The United Nations is the global governing body that essentially attempts to manage all global affairs.

If the United Nations was fully funded why would we need the Arc or social enterprise?

In Ngaire Woods’ blog post “Four ways to change the way we lead“, Woods expresses her views on how global governance can be changed for the better. I agree with many of the viewpoints including the four changes she proposed.

• Considering the view from academia
• Overcoming the challenges of leadership
• Promoting change
• Choosing battles

The purpose of the United Nations is to maintain international peace and foster social and economic development. Although the most powerful international organization in the world is fully funded, the reason why social enterprises and initiatives such as the Arc are needed is because of Woods’ four critical points. Considering the fact that the UN is composed of world leaders with drastically different viewpoints, it is difficult for them to make decisions. With large-scale decisions, it is almost impossible to come to a consensus. If it’s already such a difficulty to make decisions, the United Nations will face even further problems in choosing which problems to solve. Let’s face it – there are way too many problems in our world for one group to solve, no matter how powerful they are.

Sauder has extended their ARC initiative to many countries including Ethiopia.

This is where social enterprises take action. Due to the fact that the United Nations is unable to effectively handle every single issue on their radar, it is up to society to step in. Social enterprises are able to remedy global issues with their contributions, whether it be small or large. Without them, the UN would be on their own trying to solve every issue on the planet. Woods’ four points are great in theory, but very difficult to implement and ultimately idealistic. I think the UN is functioning as intended and social enterprises are simply necessary to keep Earth spinning.

Google Glass.

I remember watching the official Google Glass promotion video on YouTube last year and being completely astounded by the technology that was featured in the product. If you asked me then, I would’ve been certain that the product would turn the tech market on its head and every tech savvy consumer would want to get their hands on their own pair of “smart glasses” as soon as possible. A year later, the promising “Google Glass” seems to be all but forgotten.

There has been much speculation regarding why the product hasn’t taken off in the market. Some experts say it’s because of the expensive price tag while others have blamed poor marketing. In my opinion, the $1500 price tag is not the issue especially considering an iPhone is priced at half that amount and consumers don’t even hesitate to grab the latest model. While Google hasn’t focused too much on advertising their newest product, the hype surrounding Google Glass was undeniable. So what’s holding it back?

Google Glass gives users an “augmented reality” experience similar to the one seen in Ironman.

Juniper Research predicts that Google Glass won’t “take off” until 2018. A bold prediction that seemed unjustified at first, but the more I think about Google Glass, the more it rings true. In class lectures, we learned that a crucial aspect of any product is how effectively it relieves a consumer pain. That’s where the product falls short. As the article says, the smart-glasses “lack a key consumer use case”. Sure Google Glass features a variety of new technology that may be exciting for a niche market of tech enthusiasts, it has little to no appeal to most consumers. Smartphones have the same functionality in a more convenient and practical package.

Perhaps in the future, Google Glass will make a breakthrough but in our world today, there is no place for Glass.

A great idea on paper, but lacks purpose in everyday life.

The once iconic North Face Nuptse jacket is falling out of popularity.

As North Face’s Nuptse jacket falls out of flavour, the Vancouver male demographic is constantly searching for the next best alternative to get them through the chilly winter. Although many different companies have tried to take the spot at the top, it seems that Canada Goose has come out of the brawl victorious. While many outerwear companies have moved to Asia to reduce costs and stay competitive, Canada Goose refuses to do so. Even after their sale to a U.S. private equity firm, CEO Dani Reiss refuses to put the quality of their jackets at risk. The company insists on staying “Made-in-Canada” and has committed to the decision by opening a new 100,000-square-foot factory in Toronto.

Canada Goose outerwear has been a popular buy despite their large price tag.

Staying true to their business model, Canada Goose expects double-digit growth in the following years. Reiss, unlike other CEOs in the outerwear industry, believes that it is extremely important to maintain premium quality even if it means keeping their price seemingly non-competitive. I think that Reiss’ approach is why the company has had such unparalleled success in their respective market. By trusting in their original business model of Canadian-made products and living up to their promise of sustainability, it’s no surprise that Canada Goose has found a spot at the top. At premium prices of up to $1,000 per jacket, more and more customers are still choosing Canada Goose over its competitors. As an owner of a few of their products, I think consumers are attracted to the company because of their reliability and reputation. When you purchase a Canada Goose jacket, you get exactly what you pay for – a luxurious, durable jacket constructed with sustainable yet high-end materials. Moving forward, I think many companies will follow in their footsteps and realize that price is not the only deal-breaker when it comes to outerwear.

