Categories
Branding Uncategorized

Branding parti in le Quebecois

Due to French Language laws in Quebec, six major companies are taking legal action against the Quebec Government. The government claims companies such as Walmart, the Gap, Best Buy and numerous others are in violation of the language laws because there is no French in their signs, slogans, and logos.

This is not a question of whether or not their brand is recognizable, but rather a external government force attempting to exert its influence over private english based businesses. If the Quebec government is successful, there will be numerous negative consequences for these big businesses.

It’s not as simple as just adding a few french words to a sign, the company would be changing it’s brand. In the case of KFC, they willing changed their name to “Poulet Frit Kentucky.” This is essentially altering the companies main identifier, its name, to fit the needs of the Quebec government. Trademarks and copy writes would have to be taken out, signage would have to change, logos, and any other vital aspect of the brand (no matter how small the change may be).

I feel like this issue is ultimately jeopardizing Quebec’s relationship with big business, potentially deterring future expansion into Quebec.

BANERJEE, SIDHARTHA 18/11/12, “Walmart, Costco, among businesses taking Quebec government to court over French signs”. http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/businesses+heading+court+against+Quebec+government+over+French/7567073/story.html

Categories
Management

Gamification of the Workplace

Many employees dread the thought of waking up for work on monday mornings, Kevin Werbach and Dan Hunter, authors of “For the Win“, are trying to change that. It’s not hard to draw parallels between the repetitive tasks of work and the tasks a mindless assembly line or programer may have to do. Some companies have even started adding rewards such as badges and “level ups” to their workplace to provide motivators for their employees. However, some employers have found these rewards may be effective in increasing motivation, but the same is not true for efficiency. Microsoft tried implementing a similar strategy when doing translation editing for their latest software, but intern entire offices would shut down and solely focus on the one task, rather than focusing on maximizing the office’s efficiency. Gaming in the workplace is an intriguing concept with great managerial potential, the issue will be trying to balance efficenty with motivation, as well as avoiding isolation of those who don’t work well in such an environment. This concept will most likely become more prominent in offices as time progresses.

 

Schumpeter 10/11/12, “More than just a game”. http://www.economist.com/news/business/21565926-video-games-are-behind-latest-fad-management-more-just-game

Categories
Uncategorized

Peer Comment links

Ethics in American Apparel 

Staples 

Best Buy in China

Categories
Ethics Social Enterprise

Scottish Skatepark Seeks Social Good.

This year, The Factory Skatepark in Scotland has been awarded the National Social Enterprise Award. What makes The Factory such an interesting place is their objective, which is to”support local communities through reducing social exclusion, improving educational attainment and encouraging young people to follow a healthy lifestyle”. They offer programs for youth such as homework help clubs, and “IT classes for the elderly”, all the while, focusing on extreme sports. In addition to providing services to the community, The Factory also hires solely from within it’s community, Balunie Drive. This enterprise is run by the community for the community, with the sole intent of bettering the lives of it’s residence.

This type of business could have mass potential in North America. It takes a popular sport that often has negative stereotypes and uses it to engage youth, while attempting to put them on the right life path. The Factory managed to take the extreme lifestyle out of the extreme sport, all the while turning it into a constructive resource in youth development.

15/11/12, “Dundee Skatepark wins national social enterprise award”. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-20339565

Categories
External Blog Marketing

Short and Sweet: a Marketers Perspective

While blindly stumbling through Google, searching for a business blog containing substance, clarity, and intrigue, I happened to find “Seth’s Blog“. As demonstrated in the title, “Seth’s Blog” gets right to the point. He “says it like it is”, while making extremely relevant and thought provoking points, predominately centered around marketing themes.

The post that particularly interested me was “Accepting small Promises“. As he so eloquently put it “Marketing is about making promises and then keeping them”. This fundamental definition seems to ring true. When a marketing team makes a promise the success of the product is often dependent on the extent to which that promise is kept. For example, if a product as marketed as “the cheapest car in the world” the product will not be very successful if it is not, or rather if people do not perceive it as the “cheapest car in the world”. Seth ultimately broke it down to “If [the consumer] accept[s] the promise, a sale is made”.

The post claimed,  as consumers, if we easily accept small promises it “cheapen us and the marketer who would have us flock to him”. The big promises, such as a company’s ethics or “stewardship” are the promises as consumers we should value, as well as the promises the marketer should try and promote. “We get what we settle for.”

 

Godin, Seth 15/11/12, “Accepting Small Promises”. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2012/11/accepting-small-promises.html

 

Categories
Supply Chain

Kinks in Apple’s Supply Chain Threaten Stock Price

As we discussed in COMM 101, supply chains are extremely important in the success of a brand. It’s the process in which their products go from the factory to consumers hands, hopefully within the shortest and most effective amount of time. The effectiveness of a supply chain can be a measuring stick for investors when appraising the managerial components of a company.

Since the death of co-founder Steve Jobs, Apple management has come under intense scrutiny from investors as well as the general public. In past years, Chief Operations Officer, Tim Cook’s “fantastic attention to detail” has provided apple with a reliable and effective supply chain. However, now that Cook has taken over as CEO of Apple, issues in the supply chain have surfaced. Cook can no longer focus on optimizing the supply chain, thus raising managerial questions amongst investors.

