Melissa Ng's Blog

Especially in the society we live in today where there are more students graduating from post-secondary institutions than ever, having an education background is not enough to get a job. The reputation of the school may attract employers, but it is the work experiences that land you the job.

In Ryan Zhou’s blog post “Apprentieships”, he states that apprenticeships are very helpful in allowing students to gain hands-on experience to allow a “better understanding of concepts.” I agree with him that real-life experience is necessary in order to better understand the concepts taught in lectures and seeing the application that the theories have in the real world. Simply sitting in classrooms and listening to the professor speak is not enough to allow a student to be ready for the face-paced world today. While apprenticeships are a great way to gain work experience, there are also numerous other ways to gain hands-on experience related to your field of study including internships or co-ops provided by most post-secondary institutions. Apprenticeships usually require you to work in a “workplace for 2 to 5 years” as stated in the Canada Business Network Blog, while internships and co-ops may only be for one semester (approximately three months) to one full year. With internships and co-ops, there is more flexibility to choose when to work such as during summer vacation or taking a semester off, while Apprenticeships do not usually provide the opportunity to choose the work term.

As the second largest discount retailer in the United States, the entry of Target into Canada will greatly impact many retailers including Wal-Mart, Costco, Canadian Tires and Sears. Matthew Kan’s blog post about Target Coming to Vancouver states that there are “multiple negative effects [the] new introduction could have on our Canadian economy.” I agree with him that even though consumers may be able to enjoy the benefits of less expensive yet high-end products, many businesses will be hit hard, potentially sending shock waves through the retail industry such as when Wal-Mart arrived in Canada in the 1990’s. As a result of Wal-Mart’s entry, there was a lot of disruption and many retailers went out of business. Given the large power Target has in the retail world, the arrival of Target will cause many businesses to be at a great risk and a potential disruption in the retail industry.

Although I agree with Matthew’s statement about Target’s arrival having a negative impact on Canadian retail companies, I disagree with his statement that “there will be more jobs available, helping boost Canada’s unemployment and economy with the expanse of new job opportunities.” The Huffington Post states that there is a plan to open “200 new stores and hire some 27,000 employees.”¹ However, in order to do so, employees of Zellars will inevitably be let go. The Star states, “An estimated 27,300 employees [from Zellars] are being let go as a result of the transaction.”² The creation of job opportunities at the expense of laying off other employees will not boost Canada’s unemployment rate as there will be even more people that will be unemployed as a result of Target’s entry. The 27,000 new people that will be employed compared to the 27,300 employees that will be laid off will cause the economy to be a little bit worse off than before.

Other Sources:

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Target+entry+Canada+into+competition/7329733/story.html

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Target+takes+Canada+with+plans+open+stores+Calgary/7082180/story.html

After I read Liz Ryan’s blog post, “When Your Manager Is Afraid of You”, I suddenly got an “aha” moment. I got a sudden realization of the thought process of people with a high position within a company.

Liz Ryan tells an interview between her and Kate, a marketing associate that had started a job at a company not long ago. Within just ten months in the company, Kate had accomplished many things such as getting “the VP of Sales [to ask her] to speak at his annual sales meeting. [Pulling] the executive speeches archive together on [her own]. [Launching] a newsletter, [and building] a training program.” Her six-month performance review was stellar, however, her boss started to show enmity and “[pick at her] over tiny, stupid things”. After hearing this, Ryan instantly knew the problem. She states that the reason for the hostility is that the boss is “terrified. He worries that [she’ll] outshine him.” Ryan continues by insisting that he has a lot at stake, as he has a lot of status to lose.

After reading the article, a sudden memory popped up in my head. During the summer, when I was working as a data entry assistant at an office, my boss had told me a story about how someone he knew went to an interview for a position at a company. His friend told my boss that the interview had gone very well, from the beginning to the end. However, right when the interview was about to end, the interviewer said to his friend, “I’m sorry but I cannot hire you. You are exceptionally intelligent and qualified. In fact, you exceed the qualification and requirements and for that reason, I cannot hire you. If I gave you the job, my position will inevitably be threatened.”

At first, when I heard the story, I had laughed. How is it possible that someone could be considered “overqualified” for a position, and therefore not be hired? People that are lacking in aspects of skill or qualities may not be hired, but people that exceed the requirements or qualifications will not be hired either? It seems very ridiculous and controversial to me that someone can be unable to get a job or potentially be fired because they exceed qualifications or are doing their job “too well”.

