-factory-after-fire-that-killed-112; provided to The Nation by the International Labor Rights Forum.

References:

Bauer, Monica. “Always Low Prices, Rarely Human Rights: Wal-Mart and Child Slave Labor.” IHS Child Slave Labor News. IHS Child Slave Labor News, 1 Nov. 2005. Web. 27 Oct. 2016. <http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=68>.

“Children Found Sewing Clothing For Wal-Mart, Hanes & Other U.S. & European Companies – National Labor Committee.” OnLabor. Labor & Worklife, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2016. <http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/lwp/NLC_childlabor.html>.

Clawson, Laura. “Walmart Clothing Found in Bangladeshi Factory after Fire That Killed 112.” Daily Kos. Kos Media, LLC, 26 Nov. 2012. Web. 27 Oct. 2016. <http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/26/1164800/-Walmart-clothing-found-in-Bangladeshi-factory-after-fire-that-killed-112>.

Lo, Puck. “Walmart Faces Increased Scrutiny Over Bangladesh Sweatshop Fire.” CorpWatch. CorpWatch, 7 Jan. 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2016. <http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=15804>.

Otterson, Joe. “John Oliver Rips Gap, Walmart, H&M Clothing Over Sweatshop Labor, Unsafe Working Conditions (Video).” TheWrap. The Wrap, 27 Apr. 2015. Web. 27 Oct. 2016. <http://www.thewrap.com/john-oliver-rips-gap-walmart-hm-clothing-over-sweatshop-labor-unsafe-working-conditions-video/>.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. “2016 Global Responsibility Report.” 2016 Global Responsibility Report. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2016. Web. 27 Oct. 2016. <http://corporate.walmart.com/2016grr>.

Spotify Logo

The most frequently used app on my phone is Spotify; the ability to stream thirty million songs for free is worth putting up with the inconvenience of having to listen to ads every six songs, as I am not willing to pay the fee of CAD 9.99 + taxes.

In the on-demand music streaming industry, Spotify is one of its rising stars. One of its biggest selling points is the incorporation of Facebook into its music platform, enabling users to share playlists, see what their friends are listening to, and follow their favourite artists on Spotify. Other differences include the smart radio feature that learns your music preferences, and the user and app compiled playlists. Like Apple Music, Spotify’s points of parity are over thirty million songs and a majority of the hottest artists (excluding Taylor Swift, whose music is too “valuable” to be listened to for free). The “freemium” model powers Spotify, forcing non-paying users to watch ads and listen to music on shuffle.

Netflix Logo

I wish I could watch Netflix for free, but alas, Netflix does not utilise the Spotify “freemium” model. The movie and television subscription giant shares similarities with Spotify, such as the wish to be number one in their respective industries.

As my classmate, Agnes, discussed in her blog post, Netflix’s success stems from its differentiation strategy: capital investment in original programming and brand loyalty. To build on her views, Netflix’s other big draw is convenience and accessibility due to their multi-device and operating system capabilities. Their expertise to stream movies and television shows at manageable costs with the help of innovative technology have made Netflix a formidable opponent.

Spotify should learn from Netflix, since their product positioning and strategies are very similar. Spotify struggles with high royalty fees and low switching costs; Netflix has mastered cost balancing and brand loyalty. A possible course of action would be for Netflix and Spotify to merge, creating a media conglomerate.

Such a move would be vetoed by the government due to the reduction in competition, but if it did occur, the merged companies would be unstoppable. The wealth of customer data and material available for selection would solve the customer’s dilemma of what to watch and listen to. A subscriber package including access to both services on a combined platform would be the hottest item on the market; I would happily part with my money to have access to such a combined platform.

Word count – 405

Picture Credit:

Spotify Logo: all rights belong to Spotify, sourced for Spotify’s website – https://developer.spotify.com/design/

Netflix Logo: all rights belong to Netflix, sourced from Wikimedia Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Netflix_logo.svg

Sources:

Alhashim, Ashraf. “Pandora Versus Spotify: A Pricing and Technology Analysis.” AshAlhashim.com. Ashraf Alhashim, 16 Mar. 2013. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://www.ashalhashim.com/2013/03/16/pandora-versus-spotify-a-pricing-and-technology-analysis/>.

Chaffey, Dave. “Spotify Case Study.” Smart Insights. Smart Insights (Marketing Intelligence) Ltd., 18 Apr. 2015. Web. 12 Oct. 2016. <http://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-strategy/online-business-revenue-models/spotify-case-study/>.

Engel, Pamela. “Taylor Swift Explains Why She Left Spotify.” Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 13 Nov. 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-explains-why-she-left-spotify-2014-11>.

Ranjan, Tanvi. “Spotify’s Strategy – Road to Success.” Strategy Development:. Strategy Development:, 27 Mar. 2013. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://strategyatheinz.blogspot.ca/2013/03/spotifys-strategy-road-to-success.html>.

Roettgers, Janko. “Should Netflix Buy Spotify?” Gigaom. Gigaom, 18 June 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2016. <https://gigaom.com/2012/06/18/should-netflix-buy-spotify/>.

Shim, Julie. “Spotify – An Analysis of Spotify’s Market Strategies.” Shim’s Portfolio. Carnegie Mellon Computer Club, 10 Oct. 2016. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~dshim/portfolio.html>.

Tan, Agnes. “Netflix vs. Shomi.” Agnes Tan’s Blog. UBC Blogs, 02 Oct. 2016. Web. 11 Oct. 2016. <https://blogs.ubc.ca/agnestan/2016/10/02/netflix-vs-shomi/>.

A Boeing 787 Dreamliner being assembled

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner was a beautiful idea theoretically: a revolutionary commercial plane exceeding customers’ needs with innovative design and technology. However, the combination of an ambitious vision with naive planning by management almost destroyed the 787.