Apple latest products, including: iPad Mini, iPhone, and the iMac are all expected to have major shipping delays, with the iMac shipping dates pushed back to after the holiday season, resulting in a huge loss of potential revenue.

These issues could be one of the contributing factors to the constant “roller coaster” tendencies of Apple’s stock, with investors losing faith in the effectiveness of management.

Spence, Ewan 11/18/12, “Apple’s Supply Chain Issues Reflected In Stock Pricing”. http://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2012/11/18/apples-supply-chain-issues-reflected-in-stock-pricing/

Categories
Accounting

Accounting Designation Merger Reaches an Impasse

Over the last year or so there have been talks about a merger between Canada’s accounting designations CMA, CGA, and CA. The streamlining of these three designations would put Canada in a position to have their accountants equivalent to those in the United States with a CPA designation. This week discussions took a negative turn, with Ontario CGA’s dropping their support for the merger, thus collapsing talks.

Without Ontario, a national merger is not feasible; Ontario has the highest concentration of accountants in Canada. British Columbia is going ahead with a provincial merger of the CA and CMA designations.

Having immediate family with a CA designation and another with a CMA, this is a common issue of debate in my household. It appears both are happy with the decision, as they will now receive an internationally recognized designation, with a streamlined system with the United States. This merger will also cut down membership dues, as  the combined membership fees should improve efficiency for the Institute administration, as there will only be one Board.

Ultimately, this merge is a win-win. The CA’s do not have to worry about their designation being marginalized as they will be the CPA.CA, while benefiting from the increase in efficiency.

 

Shifelt, Tim 30/10/12, “Canadian Accounting Merger Hits the Rocks”.http://business.financialpost.com/2012/05/17/canadian-accounting-merger-hits-the-rocks/

 

Categories
Accounting Media

Make-Believe Accounting from the Canadian Government

The Canadian Government has released the latest First Nations education funding numbers.  The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations is up in arms about the funding promised by the government claiming “The government’s numbers are, in fact, fairy tales. Their falsified numbers are really Pinocchio accounting”. According to The Leader Post, a Regina based daily paper, Aboriginal schools only receive $6,500 per student whereas English and French based school receive between $10,000-$18,000 per student. These numbers are drastically different than those put forth by the government, who claim to spend an average of $13,000 per student aboriginal student. 
It is astounding to think the government could make such large lapses in their figures. One must take the numbers proposed by the Leader with a grain of salt, even though they claim “most estimates” have drawn the same conclusion. What I was able to take away from this article was not only should we question the numbers and facts given to us by our government but also from our media. Also, when the government’s reliability has been questioned, who is there to audit them?

 

Warick, Jason. “FSIN Rips Ottawa for ‘Pinocchio Accounting'” http://www.leaderpost.com/news/FSIN+rips+Ottawa+Pinocchio+accounting/7366316/story.html

Categories
Branding

Branding American Elections

Image is a huge component in presidential campaigns; however, this is not limited to the actions or appearance of the candidates themselves, it is also applicable to the tiny little picture that represents each candidate in a big way. The article in Bostintio breaks down each candidates logos, the very basis for how they brand themselves.

This election year, Obama chose to reuse his previous logo from his 2012 campaign, in the hopes the poll results will mirror those of 2008. His logo is a “raising sun over the American flag”, not so coincidently forming the shape of an “O”.

 

Alternatively, Obama’s marketing team did switch his Motto from “Change We Can Believe in” to simply “Forward”. I interpreted this change in motto to reflect the change in direction of his current campaign.

 I find it fascinating that Romney opted for the simplistic approach to his image. The “R” figure could not only reperent him, but also his party, the Republicans. It is also interesting to note that Romney opted for a more patriotic american approach when designing his motto “Believe in America”, clearly attempting to sway voters based on national pride.

Branding is such an important part of the presidential race because it is how the candidate will be preserved by the public during the election. The details behind the process are fascinating and applicable to not only politics, but also to the marketing, specifically branding, profession.

Peckham, Deb 05/10/12, “Presidential Branding: Trademarking on the Campaign Trail”. http://bostinno.com/channels/presidential-branding-trademarking-on-the-campaign-trail/ 

Categories
Finance

EU Trading Tax: Saviour or Suicide

There are 11 European Union countries currently discussing the possibilities of implementing a .1% tax on all bonds and shares traded. The main goal of this tax would be “to curb risky, speculative trades and perhaps even create a fund that could be used to help banks in trouble”. The tax revenue would then be used as a safety net for the banks within the participating nations. Some analysts are weary of this tax due to it’s  potential implications on the already struggling EU economy.
A tax could further slow European trading and potentially have the opposite effect than originally intended. The key supporters of the tax are France and Germany, whereas the Netherlands and Britain have expressed concerns about the plan. The tax would lead to more unified European banks with similar regulations. The countries involved are proposing a shift from lending to each country, to lending to the banks themselves.
I feel as though a .01% tax is so inconsequential, even in large trades, it would have a positive effect on the EU. It would add the illusion of security, which is ultimately what investors are looking for in Europe at the moment.

Don Melvin, Sarah Dilorenzo 09/10/12, “EU Fin Mins Tackle Thorny Issue of Banking Union” . http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/101556–eu-finance-ministers-tackle-difficult-issues-of-banking-union-financial-transaction-tax

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