For the first time in decades, the sales of diamonds have been declining as the colored gem trade has increased in sales.  Rubies, sapphires, and topaz stones have become increasingly popular when choosing engagement rings due to many reasons. Colored gems are less expensive and celebrities have stirred up a great interest in these colored gems. For the first time since 2008, diamond prices are declining.

           VS                        

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-15/maybe-diamonds-arent-forever#p1

Before entering University, I have never head of Dragon’s Den. However, after hearing that the show was about aspiring entrepreneurs giving pitches about their ideas or products to the “dragons” to acquire financial support by giving ownership for a part of their company, I became quite interested in the show.

In one episode, three recent university graduates invented an apparel company called “Ten Trees”. Their business model is that for every item that is sold, the company plants 10 trees. One of the dragons, Kevin O’Leary was doubtful that the venture would last long. He did not believe that people would care enough about planting ten trees that they would be willing to pay more for their clothing. Arlene Dickinson, however, believes otherwise as she said, “The future of business is to be socially responsible, environmentally friendly, and make money.”

I absolutely agree with Arlene Dickinson that the future of businesses is to be socially responsible. Instead of thinking purely about making a profit, more businesses will strive to make People, Planet Profit as people have become increasingly aware of the many social issues in society including the extreme effects of global warming and the exploitation of resources that harm the environment. I believe people will be willing to pay a few more dollars in order to help restore the environment to purchase apparel from Ten Trees. The success of TOMS is an example of how a social enterprise can make a profit while also addressing a social issue. People will be more willing to purchase products in which they know that they will be a part of addressing or changing a social issue. Knowing that their money spent will provide them with a product while also being able to tackle an environmental issue to protect nature and make a difference will be an incentive for consumers to choose a product from Ten Trees.

Sources:

http://tentree.org/category/about/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kFj97amzEY

The new BYOB move allows customers to bring their own bottles of wine to restaurants in exchange for a $5-$25 corkage fee. While the announcement may seem to benefit costumers, is this a good news or bad news for restaurants?

I believe that the new rule put into place is good news for restaurants. One might say that restaurants may lose alcohol sales as customers will most likely bring their own bottle of wine instead of ordering it from the restaurant. However, I disagree. Customers who usually order a bottle of wine at a restaurant will most likely continue to order wine at the restaurant because to them the extra $10-$15 is insignificant, and will not be an incentive to alter their decision in whether to bring wine or to order wine. While customers who usually do not order wine at restaurants will continue to not order the wine at restaurants. The new rule may provide an opportunity or an incentive for customers to go out to eat more, at a relaxing and nice atmosphere while also not having to spend the extra money for a bottle of wine. I think the new BYOB rule may actually be an incentive for more customers to dine out more in restaurants, thus actually increasing the restaurants’ profits.

Source: Class 1 readings

As one of the fastest-growing sector in Canadian retailing, dollar stores are seen as threats by retailers including WalMart, Target, and Canadian Tire. As the Canadian market leader Dollarama Inc. expands aggressively and is now appealing to middle-class as well as the upper-class, retailers are panicking. Dollar store sales have risen drastically, approximately 9% every year since 2009. The appeal of convenience, simplicity and low prices are drawing consumers back for repurchasing.

Walmart and Canadian Tire tried to recapture customers who drifted to Dollar Store by having promotions such as the “dollar deal” Canadian Tire ran recently.  Walmart tried to reorganize their shelves to have a $1, $2, and $3 shelves.

The threat of dollar stores has become a big concern for retailers, and it is not hard to see why. With the low prices of items ranging from necessitates to more luxurious items, customers are being drawn to the stores. I believe that Walmart and Canadian Tire should not focus on trying to beat the prices of Dollar store as they had by trying to match their prices. Walmart and Canadian Tire or any other retail store that are threatened by the low retail pricing store should focus on providing a fair price for good quality items. Given that prices for dollar store products are immensely low, the low cost will result in a product that is not of very high quality. Therefore instead of trying to compete with dollar store on a price level, other retail stores should focus on providing a higher level of quality for their products at a fair price.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/how-canadas-retailers-discounted-the-rise-of-the-dollar-store/article4596897/

