Laura MacDonald's Blog

It’s a good thing marijuana is illegal in most of North America, right? We wouldn’t want kids to be exposed to this drug more frequently than they are now.  And to have a multitude of weed-smoking groups in every backyard or alley would be frightening! So why then is the state of California allowing its citizens to vote on the legalization of marijuana this November?  The simple answer: money.

An article in the Vancouver Sun called “State to Vote on Legalizing Marijuana” explains the move taken by this coastal state to deal with the marijuana controversy.  California had already shown its willingness to push boundaries, 14 years previously, through its unprecedented decision to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes.  People criticized this tactic and assumed it would end in disaster for the state.  However, this hasn’t been the case.  This hopeful outcome, coupled with the fact that California is in need of a financial uplift, reveals the potential benefit of legalizing marijuana.  If marijuana was legalized then the government would be able to tax it.  This would generate a huge revenue for the government.  Additionally, money which had previously been spent on the enforcement of marijuana laws would now be free to be spent on other important items.  Before this legislation is passed, the government and citizens of California need to reflect on how badly the extra money is needed in the state.

Read more:

Is there a single person in our society today who has not heard of Facebook? What about Youtube? And Twitter?  The impact which social media has on our world is astounding. Each day millions of people watch videos online and post comments on their friends’ walls. It has grown to the point that entire events can be organized via these heavily frequented sites of communication. Teenagers and young adults are the two groups who make the most use of these networks. So it makes sense that companies and organizations are taking advantage of this opportunity to promote their products and causes. An example is found in an article in the Vancouver Sun, “Changing the World, one click at a time”, in which the advantage of promoting via Facebook or Twitter is described. Free the Children, a remarkable organization formed by Craig Kielburger has made good use of social media. It has gained an audience on Facebook “by regularly sharing overseas project updates and posting links to relevant videos and photos from the field or from the millions of youth they work with”.  Through involving itself on Facebook, this organization is creating links with millions of people to further its cause.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Changing+world+click+time/3649298/story.html#ixzz11uWKFurj

Rona Inc. and Canadian Tire Corp. are two huge retail companies who enjoy a stable presence in the Canadian market. According to the article, “Canadian Tire, Rona Map Out Different Growth Plans”, both companies are currently looking to expand their operations in the next couple of years. However, each has a different strategy for achieving this expansion. For instance, Rona Inc. plans to purchase acquisitions. It sees buying up pre-established, little stores as a key factor for increasing its profit. It needs to ensure that these stores can successfully harmonize with the rest of the country-wide chain.


On the other hand, Canadian Tire Corp.’s strategy seems to be based on establishing more of its new “smart stores”. These “smart stores”, although smaller, are deemed to be more efficient and even include a food section. The two different strategies described above are different methods to achieve the same general goal of maximum profit. Strategies have become necessary in the competitive markets of today, as operational effectiveness (designing a company to produce the greatest amount of output in conventional ways) tends to result in numerous companies reaching maximum production. No one wins that way. Strategies allow companies to expand in unique ways, thereby giving them advantages over other companies.

Read more: www.vancouversun.com/business/fp/Canadian+Tire+Rona+different+growth+plans/2020164/story.html

An intriguing topic which we have covered in Comm101 involves the positioning of products in the mind of the consumer. It was mentioned in “Positioning” by Riels and Trout that the easiest way to ensure the success of your brand or product is by being first. Basically, this means beating everyone else to the starting point. However, one shouldn’t despair if one cannot claim being the first to emerge with a certain product or service. Through a unique approach to the market, one’s product can gain a favourable position in the eyes of the consumers. In fact, an article in the National Post, “Clipping Groupon’s Wings” illustrates how numerous online businesses in coupon promotions have recently started up. Despite the fact that the online-coupon giant, Groupon, holds much of the online coupon market in the U.S. and parts of Canada, these new coupon style websites continue to appear. Mr. Nguyen, the owner of recently begun TeamSave.com, recognizes that “Groupon has built brand value because it’s been in the coupon business since 2008”, but he’s not intimidated by this as he believes “there is enough market in every city to accommodate several discount players”.

Read more:
www.financialpost.com/entrepreneur/Clipping+Groupon+wings/3619269/story.html

The implementation of the harmonized sales tax (HST) in British Columbia, has become a source of constant stress for numerous businesses. In particular, restaurants have been negatively impacted by the HST. For instance, restaurant owners have found that their consumer base has dwindled due to this increased taxation. Regular customers would be less inclined to eat out at restaurants due to the extra cost imposed by the HST at this time.

As well, according to the CBC News article, “HST hurting B.C. restaurants: survey” this decrease in clientele has forced staff reductions and shorter business hours. This is a huge issue in for smaller restaurant businesses that might have been struggling before the HST was introduced in July. In fact, the HST could result in the loss of many small, independent restaurants. Imagine discovering one day in the near future, that one’s favourite Mexican restaurant has closed down. Clearly, it would be quite distressing to a community to learn of the demise of a local restaurant. However, this soon could become the fate of many small restaurants, if the effects of the HST are not combatted.

Read more:

www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/08/03/bc-hst-hurting-restaurants.html

It seems that our society has finally begun to criticize the unreasonable demands that employers have of their waitresses in restaurants.  According to the article, “Sexy should not be part of mandatory dress code, restaurant association says”, women who work in sports bars and other popular eating places are being forced to adhere to a strict dress code if they wish to keep their jobs. It would be fine if this dress code was appropriate and did not make the employees feel indecent. However, the simple fact is that it is not appropriate.

These restaurant businesses are demonstrating a severe lack of ethics in the area of their employees’ welfare.  Having these clothing restrictions on employees is not right.  Why must waitresses have to dress in a provocative manner?  Is it not enough that they dress with a sense of professionalism and exude an attitude of cheerfulness and helpfulness?  The issue here is that the restaurant businesses do not appear to respect their employees’s concerns and therefore overstep  society’s view of what is right.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Sexy+should+part+mandatory+dress+code+restaurant+association+says/3532201/story.html#ixzz0zj6uFDPX