The C-suite should have married cutting-edge innovation with tried and trusted manufacturing practices; instead, they took the easy route of excessive outsourcing. Unlike Apple’s in-house design of prototypes and outsourced manufacturing¹, Boeing decided to transfer the responsibility of design and engineering to its suppliers. According to Eamonn Fingleton, “seventy percent (70%) of the 787 is being manufactured outside the United States, significantly more than the two percent (2%) utilised for the 747 in the late 1960s.” ²

In his blog post, Vernon Grose shares his insight that Boeing had lost its sense of wholeness of design present in its earlier planes³. I concur with his rhetoric that there is nothing wrong with outsourcing manufacturing per se, but the extent to which Boeing outsourced design and engineering of the 787 was significant and entailed considerable risk. Grose’s blog post is insightful, from his own professional experience from working at Boeing during the development of the 707; as a former employee, he has an insider’s perspective combined with an outsider’s objective criticism. Through reading his post, I was able to glean new perspectives about the case, such as the cohesive supervision of outsourcing.

If Boeing had paired its own in-house designs with outsourcing of manufacturing, the 787 would have been an innovative success. Rather, the lack of design input, guidance, communication, and collaboration with their suppliers lead to countless technical problems and delays with development and production. My recommendations to Boeing for future improvements are issue prevention, inclusive supplier-customer relationships, and overall design leadership.

Preventing problems by fostering mutual communicative relationships with suppliers would have saved Boeing time, effort, and money. A diverse and responsible management team should have included a Supply Chain Risk Management expert and more involvement in the process of development and production. Only then would outsourcing be viable.

Instead of “[reducing] the 787′s development time from six to four years and development cost from $10 to $6 billion” ⁴, as Boeing so proudly trumpeted, outsourcing proved to be the proverbial Achilles’ Heel. The decision to outsource engineering design for such a complex and precise machine was a problem waiting to happen, and should have been prevented from the onset. Penny-wise, pound-foolish was the name of Boeing’s game then.

Word count: 407

Photo credit:

Source: http://www.modernairliners.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/787-9-Final-Assembly-Web.jpg; Image © Boeing

End Notes:

1: Kabin, Benjamin. “Apple’s IPhone: Designed in California But Manufactured Fast All Around the World (Infographic).” Entrepreneur. Entrepreneur Media, Inc., 11 Sept. 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

2: Fingleton, Eamonn. “The Boeing 787: The Truth Finally Hits The Fan.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 26 Jan. 2013. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.

3: Grose, Vernon. “Boeing’s Global Supply Chain Created Subtle Risks for 787 Dreamliner.” Boeing’s Global Supply Chain Created Subtle Risks for 787 Dreamliner. Omega Systems Group Incorporated, 28 Jan. 2013. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.

4: Denning, Steve. “What Went Wrong at Boeing?” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 21 Jan. 2013. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

An infestation of for-sale signs in a local neighbourhood

According to trust researcher Rachel Botsman in her 2012 TED talk¹, “the currency of the new economy is trust”. This trust between realtors and the public has been broken, according to a report by an advisory panel² funded by the Real Estate Council of British Columbia. It was found that some realtors deliberately deceived their clients in order to receive larger commissions, and also coerced owners into selling their homes in order to get commissions from the sales. In both cases, realtors betrayed their clients’ trust for more money, revealing a disturbing lack of ethics and morality.

On June 30^th, 2016, Premier Christy Clark revoked self-regulation for the real estate industry. She promised to “[prohibit] a single agent from acting for both the buyer and seller in a transaction and raising maximum fines to $250,000 for individual Realtors and $500,000 for brokerages”, according to The Financial Post³. Premier Clark’s solution fails to address important issues such as affordability, foreign investment, and speculation. Government intervention in the economy is usually inefficient and unwelcome, but in this situation where such overblown prices are rampant, it is necessary to guarantee the right to shelter for the whole populace.

To remedy the real estate situation, legislation should be passed to impose a tax on those who purchase more than one residential property. This tax would be worth 50% of the second property’s selling price and would increase in 50% increments for each additional residential property. Doing so would avoid the inefficiency and deadweight loss of price ceilings, providing more tax income for the government to funnel to education and health programs. It would also curb speculation and increase the number of homes available for first-time home owners. Affordability for renters would be guaranteed through the ruling that investors cannot leave their residential properties vacant, thus creating the need for tenants. Both investors and their potential tenants would benefit: investors earn rent while tenants have more options for housing.

Premier Clark’s decision to implement government regulation of the real estate industry is highly welcome in the current housing market, but her solutions are not enough to solve the issues present. The severely inflated prices since 2005 have been due to a dearth of ethics among real estate agents, and the current issues could have been prevented had there been more transparency present. The situation proves that the presence and adherence to a strong code of ethics is integral in both the private and public sector. For private industries, a balance between profit and responsibility to society must be struck, while in the public sector, the best course of action for all parties must be the priority, justifying government intervention.

Word count: 444

Photo Credit: Gobles, Gord. 4 Sept. 2012. Vancouver. https://vreaa.wordpress.com/2012/09/04/gord-goble-postcards-from-the-rubble-of-our-future/

References:

1: Botsman, Rachel. “The Currency of the New Economy Is Trust.” TED. TED, June 2012. Web. 9 Sept. 2016.

2: Kane, Laura. “British Columbia to End Self-regulation of Real Estate Industry after Damning Report.” Financial Post. National Post, 30 June 2016. Web. 8 Sept. 2016.

3: Report of the Independent Advisory Group. Rep. Real Estate Council of British Columbia, June 2016. Web. <http://www.recbc.ca/wp-content/uploads/IAGReport_June2016.pdf>.

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