Stylish and durable, Canada Goose jackets has found its home in many closets.

ABC’s Scandal averages 10 million viewers every Thursday night.

I was watching ABC’s Scandal last night and Mellie Grant (played by Bellamy Young) was continuously grieving over her dead son for numerous episodes. During these episodes, I noticed just how often they focused on the UGG boots Young was wearing as a symbol of comfort. I wondered, how on earth did the brand become so massive?

Mellie Grant in her “casual” outfit on ABC’s Scandal.

At first glance, the majority of UGG boots aren’t the most visually appealing. They are bulky, high maintenance and also sport an expensive price tag. How did the brand manage to skyrocket to success? Brian Smith, founder of UGG Australia, shared six characteristics that he saw in all successful entrepreneurs. 

• Ignorance
• Perseverance
• Knowledge of their audience
• Starting small
• Love for what they do
• Knowledge of when to step back

UGG Australia struggled to market their product for all-seasons.

In founding the worldwide success UGG Australia, Brian Smith displayed all of these traits admirably. In reality, all of these traits go hand in hand. All the odds were against Smith when he first launched his product in the early 1980s but he was ignorant enough to trust his product and maintain his faith because he truly loved what he did. With passion, he was able to persevere through the rough patches and eventually grow his small door-to-door business into a moderate success. He knew the majority market was the American demographic so he focused his advertising on that audience. After doing all he could, he sold his brand to Deckers, who elevated the brand to its full potential.

Through Smith’s story, I learned that more often than not, success is not spontaneous – especially in business. It isn’t enough to simply rely on luck to carry you to the top. A brand that I thought magically fit into consumer values actually had a long history of hardship before its massive success. Through UGG Australia, I feel more confidence in pursuing my own brand in the future and hopefully my hard work will pay off too.

If you live in the Metro Vancouver area, chances are you’ve heard of Earnest Ice Cream. Situated on Fraser and East King Edward, this humble business has bloomed into a local favorite within a matter of months. In Elaine Nguyen’s blog “Earnest Ice Cream, Seriously Good.“, the ice cream business received praise for “emphasizing their passion for sustainability and the usage of natural ingredients.” While the facts she stated about Earnest Ice Cream certainly correspond with the company’s recent success, I don’t believe their business model was completely driven by a passion for sustainability. If you ask me, their success can mostly be attributed to the company capitalizing on shifts in mainstream trends and consumer values.

Mason jars and cardboard labels

In an urban area such as Metro Vancouver, social media trends can play a large role in influencing what consumers want from the products they consume. Recently, the “hipster” trend has taken over all social media platforms and with the trend brought forward a drastic change in consumer values. Characteristics such as simplicity, minimalism, and being unique suddenly make a product much more attractive and the product Earnest Ice Cream produces fits right in. After visiting the company’s Instagram, you can see that they clearly market their product with emphasis on “hipster” appeal. The use of simplistic and unique  packaging (mason jars and paper bags) in addition to a store created with wood can easily be a strategy to appeal to the market rather than a pursue for passion. The same can be said about Herschel (Instagram), a rising travel goods company that utilizes the same strategies in their sudden rise to success.

The store executes a flawless “hipster” ambiance.

The bottom line is that it is difficult and often erroneous to judge a company’s motives based solely on their actions. Whether they are driven by passion or profit, we will never know. One thing is for sure, whatever it is they’re doing – it’s working. 

Enbridge specializes in the delivery of energy in the form of oil.

In Derrick Feng’s “A Spark between First Nations and BC Hydro“, he addresses the conflict between First Nations groups and BC Hydro’s new dam project. Although he focuses on government intervention being the link between companies and First Nations conflicts, I think that the conflicts are caused by the companies themselves. In the case regarding Enbridge, I believe that the opposition that the company faces is caused by their own ignorance towards the First Nations’ needs.

