Lisa Wong

In the past, India has had a $450 billion retail market that was untapped by any foreign retailers. However, India has recently opened its doors and invited global supermarket giants to invest in the country’s retail market. Global supermarket chains, such as Wal-mart, Tesco, and Carrefour, have all long-awaited this invitation from India because giant retailers see India as one of the last frontier markets to invest in. With this approval of allowing foreign retailers to enter, investments and the economy may increase in India. Also, foreign retail giants that enter the market will attract capital abroad and that will help reduce inflation that is currently very high in India. Although there are many economic benefits from India’s new policy, there are also downsides as well. Many political opponents of this proposal believe that this decision will cause a disadvantage by causing a large amount of unemployment in India because many small businesses will be thrown out of work. Therefore millions of small domestic retailers in India are also opposed to this decision.

Policemen standing inside first Wal-Mart in India

Although foreign competition may cause some businesses to shut down, I believe that the overall economic benefits gained from this decision will be greater for the country in the long run since it will decrease inflation, increase capital and increase investments for the country.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-news/global-retailers-wary-of-fine-print-in-india-invite/article2249020/

In a blog post written by Rebekah Ho, she explains the downsides of purchasing a $35 tablet sold in India by referring to our class discussion about the low-priced Tata Nano. Rebekah further explains that although these low prices might be tempting for consumers, their extremely cheap prices indicate that their quality is also extremely poor.

A student from India with the $35 tablet

I agree with this explanation because in order for a product to be priced so low but to still cover the producer’s cost of production, the supplier must have used very cheap inputs to create this $35 tablet. However, Rebekah beings to justify the uselessness of the cheap tablet in small villages in India, stating that with only a 3-hour battery life, the tablet can not always be used, which is something I disagree on. I disagree because many villages in India have never had these technological advancements so if the tablet does lasts for 3-hours it can get villagers connected onto the Internet, where farmers can check the weather or small businesses can have access to their email or to eBay. Therefore, I believe this innovation is useful in India even though the quality of the product may be very poor.

Oprah Winfrey is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the World because she is currently the CEO/chairwoman and founder of two major companies, Harpo Productions and the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Her companies exhibit entrepreneurial characteristics such as rapid success, innovation, and high-risk involvement. By the age of 32, Oprah had her own national talk show called “the Oprah Winfrey Show” and had founded her own multimedia production company known as Harpo Productions, which spells Oprah backwards. Harpo Productions then acquired ownership of the Oprah Winfrey Show, making Oprah the first woman in history to own and produce her own talk show. As a result of innovating and risk taking, Harpo Productions expanded into Harpo Entertainment Group that includes Harpo Films, Harpo Radio, and Harpo Studios. In addition, Oprah also owns her own magazine and television network, called “O, The Oprah Magazine” and “the Oprah Winfrey Network”. According to Forbes, she is now the richest self-made woman in America who is worth over $2.7 billion.

Oprah Winfrey on the cover of her magazine, O, The Oprah Magazine

Oprah’s success has mainly come from her concentration of helping others improve their lives by empowering them to make them feel better, which is also the brand image of Oprah’s companies. This portrays Oprah Winfrey’s entrepreneurship characteristics of being a person that has a high aptitude to pioneer change.

Hilary Carell wrote a blog about TOMS Shoes and the company’s initiative to donate a pair to children in need, for every pair that is sold. She found this initiative very inspiring because it proves that businesses do place a higher importance on sustainability and social responsibility than they do on their company profits.

Corporate Social Responsibility

I agree that large corporations should place corporate social responsibility as a higher priority, like TOMS Shoes, because they have the wealth and power to create a positive difference around the World. However, as discussed in class, many companies use corporate social responsibility for reasons other than to give back. In fact, many businesses view social responsibility as a marketing tactic. For instance, in class we watched Coca-Cola’s Arctic Home Commercial and observed that their initiative to save the polar bears was more of a marketing method used to promote their beverages in white cans during the Christmas season because they only promised to contribute $2 million over 5 years, which is a small amount considering that their company generates billions of dollars each year. Nonetheless, even though some companies are involved with social responsibility for their own selfish intensions, they are still contributing towards a good cause.