First and foremost, although the United Nations and social enterprises such as UBC’s Arc Initiative share a similar goal in creating social change in the world, they achieve their respective goals in a different manner. The purpose of the UN is to create international peace and security, while promoting culture, individualism, and fundamental freedoms. Collectively, the 193 participating nations and partners embark on “multi-stakeholder initiatives” around the world, with the focus of fostering the aforementioned values. So why would we need social enterprises if the UN exist and is fully funded?

The UN is always in the midst of amendment: they solve prevailing problems and inequalities in the world by either getting their hands dirty or by pumping money, necessities, or whatever it may be into the struggling community. In contrast, social enterprises find solutions to global problems through innovation. For example, Jim Frurchterman promoted the use of technology to confront human rights issues. This form of innovating from within and listening to individual voices is what makes programs such as Arc Initiative invaluable to society and therefore needed even if the UN is fully funded.

The qualities of a social entrepreneurs include being ambitious, mission-driven, strategic, resourceful, and results orientated. These qualities resonate within Sauder students and that is why students like Arielle Uwonkunda, through her “renaissance trip,” have already become young and impactful social entrepreneurs. For these reasons, social enterprises and entrepreneurs are quintessential in cultivating growth and solutions to the world and to the individual.

As Felix Salmon puts it in his blog, Facebook can either “make or break media companies:  if it sends you traffic you’re golden; if it takes it away, you’re toast.”  Facebook’s desire to keep users within its universe is bad news for publishers on the open web.  Publishers that use Facebook are plagued with the loss of control over their readers, the loss of data, and are forced to share ad revenues with Facebook. I agree with Felix’s point that publishers face a tradeoff in either having traffic or control.  This raises questions as to how publishers should deal with Facebook, a “paralleled internet.”  Facebook proposes that media companies outsource their news and effectively become the supplier of content, while Facebook becomes the distributor.  I believe that the shared ad revenue that is generated is not enough for publishers to become merely a number amongst Facebook, just like its users.

If I were a publisher, the ambiguity of Facebook’s algorithms is something that dissuades me from associating my company with Facebook.  I have no idea how my content is being distributed and who is reading it.  However, if my media’s goal is to reach out to users and catch their attention, then fine, outsourcing content through Facebook is a viable option.  However, if my goal is to ultimately get users to use my web app, Facebook does not do a good job of that because it traps users within its servers.  Unfortunately, the vast majority of the media economy wants control over their feeds and therefore are suffering from Facebook’s internet dictatorship.

Felix’s Facebook Blog

http://www.felixsalmon.com/ 

Why businesses should refuse Facebook’s deal 

Intuitively, the University of Warwick’s studies make sense; however, I disagree with Graham’s suggestion that companies such as Zappos should cut costs at the expense of diluting corporate culture. Companies that clearly define and promote a distinct corporate strategy are ultimately the most successful.

 Zappos’ large-scale success is because of a distinct corporate culture that resonates within its employees and customers. Employees at Zappos are not being paid for high-end skills or talent; they are being paid for operational productivity. This is achieved through incentivizing employees by offering a family environment, health benefits, and opportunities for internal promotion, which all decrease employee turnover. Other successful companies such as Google do not need to offer benefits or compensation. They can have a cold, profit maximizing corporate attitude because employee turnover is actually desired. Technology companies thrive on cycling through top talent and need turnover to inject new ideas. Furthermore, young employees of tech companies better themselves through turnover by gaining experience from company to company.

The corporate culture of Amazon, Zappos’ parent company since 2009, is an example of another successful, yet distinct corporate culture. Amazon undercuts all low cost competition including Walmart through squeezing the life out its workers and through controversial cost minimization. Nevertheless, Amazon is by far the largest and most successful online distributor in the world that monopolizes the industry with its ability to buy out competitors.

Amazon – Dark Side of a Commercial Empire

The Future of Work: Amazon vs Zappos

Graham’s Blogpost

After listening to Paul Davidescu talk about his mobile app in class, I have become intrigued by technological entrepreneurship and in particular, how success is contingent on perseverance. After Tangoo’s initial operational failures, the company became successful through altering their business strategy. At the first sign of financial troubles, it is far too common for entrepreneurs to give up. Although we can give credit to Davidescu and his team for a successful recovery and launch, moving forward and monetizing new ideas will be very hard. For example, even as Tangoo usage increases, restaurants are unlikely to pay for a better profile or for advertisement on the app when there already exists many other direct methods of influencing customers. Subsequently, revenue streams are limited for most apps and that is why I would recommend making a premium app: adding wait times or aesthetically enhancing the app for example are some ways of making an upgrade desirable.