Microsoft Corp. has launched a new interactive way to advertise to consumers, called NUads on Xbox Kinect. This interactive marketing strategy allows users of the Xbox to interact with ads by completing engaging quizzes or answering poll questions about a product. This way, users will “pay more attention to [the ads] – since the system allows people often to choose which ads they watch.” ¹ This new way of marketing allows companies “to reach people in a new way” and allow firms to be “part of something that’s new.” ¹

With the 21^st century being massively digitally revolutionized, the integration of online advertisements has increased substantially, but that does not mean that they are effective. Online banner advertisements are mostly ignored, pop-up ads are instantly closed, and video ads are skipped due to the consumer knowing that they are constantly looking at ads. Conversely, with the new interactive way of marketing, I believe consumers will be more willing to pay attention to the ads as they are much more interesting. With interactive ads, not only will the audience be able to engage in real time (possibly thinking of it as playing a “game”, instead of thinking of it as an ad), but companies will also be able to obtain feedback directly from consumers. I believe that consumers have an automatic negative connotation associated with the word “ad” as they believe that businesses are just trying to convince them to buy the company’s products. However, with the interactive ads the consumers’ mindset may change, thinking of it as playing a game instead of constantly thinking in the back of their minds that businesses are just trying to get consumers to buy their commodities.

¹ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-ews/marketing/microsoft-xbox-ads-go-interactive/article4568297/

 With the news of the iPhone 5 being released into the market, consumers camped outside stores at least 12 hours prior to the product being available for sale, this being a normal occurrence whenever a new Apple product is released. However, just how different is the iPhone 5 from the iPhone 4s? Sure, some new features are added and the length of the screen is an inch or so longer, but can it be just these two new additions to the product the reason that millions of consumers worldwide waited in line outside stores to get their hands on the “newly, and highly innovative” product?

I believe that it is not the product itself that consumers are willing to spend a colossal amount of money on. One customer, Rosenblum, 49 stated, “I wanted to make sure that I got one of the new iPhone 5s, and I wanted to make sure I got one on the first day,”¹. The heavy emphasis on needing to be one of the firsts to acquire the product may show that consumers are not buying the product; instead they are buying the idea of being one of the firsts to own such a “cool and hip” product in which they would be able to show their family and friends. If not, why do consumers have to buy the product the moment it is released, having to wait at least 12 hours in line instead of waiting a week after the product is released and possibly not having to line up at all? It is not as if the price of the product is less expensive on the day it is released, as the prices of Apple devices are usually constant. On CBC News, it was reported that “In London, England, some people camped out for a week to be among the first to get the phone.”² Is the idea of being “first” really that important in the society we are live in to the extent of willing to wait patiently for hours upon hours?

¹ http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_21602689/iphone-hype-creation-consumer-behavoir-and-apple-strategy

² http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/09/21/apple-iphone-launch-sale.html

One of the most common unethical business practices involves the use of child labour and forced labour. Most often, when we turn to the news channel on the television, we hear about different businesses being discovered to contravene the child labour law. In order to decrease the cost of employing workers, businesses go to the extent of performing such scandalous practices hoping to gain a wider marginal profit. The cruel and cold-hearted nature of companies to maximize their profits in turn opens the door to an atrocious world for minors. In the following case, the unethical issues of using child labour and forced labour, disregarding health, safety and environmental standards are displayed:

Not only were the minors exposed to the dangers of meatpacking (slaughtering and packing areas of a  meat or poultry plant), but they also worked in a horrendous working environment as they were exposed to perilous chemicals and worked with prohibited tools such as knives and saws.

Many of the minors were asked about their employment experience at the plant after the raid, and many, deeming that they had nothing to lose voiced out their experiences. The children claimed that they were forced to work long hours, working as much as 17 hours a day, and were not paid for working overtime. They also declared that they were put to work on the production lines, having to use knives to cut meat and poultry with little or no safety training.

Even though the main goal of businesses is usually to maximize their profits, I believe that all businesses should have a clear and distinct line separating what should be done and what should be avoided. Many times, companies are blinded by their profit goals, leading to them crossing the line between what is right and what is wrong (not just by law, but by personal values as well).

For more information on the article, click the following link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/us/06meat.html?_r=1&ref=childlabor