Does going green lead to green returns?

October 28th, 2010 § 0 comments § permalink

Over the last decade, there has been an undeniable trend towards promoting environmental sustainability, both for consumers and corporations. Environmental Leader (so, a somewhat biased source) states that the majority of consumers prefer to buy products from eco-friendly companies. Not only that, but employees also prefer to work for environmentally responsible employers.

But since we’re talking business, an important question to consider is: does sustainability translate to profitability?

This Vancouver Sun article talks about six B.C. businesses who would say yes. One of the examples is Vancouver-based Mountain Equipment Co-Op (MEC), about which the article said this:

In the case of MEC, a decision to ship its outdoor recreation equipment and clothing by train rather than truck led to a relative 38-per-cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and some cost savings.

Furthermore, MEC was nationally recognized for its environmentally sustainable practices in 2008. Another business mentioned in the article, Jawl Properties, improved building efficiencies in heating, ventiliation, air conditioning and controls programming, leading to cost savings of “23% with a four-to five-year payback on capital investment.”

"This symbol indicates {MEC} products that contain at least 50% organically grown cotton or recycled polyester, or are completely PVC-free."

MEC’s simple switch in transportation methods illustrates that it is not difficult for businesses to make the eco-shift, which could result in not only economic profit, but also a positive PR image, a winning point of differentiation with consumers. Moreover, MEC and other businesses have demonstrated that shifting to eco-friendly practices can lead to cost savings. Hopefully one day, sustainability will be the norm, rather than the exception.

When the #GroundRules change

October 15th, 2010 § 0 comments § permalink

Despite all its heralded success and popularity, there have always been questions surrounding Twitter and its ability to generate profits since it burst onto the scene in 2009. Twitter has been criticized for its lack of a profitable business model, despite strong venture capitalist backings and funding of $160 million.

With all the hype surrounding Social Media in the past year, especially as a business/marketing tool, it’s an important question to consider – when/how does the hype and popularity translate into monetary value?

Earlier this year, Twitter launched its advertising platform known as “promoted tweets”. Basically, companies can send out a tweet from their company accounts, and pay Twitter for the tweet to be at the top of search results in which the tweet appears. Sometimes, promoted tweets/hashtags also appear in the trending topics list.

That’s how I came across the hashtag #GroundRules, a promoted tweet from @JetBlue. For some reason it caught my eye, and clicking the tweet lead to this video:

YouTube Preview Image

I found this advertisement quite interesting because, rather than pushing the product, it is emphasizing a purpose: customer empowerment. This made me think back to class 1, when we discussed Ryanair and its many cost-cutting tactics. For being in an industry in which rising fuel costs and regulations are forcing airlines to charge for meals, pillows, blankets, and maybe even to use the toilet, JetBlue has chosen an interesting point of differentiation.

Currently, the jury is still out on whether Twitter’s promoted tweets are proving profitable for Twitter and the promoted companies. However, if Twitter and companies continue to work in tandem to create innovative and interesting content like above, I think there will be a time in the future when we finally stop asking, “is Twitter profitable?”.

The case for social media

October 4th, 2010 § 0 comments § permalink

From what I can see, tomorrow’s class will be all about Social Media in business. I’m excited, because I’m a bit of a social media nut (more so than your normal teenager). One of the preparation questions is, “Is Social Media a fad?” I immediately thought of this video when I read the question (and wouldn’t be surprised if they show it tomorrow):

YouTube Preview Image

While some of the figures and facts may be a little sensational (96% of Millennials? Try 96% of Millennials who have access to a computer…), I believe in the core message of the video – social media is so ingrained in so many of our lives today, that it’s hard to imagine existing henceforth without it. Kinda like the internet itself – it’s an innovation that is not going away.

The second question is: “Is social media useful for companies?”

Answering this question is not as straightforward as the first. While someone like me would be quick to jump to “yes”, part of me also wonders if there are any companies that would not benefit from using social media. Some companies don’t even have a choice – social media drags them in first, such as when Air Canada broke a boy’s wheelchair and when Southwest Airlines removed a passenger for “being too fat”.

Almost no company, brand or product is off-limits in the blogosphere/Twitter-sphere, and when you have a group of angry consumers Tweeting or blogging negatively about your company, you’d better learn how to harness the power of social media then and there, or else risk watching your brand crash and burn in a firestorm of Twitter outrage. This Mashable article offers some tips on how to avoid such situations.

Getting a grasp on finance

September 30th, 2010 § 0 comments § permalink

As a precursor to today’s class – I came into Sauder as one of those, “Nooo numbers, keep them away from me” which leads into “Pfffft, of course I’m not going into Finance or Accounting!” people, so I wasn’t looking super forward to a class on Finance.

Luckily, Murray Carlson was a pretty good speaker. He kept us engaged throughout his presentation, and definitely incorporated non-embarrassing individual interaction. I think part of the problem was that before today, I honestly had no idea what “Finance” entailed, despite working as an assistant to a Financial Consultant at Investors Group for the past four summers (go figure). When we learned about the different parts of Finance (stocks, investing, loans, etc.), I still wasn’t overly thrilled. However, there was one portion that jumped out at me – microloans/microcredit.

Yunus receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006

In 2005, the “founder” of microcredit, Muhammad Yunus, won the Nobel Peace Prize for his microloans project, the Grameen Bank. The Nobel Prize Committee had this to say about Grameen Bank’s far-reaching effects:

Lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty.