Tangoo’s November 26^th featuring on Dragon’s Den will give Tangoo an opportunity to leverage itself with brand awareness, connections, and many other intangible benefits that come from publicity. In addition, the investors, namely the “Dragons,” and Tangoo can mutually benefit from sharing equity in the company. The purchase of a stake in the company not only fuels Tangoo’s growth with immediate positive cash flow, it also gives the business a proper valuation, which is something that is always vague for small and upcoming enterprises. As the company begins to expand nationally, publicity and built up sweat-equity may be the catalyst of long run success. A report from Statistics Canada says that over 60% of small enterprises rely on local markets. Tangoo’s keenness to defy this statistic through expansion is great, but it will become harder and harder to infiltrate the smaller cities in Canada.

Tangoo Small Business Globe and Mail Article

https://tangoo.ca/

Paul and Tangoo team’s Journey to Dragon’s Den

Three years a go, Blackberry held 43% of the market share in Indonesia, which is the Canadian company’s largest “market-bastion.” Blackberry’s mismanagement has led to its demise, resulting in a 3% Indonesian market share today. The brand’s appeal has been lost in the emergence of low cost competition.

In order for blackberry to regain global market share and moreover mitigate losses, it is essential for the company to reevaluate their business plan. Recently, Blackberry has partnered with Foxconn, a Taiwanese based hardware manufacturer. Through outsourcing, this partnership will allow Blackberry to compete with lower cost androids, as Blackberry can cut manufacturing costs and can focus their attention on innovation and software development. However, Blackberry must clearly define their customer segment; previously, they had a significant influence on businessmen. This customer segment that once differentiated the Blackberry from other mobile devices has been lost. It may be too little too late with Blackberry’s current touch screen phones, as they are losing out to smart phones on both the high and low ends. This is not because Blackberry produces a relatively worse device; it is simply because the consumer mindset has changed and moved on. Although it is unlikely for Blackberry to regain its dominant market share, it can still compete and generate profits through the cost efficiency it achieves with Foxconn and through the decentralization of the company away from Canada.

Blackberry Article

Taseko demonstrates the steps it will take in mitigating the mines’ effect on the environment in their video. However, it is hard to believe that the project will come at the cost of minimal damage and minimal risk. The federal government has rejected the company’s proposal on two separate appeals claiming that the tailings of the mine will eventually destroy Fish Lake. From Taseko’s perspective, they must be frustrated. They have the world’s largest copper gold deposit right in front of them, yet they cannot monetize it, especially after the Tsilhqot’in Park Plan.

Taseko must realize how large of a stakeholder First Nations are. The Vice President’s comments in regard to the Tribal Park is unacceptable; “I don’t really know what it means. I don’t know what a tribal park is, how it’s constituted, and what may or may not be allowed.” His comment shows a lack of understanding and appreciation for First Nations and their society. In order for Taseko to have any chance of harnessing BC’s invaluable resources, they must develop genuine relationships with their key partners, the First Nations. If the two sides are on the same page, perhaps, it is possible for the First Nations to see potential benefits such as job opportunities. With proper training, First Nations can acquire skills that can lead to long term careers. The collective potential of projects like this is enormous in terms of fiscal and economic benefits for British Columbia.

CBC Article 

Project Website

After reading Jackie’s article about Toyota and their new hydrogen powered car set to launch in 2015, I understood the surrounding criticism. Initially, I would expect that Toyota’s ability to innovate within an industry would make their new model a hot commodity. However, Jackie argues that the benefits of driving a fuel cell car and an electric car are similar. She adds that the consumers will be uncertain about the premise of hydrogen cars. Therefore, it would be difficult to sway consumers away from electric cars and towards hydrogen cars.

The inevitable problem of needing to create a market is not necessarily a bad one. Toyota faces a very similar problem they had in 1997 when they first introduced hybrids. However, by becoming the first supplier of hybrids, Toyota gained a huge competitive advantage over its future competitors. Al Ries and Jack Trout describe this as “getting into the  mind of a consumer.” Evidently, the Toyota Prius is currently the best selling hybrid / electric car in the US. I agree with Jackie’s assumption of the difficulties involved in pushing for a fuel cell vehicle. Problems such as a complete lack of global hydrogen fuelling stations can single handedly dissuade consumers. Nevertheless, in the long run, these problems are fixable; if fuel cell vehicles become mainstream within the auto industry, Toyota will benefit by having become the first entrant into the market. This is why I believe Toyota is making the right decision, despite the surrounding criticism of the 2015 Toyota FCV.