Enbridge has been pushing for the Northern Gateway project for what seems like forever. In short, the project is to build a pipeline from the Athabasca oil sands in Bruderheim, Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia. Naturally, these projects come with many environmental concerns as well as a variety of political roadblocks. While the B.C. economy may flourish on all cylinders if the plan follows through, an abundance of people are opposed to the project, especially Aboriginal groups. At first glance, it appears to be a plausible idea to build the twin pipelines through northern British Columbia as the majority of the B.C. population is concentrated along the U.S. border. However,  Enbridge has been faced with a socio-cultural barrier that they still haven’t been able to overcome. Aboriginals have come together to form groups like the Yinka Dene Alliance in opposition of Enbridge’s plans. Aside from the obvious environmental concerns that follows pipeline projects, Enbridge is proposing a project that runs through land that belongs to the Aboriginals. In efforts to push the project into motion, Enbridge has offered Aboriginal groups plenty of financial benefits to compromise for the use of their land. No bueno.

Enbridge battles opposition with signs.

It seems that the more Enbridge tries to compromise, the stronger the opposition becomes. Why? I believe that the only way Enbridge can push this project through is if they change their stance. They must realize that a large portion of the B.C. population is more concerned with the environment rather than the economic issues. Clean water definitely takes priority over market capital for many. Whether this is right or wrong is debatable, but if Enbridge remodels their project to cater towards environmentally friendly ideals, there’s a much higher chance the general public is willing to give it a shot. In the end, it all comes down to the Aboriginals. The simplest alternative is to simply leave them alone. If Enbridge thinks they’ll win this battle against the aboriginals, they’re wrong. They need to stop wasting resources and rethink their project because at this point, the only pipeline being built carries money down the drain.

Whatsapp Messenger

Hey, Whatsapp? Slowly but surely, Whatsapp messenger has taken over the mobile instant messaging industry. Founded back in 2009 by two former Yahoo! employees, Whatsapp was developed when Apple made a crucial modification that changed third-party development forever. Push notifications. This allowed third-party applications to alert users when they are not using their phones. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the developers of Whatsapp launched a multimedia messenger that was similar to PC applications such as Skype and MSN Messenger. At the time, instant messaging was at the pinnacle of their rise in popularity. It was an instant success as mobile users were looking for a messaging experience that was more advanced than simply “texting”. With Whatsapp, users are able to send voice messages, pictures and videos without the extra MMS charges that would be applied to normal text messaging. Ultimately, this gave users the PC-esque experience at the palm of their hands. As the seemingly small company of only 55 employees climbed its way and solidified its position as one of the top mobile apps of its time, Facebook Inc. purchased the company for $19 billion US dollars. What started as a small messaging application became what is now an eleven-figure money making machine. Starting out in the Apple App Store as a $0.99 application, Whatsapp expanded to practically every platform available. Since then, the company also made their messenger free, charging users a fee of $0.99 for every following year they use Whatsapp – and of course, everyone renews their subscription because an equally effective alternative simply doesn’t exist. In the present day, Whatsapp is home to 600 million registered users and is above and beyond any mobile competitors. Although Apple has made its Messages application to be almost identical to Whatsapp, it cannot compete simply due to Whatsapp’s multi-platform nature. With the success of Whatsapp, telecommunications companies are watching the “texting” phenomenon fade away into the past as the word on the street is now, “Hey, Whatsapp me.”

Calvin Harris performing at a live concert.