The Committee mentioned peace when talking about a Finance-rooted endeavor. We tend to think of businessmen as big, bad, money-hungry demons, but microloans have done a whole lot of good for millions of people. I hope that one day, I will find myself as a part of a similar organization that harnesses the power of business to create such immense social good.

Examining the importance of positioning in marketing

September 28th, 2010 § 0 comments § permalink

When I read the Class Prep instructions for this class, I got super excited – our topic for the day was Marketing. As a first year with a keen interest in pursuing Marketing later on, I want to gobble up every morsel of information, advice and insight I can gain about Marketing, so this was definitely a class I was looking forward to.

Although the reads were long, I did find them quite interesting. Although I have a rough idea of what Marketing is, I hadn’t given much technical thought before to Product Positioning (a QuickMBA article). Yet, almost all of us can claim that we have knowledge in this area – we are subjected to advertisements every day, everywhere we go, and we subconsciously know what catches our attention and what doesn’t.

One point that Al Ries and Jack Trout stress in their book (mentioned in the article) is that your product either has to be first on the market or occupy a unique position (if it is not first). I never really considered the consumer market to be this black-and-white – surely, there must be other marketing techniques that can triumphantly position a product in a consumer’s mind.

The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

Let’s consider the recent Old Spice marketing campaign (hopefully it’s not too cliche yet). Old Spice was neither the first Men’s fragrance, nor is it a unique product – but recent sales figures have confirmed the success of the campaign in placing the product in womens’ minds (the target audience). This campaign demonstrates that marketing is a dynamic field, adapting to new mediums (such as social media) and consumer attitudes (company interaction).

Not sure if this has confirmed or discouraged my vocation for marketing, but at the very least it has left me wanting more. Can’t wait till my first full-term Marketing course next year 😀

“The Man Who Makes Your iPhone”

September 21st, 2010 § 0 comments § permalink

As I sit with my trusty iPhone beside me every day, it’s not often that I ask myself where it came from and how it was manufactured. However, a week or so ago, I came across an article someone linked in my Twitter feed titled “The Man Who Makes Your iPhone”.

The article itself is pretty groundbreaking – it represents the first time Foxconn, the megapower in technology supply manufacturing in China, granted access to Terry Gou, its founder and chairman. The article is more of an extended profile of Gou himself, and how he raised the company from the basement to an empire, than an in-depth look at the business practices of Foxconn.

Nonetheless, it did highlight the recent suicides of 11 employees, which spurred Gou and Foxconn into PR action. I found it intriguing to learn about the work campuses of Foxconn – they operate like cities, with bookstores, pools, restaurants, and living accommodations. I also found it curiously intriguing that, in response to the suicides, Foxconn installed mesh netting on buildings to catch jumpers.

Steve Jobs vs. Terry Gou

Of course, it shouldn’t have gotten to that point in the first place. There are a multitude of reasons why these employees felt the need to take their lives, and perhaps they did not all point to the job/Foxconn itself. Nonetheless, with pressure from Apple, HP and the public/investors in general, Foxconn felt the need to take responsibility. I’m not sure if the motivations were right, but if the end results prove as a solution, then maybe it doesn’t matter. Of course, the best step would be prevention, and I think this needs to start with ensuring fair wages, work conditions, fair treatment from managers, and social events for employees. Unfortunately the article doesn’t provide too much insight into these factors, but there’s certainly always room for improvement, if anything. Let’s just hope that a year from now, we’ll be reading about Foxconn’s innovations in technology, not suicide prevention.

Yellow suicide prevention netting strung around Foxconn buildings

The ethics of NHL cap circumvention

September 15th, 2010 § 0 comments § permalink

On July 19, 2010, the NJ Devils announced the re-signing of Ilya Kovalchuk to a monstrous $102 million, 17-year deal, and thus the Kovalchuk Saga began.

Now, I am no expert on the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and only quickly educated myself about cap circumvention for the purposes of this post.

Ilya Kovalchuk

During my TOK course in the IB program in high school, we defined ethical issues as basically violating a legal or established set of rules. In this case, the ethical issue was the length of the contract, but more importantly, how the length affected the average cap hit of Kovalchuk. The contract was “front-loaded” with the first few years paying Kovie $11.5m, $10.5m, $8.5m and so on, and only $505,000 in the last 5 years of the contract, for an average cap hit of $6m over the 17 years (which would put him at age 44). Obviously Kovie would not play to that age, so many (including the league) saw the final 5 years as “tacked on” solely to lower the average cap hit, which is known as cap circumvention (the main ethical issue).

As we know, the league rejected the contract and renegotiated a new one with the NHLPA/NJ, and a new “Kovalchuk Amendment” was added that stated players’ cap hits must be $1m from ages 36-40 if their average hit is $5.75m+ (like Kovalchuk). The NJ Devils were also fined $3m and 2 draft picks for the attempted circumvention. In this day where lifetime contracts are seemingly becoming the norm, I think it was good of the league to actually set precedent and enforce their CBA with the initial rejection, but the fine seems a bit overboard.

I’m just glad they didn’t reassess Luongo’s contract in the end – I don’t think we could handle another 1.5-month long saga.

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  • About Me

    2nd year Sauderite, IB survivor. Canucks & Habs fan. Gymnast of 16 yrs. Aspiring Web/Graphic Designer. Social Media enthusiast. Occasional Apple fangirl.

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