Africa’s traditional brew has been produced for many of years, being made by rural women using wood fires and earthen pots and served during ceremonies and rituals such as weddings, funerals, and prayers.  However, in recent years African beer has made the transition from a traditional drink to a modern commercialized beverage.  Chibuku, an African brewery, has taken the beer, packaged it in colourful containers and made it readily available in liquor stores in countries around Africa.

It is important to note that Africa is willingly taking a traditional aspect of their culture and transforming it into a modern, commercialized product in order to facilitate growth and progress.

This growth in the African beer market is beneficial as the new brewery plants, delivery and transportation services, and necessary marketing will create jobs and boost the economy of Africa.  As well, the new job opportunities will attract a larger workforce which will also help to initiate economic growth in Africa.

Sources:

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/10/07/beer_you_can_eat_africas_homebrew_becomes_big_business.html

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/58/181597899_673eaf9302.jpg

In recent years, the Southeast asian region (Malaysia, the Philippines, etc) has dramatically grown and become a bright economical hub.  Some Canadian companies, such as Montreal-based CAE, have capitalized on this economical development.  They have expanded into Malaysia and are now in charge of all the pilot-triaining for Air Asia, a fast growing discount airline.  According to Marc Parent, chief executive officer of CAE, Canada is now punching “way above our weight” in the aerospace sector thanks to the growing Southeast asian middle class.  Another factor that has helped Canadian business in Southeast asian countries is various visits from top Canadian officials,  including a recent visit from the prime minister himself, Stephan Harper.

The Southeast Asian region has a growing work force and is an ideal location for companies to outsource their products. Therefore, economical expansion and increasing trade between Canada and the Southeast asian region would be beneficial not only to Canada’s economy, but for the Southeast asian region as well.

Sources:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/harper-eyes-regional-growth-for-new-business-in-malaysia-1.1913826

http://i.cbc.ca/1.1913862.1380976357!/cpImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/harper-asia-trip.jpg

AECOM Technology Corporation is a leading provider of professional, technical and management support services to public and private clients.  They serve clients from over 140 countries, are known as a Fortune 500 company and had a revenue of 8.2 billion between 2012 and 2013.  Clearly, they are doing something right at AECOM.

However, besides making money, AECOM also excels in maintaining an excellent Ethics and Compliance program.  In fact their ethics department has won them plenty of ethical recognition to go along with their successful business endeavours.

This year, AECOM was awarded with the American Business Ethics Award (ABEA) for the “Large Company” category, an award  which is presented by the Foundation for Financial Service Professionals and is highly regarded among the business world. As well, AECOM was ranked as one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” by the Ethisphere Institute, for the third consecutive year.

Business Ethics is often a problem in companies because the desire for profit can make ethics seem unimportant. However after considering a company like AECOM, it changes the way I think about ethics.  A balance is not impossible and companies should always take into account business ethics in all of their future endeavours.

Resources:

http://www.financialpost.com/markets/news/AECOM+ethics+compliance+program+wins+2013+American+Business+Ethics+Award/8921699/story.html

http://www.asianscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/AECOM-Acquires-Capital-Engineering-Corp-In-Taiwan-To-Expand-Asian-Footprint.jpg