Over the course of 2013, the electronic dance music (EDM) genre has generated over 4 billion dollars in revenue primarily through music sales, live performances and concerts. The EDM phenomenon has evolved from targeting a specific audience to being on practically every mainstream radio station across the globe. The sudden influx in popularity is mainly due to a change in what people look for in music. First off, EDM music is easily accessible. While it is illegal to pirate music files, EDM tracks are widely pirated with minimal resistance. In fact, many electronic artists allow their music to be downloaded for free! Armin van Buuren, one of the most popular DJs of our time, proclaimed that it is more important for EDM music to be accessible for everyone rather than to restrict it to those who can afford to pay. This way, even though many artists lose out on revenue generated through consumers buying music, they gain exposure and the genre continues to grow as a whole. The exposure leads to where the artists thrive, live performances and concerts. Because EDM is so widely accessible, fans are more inclined to spend their money to see these DJs live. It just so happens that the genre produces music that encourages dancing and partying which perfectly targets the audience that primarily purchases music and concert tickets in the first place. According to Forbes magazine, Calvin Harris – a prominent DJ in the industry – made 46 million dollars in 2013. That’s more than pop superstars such as Katy Perry and Jay-Z! His success is mostly attributed to the fact that he played over 70 shows throughout the year and released many hit singles at plagued radios and music players around the world. As the genre continues to grow, it seems that there is only more money to be made. On average, a live electronic music festival can cost around $80-$100 for a single show. With over thousands of people attending each event, it shouldn’t be surprising that DJs are willing to give up a few music sales. With new DJs emerging in the industry and fan bases expanded exponentially, EDM is definitely here to stay.

Tomorrowland Music Festival

Riot Games

In 2009, Riot Games released a multiplayer online battle area (MOBA) game known as League of Legends. With Riot Games being a fairly new company, nobody expected League of Legends to grow at such a tremendous rate with no sign of slowing down. As of today, the game is home to over 7.5 million players daily and is largely regarded by most as one of the greatest video games in history. Between April 2013 and March 2014, Riot Games managed to achieve a revenue of 937 million US dollars  while staying privately traded and keeping their game free-to-play. Riot Games’ success has been a surprise to many, but upon further inspection it becomes evident the company’s success is definitely not a fluke. First off, their product – League of Legends – is literally a click away for anyone interested. By being free-to-play, the game’s player base is growing every single day and veteran players have all the reasons to stay. The game is constantly being updated to keep the content fresh and gameplay is monitored by staff to ensure that the community is friendly. In addition, Riot employees are constantly interacting with the online community through Reddit and other forms of social media. This is where the company capitalizes. By having a genuinely fantastic product and unparalleled customer service, Riot Games is able to run a free-to-play game while making incredible profit through in-game currency, merchandise and advertisements during their live broadcasts. Recently, the game has also evolved into one of the most popular spectator sports on the planet. Because the game is complex enough to be competitive yet simple enough to easily understand the basics, even those who don’t play the game can enjoy watching the pros. The emergence of competitive League of Legends has turned gamers into professional personalities with large fanbases and sparked a growth in the entire Esports industry. Having the champion skin that your favorite professional player uses is now equivalent to owning your favorite basketball player’s jersey. Now, where does Riot Games go from here? Well at this point in time, it seems like the sky is the limit.

Fans can watch as their favorite teams face off in the competitive scene.

Apple. This five letter word primarily refers to the fruit that fell on Newton’s head which inspired the formulation of his theory of gravitation. Today, we associate the word “apple” with something drastically different. Instead of fruit, we picture iconic electronics with the patented logo of a bitten apple we all know and love. Let’s face it – the reputation of Apple products is among the best in the world. Apple products are simple yet effective and are coupled with exceptional customer service and unrivaled innovation. From a consumer’s perspective, what’s not to love? However, upon further analysis of the corporation, the rainbows and butterflies come to a halt. Year after year, Apple continuously supports the violation of human rights on the other side of the spectrum, its workers. Apple has been chastised for unsafe working conditions in its supplier factories all across the world. This is an ongoing issue that plagues the brand. In reality, Apple has been abusing workers in foreign factories (notably Foxconn) for many years. According to Freeman’s stakeholder theory, it isn’t enough for Apple to simply have excellent customer service and amazing products. A successful business must prioritize all of its components with ethical morals and values which most definitely includes treating its employees fairly. Recently, media reports have heavily criticized Apple’s support for companies such as Foxconn but the corporation continues to strive. Are we, the consumers of today, completely unaltered by unethical actions? With the upcoming release of the iPhone 6 and the corporation’s recent unethical business practices, Apple’s loyal customers will be put to the test. Will they continue to support their favorite products through the commotion? Hopefully not.

A typical Foxconn factory.