Jackie’s blogpost

BBC Article and Toyota FCV image

Burger King’s decision to buy the Tim Horton’s chain on the 26th of August and to ultimately relocate as a combined firm in Canada has spurred enormous controversy. There is continuously an ongoing debate in the US about the corporate tax system and Burger King has brought this issue to the forefront once again. Burger King claims that purchasing Tim Horton’s will allow for growth and expansion of its franchise. However, the public sees this move as a tax inversion and something that is unethical. Earlier this summer, Obama addressed this corporate issue saying “I don’t care if it’s legal, it’s wrong.”

In my opinion, Burger King’s actions are ultimately unethical, however, they are justifiable to a certain extent. In the past decade, Burger King has been oppressed by fast food giants such as McDonalds and it has struggled to break even. However, this does not give the company the right to not pay its taxes. Although tax inversion is probably the driver of Burger King’s move, Tim Horton’s as a breakfast franchise gives Burger King an opportunity to leverage itself above fellow competitors abroad. The company is poised to potentially expand Tim Horton’s into the 100 countries in which it operates within. Burger King faced the inevitable problem of business ethics. If I were the CEO of Burger King, I would find it difficult to choose not to minimize costs. In theory, it should be in my best interest to relocate and cut corporate taxes. However, I believe that the implicit costs outweigh the explicit costs. This means that relocation will create such a negative image of Burger King that the loss of customers and support will make tangible cost benefits inconsequential. Furthermore, it is not just unethical, it is immoral to escape from taxes, as it disrupts the whole economy at the expense of one company’s benefit.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/aug/26/burger-king-tim-hortons-11bn-deal

http://www.bnn.ca/News/2014/8/26/Tim-Hortons-poised-to-bolster-Burger-King-breakfast-fare.aspx

Tim Horton’s Burger King Cup

According to this article published on the 23^rd of September, Coca Cola is soon to provide free WiFi around its vending machines in South Africa. This idea, led by partner BT Global Services, is meant to target impoverished communities. Ultimately the article argues that students and children are not just gaining internet connection, they are gaining knowledge and opportunities to learn through the internet. In addition, internet connection is supposed to aid local business owners through the “opportunity to manage some business aspects online.”

Coca Cola’s simple idea is projected to effect developing communities profoundly. Although the idea at first glance seems to be extremely beneficial, I am very skeptical that internet usage among users will be of any educational value. The article suggests that free internet is automatically conducive to learning and knowledge. I would argue that supplying populated areas with free WiFi generates minimal educational gains. Nevertheless, Coca Cola is demonstrating to the world a strong initiative in focusing its attention on developing countries. To a certain extent, Coca Cola is leveraging itself above its competitors in South Africa. This is by the implementation of free WiFi which differentiates its product against close substitutes such as Pepsi. Coca Cola also reaps an advantage just from its business proposition of supplying knowledge and support towards developing communities. I would not be surprised to see Coca Cola benefit more than society through its actions in South Africa.

http://memeburn.com/2014/09/sas-coca-cola-vending-machines-to-dispense-free-wi-fi/

South Africa World Cup themed Coca Cola bottle

The Northern Gateway Pipeline is a proposed twin pipeline that would move bitumen from oil sands in Alberta into BC and finally out to Asian markets. There are pros and cons in facilitating the development of a pipeline worth seven billion dollars. The project will create job opportunities, which will ultimately boost Canada’s GDP over the next thirty years. However, the project comes at the expense of the environment.

Business ethics refers to doing whatever is in the best interest of a company while meeting societal expectations. Jim Prentice, Alberta’s soon-to-be premier, is currently taking steps on behalf of Enbridge in negotiating with First Nations. The development of the pipeline raises many ethical issues; is the spontaneous boost in GDP through jobs and future profits worth permanently risking the wellbeing of our environment? Any pipe leak of sorts will have a detrimental affect on the environment, economy, and society. The pipeline runs through the hearts of many other industries such as fishing and forestry. In addition, society does not have the tools to negotiate with oil spills of diluted bitumen. There are winners and losers at hand; something that is genuinely ethical should be beneficial for the whole of society.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/pipeline-primer-what-you-need-to-know-about-northern-gateway-1.1872482#

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/industry-first-nations-share-northern-gateway-pipeline-ally-in-prentice/article20501547/

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