Author Archives: mjhowarth

Mastercard has partnered with a tech company, Bionym, and has recently announced the release of a wristband that is to be used as a credit card. The first thing that came to my mind when I read the title of this article was: “what if you lose the wristband?”, then somebody could have access to your money. However, upon further reading I discovered that it is personalized to each person’s heartbeat and therefore can only be used with the person whose heartbeat is synchronized with the wristband. I am not sure whether I like the idea of this or not. I think it is a very unique product that has taken the ideas of other wristband information trackers such as Fitbit and applied it to a completely new setting and it provides a super easy way to pay. However, I don’t know whether I trust that it wouldn’t work with other people because heartbeats are not unique enough compared to something like a fingerprint. In regards to Porter’s Generic Strategies, this product would apply to the idea of differentiation as there is nothing quite like it (in the sense that it works as a credit card) on the market yet and its target scope is industry wide seeing as a large percent of the population of the world use credit cards, specifically Mastercard.

Breather was started a couple years ago by Julien Smith – a business writer. He was tired of being on the road and having nowhere to go to do work in between events/meetings other than Starbucks. He decided to create “a service that offers travellers – and everybody else – a place to go in the city”. 

When I read this article, I immediately thought of our class on innovation and entrepreneurship and how we talked about disruptive innovation. Breather is somewhat of a disruptor to not only Starbucks, but also other coffee shops where people go to study/take breaks/do work when they have nowhere else to go in between meetings/events/etc. It could also be a disruptor to the hotel industry as people can now book rooms by the hour that provides them with a quiet sanctuary to get away from noise instead of having to book a hotel room while they are in a city just for the day. I also think Julien Smith saw a gap in the market and took the opportunity to fill it because he assumed that there were other people in the same situation as him. It turned out to work very well for him as the company is seeing about a 30% growth per month. I think it is a great idea because the rooms can have a huge variety of different uses, they aren’t just limited to business people. Personally, when I am wanting to retreat from a city to a quiet place I will definitely look into renting a room from Breather!

As I was browsing through people’s blogs, I opened Clara’s and her post caught my eye. I have started noticing Oceanwise symbols popping up at more and more food related places in Vancouver. This interests me because I am a pescatarian, which just means a vegetarian that eats fish, however I like to know where my fish comes from. I don’t like just being served any fish and not having a clue as to where it has come from. The main reason I became vegetarian was because I don’t agree with the ethics in the meat industry so the same applies to the fishing industry. Clara talked about  Oceanwise and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council certification (ASC) being related and how “it is a point of difference that is likely going to place certain businesses on a higher playing field”. I completely agree with this statement because whenever I go out to eat in Vancouver if I am going to order a fish dish I always want to know if it is sustainable, if it isn’t then I am less likely to eat at that place. She also mentioned how with Loblaws being the first retailer in North America to sell ASC certified salmon it will provide a safety assurance to customers and on top of that I think it will improve their market share because of people becoming more and more concerned over the environment.

The possibility of the Northern Gateway pipeline poses a huge issue to several First Nations tribes of BC. The Nak’azdli tribe is extremely opposed to the construction of this pipeline, as are several other tribes that live around the coastal region of BC. The Nak’azdli tribe rely on the land they have as a means of survival and the pipeline creates a huge threat to their environment if it is successfully built. Enbridge has already had about 40% of the First Nations tribes that are affected by the pathway of the pipeline sign deals that give them a financial stake in the pipeline and are continuing discussions with the remaining tribes who have yet to sign on. In my opinion, instead of offering money and financial stakes to First Nations tribes, Enbridge should be trying to further develop relationships with each of these tribes by getting to know them and what their actual needs are. Money can solve many problems but I believe in cases involving First Nations we shouldn’t just be using money as the fall-back, we should be trying to help them in the long run. If Enbridge offered the tribes that are opposed to the pipeline help and involvement for the long term instead of just giving them money and leaving them to figure things out on their own, the tribes might be more willing to sign and agree to the construction of the pipeline. Looking at a PESTLE analysis for Enbridge they could be facing legal and environmental factors that might impact their company with the construction of this pipeline by not creating positive relationships with the First Nations whose land they are building on. By focusing on creating strong and lasting relationships, Enbridge could potentially have the opportunity for much more growth in the future.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/There+will+pipeline/10122968/story.html

In a speech to BC’s business community on Thursday, BC Premier Christy Clark “accused federal politicians of “tragically misdirected” policies over the issue of temporary foreign workers”. She talked about how the amount of jobs in BC are increasing and as a result, a lot of workers are going to be needed which may mean relying on foreign workers because local workers can’t fill all the jobs.

This comes in backlash to the crackdown on the temporary foreign worker program that happened in June including many limitations to the program. The topic of the temporary foreign worker program is of interest to me as I have worked as a ski instructor for the past 2 years alongside many Australians and British people who rely on sponsored visas for their jobs. The ski hill I worked at hired people based on their qualifications for the job needed and their experience, not based upon their nationality. I know for this upcoming season, my ski hill is struggling to fill their jobs as not only is the Canadian demand not enough, there also isn’t the same experience and skill in the applications they have received that is required to fill the jobs. For this reason I agree with Christy Clark as there is a genuine need for more skill in Canada and if there are foreign workers who are more skilled than their Canadian counterparts I believe the skill should outweigh the nationality. Cutting back on foreign workers in Canada could result in a decrease in the Canadian economy due to too many unfilled jobs. Christy Clark stated “We should not think about people who come from across the world to British Columbia to work as being something less than the rest of us,” and she talked about how instead of fixing the program the government should maybe think about changing the name: “Call them ‘potential new Canadians,’ because they’re coming here to help us build our country.” Foreign workers are coming here to add value to our jobs and to help increase the Canadian economy, they are interested in the Canadian way of life and the beautiful country we live in. For this reason we should be accepting of them into Canadian jobs and not push them away.

Lachlan’s article was about how Tesla is planning on opening a Supercharger station in Revelstoke, BC. He wrote about how this is a smart move for Tesla “as it will attract many customers that are seeking a vehicle that is capable of travelling long distances without having to stop for long, charging breaks”. I agree with what he is saying as it is being built in a very good location along the Trans Canada so for people who are doing longer trips in electric cars it provides them with somewhere where not only they can stop and recharge but in a beautiful location as well. Being from Calgary and having a ski condo in Big White just outside of Kelowna I have driven through Revelstoke many times. It is a perfect location to stop for a break because it is a cute little town nestled in the mountains with quite a few good coffee shops and places to eat. Lachlan also wrote about how Tesla has started to focus on expanding outside of the US which is key for the company’s growth. I agree with this too as Tesla needs to start creating customer bases globally and a good place for them to start is in Canada, especially in BC as there are many people that live here who are very pro-environment. These people may be looking for alternatives to gas powered cars and with Tesla developing more infrastructure around BC, people will be more inclined to purchase Tesla’s vehicles. Tesla has a good thing going for them as they are different from many other cars out there and in order to keep growing they need to keep building their infrastructure.

https://blogs.ubc.ca/lachlanhicks/2014/09/23/tesla-supercharger-station-in-revelstoke-bc/

Disney has recently sold their rights to toys from their movie Frozen to toy company Hasbro. The toy rights for Frozen currently belong to Mattel but will shift to Hasbro staring in 2016. The agreement also includes the clothing and accessories for the dolls. This has caused Mattel’s stock price to fall and Hasbro’s to rise. This reflects badly on Disney for me because they are using their brand name to make them money; they already had a good deal with Mattel for the Frozen dolls so there was no need to change it. Manufacturers of toys will always want to have the rights to anything from Disney as they are such a well-known name worldwide. Even if Mattel was angry at Disney for doing this they won’t turn down any future offers from Disney for manufacturing rights as they know if they say no that Disney can just go to Hasbro or another toy manufacturer and sell the rights to them. I believe that once Disney has made a deal with a manufacturer they should stick to that deal and not be able to pull out and sell to another company. By doing this Disney is just using their manufacturers to see who they can get the best deal from and to me this goes against the ethics of business which I don’t believe is right.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/hasbro-locks-rights-to-make-frozen-dolls-in-2016-1.2022309

As certain food products become more and more popular in first-world countries, people don’t think about the effect that happens in the countries they originate from. The rise in popularity in quinoa has caused a rise in the price of quinoa. This has resulted in the indigenous people in South America not being able to afford to buy it anymore, even though it has been a staple in their diets for centuries. Milton Friedman said “there is one and only one social responsibility of business – to use its resources and engage in activities to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.” The companies that are producing and selling quinoa are going against this statement because they are ultimately committing an act of fraud against the South Americans who they are purchasing from. They are purely looking at the financial gain they are receiving from its popularity. However, the company Runa whose “revenue jumped from $800,000 in 2012 to $2.5-million last year“ is complying by Friedman’s statement in that they are very focused on the ethics side of their business by ensuring that not only their suppliers of guayasa are benefiting from the increase in popularity of the product but all of their stakeholders are benefiting.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/food-trends/ditch-your-morning-java-and-smell-the-guayusa/article20495025/