On May 23^rd 2014, Marc Khoury published a blog post titled “How can I spend my $35 to get the best return on investment?” on the Quora blog website. The blog goes over how a Stanford MBA class was giving an assignment to take a small nominal amount of money ($5 or $10), and grow it as much as possible in one week. Following that week, they would give a ten minute presentation on what they did with their money. Groups did all sorts of things that either grew their money a slight amount or lost it all but none of them fully grasped the goal of the assignment.

They completely forgot about what makes businesses profitable. It isn’t about what products you offer, but more so how you can offer those products in a way that is different and beneficial to the consumer. This idea connects to my group Business Plan project on a small Graphic Design company that is trying to start up in an existing market. The thing that will make people go to his company are the ideas and skills he uses to differentiate himself. It answers the question, “What skills and ideas does [he] have that people would be willing to pay for”. His product isn’t unique in a physical sense, but the ideas and knowledge he has are one of a kind.

After all the winning team in the business class simply sold their presentation time slot to a small company because “What’s more valuable than 10 minutes in front of Stanford’s best and brightest MBA students”.

In this day and age, local, home-grown food is making its mark in grocery stores across the country. People want food that was grown in their “backyards” and are willing to pay a little extra to have it. This point comes into conflict when Canada announced that it is ready to add tariffs and duties on famous American products like Californian wine in retaliation to the U.S requiring that meat have the country of origin displayed on its package.

I believe that a country has the right to be able to label their products as home grown as long as they are being truthful. It helps boost an economy as people are willing to spend their hard earned income to support their countrymen by buying the products produced domestically. Is it fair that Canada slap a “punitive” duty fee on popular American goods as a result of these actions? No, because how does this differ from the fact that in Canadian supermarkets, you find shelves and shelves of “Alberta beef” or that large fast food chains include that fact in their Value Propositions. It’s all the same game.

The Canadian government claims that this act is “blatant [protectionism]” and it is “discriminating against Canadian livestock” but does a country not have the right to sell its own product as a first choice to consumers. After all, it all comes down to the consumers’ choice and if they want to contribute to their own country’s economic well-being, they have the right to do so.

References:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/canada-wins-a-round-in-ongoing-trade-battle-with-us-over-meat-labelling-laws/article21165132/

http://www.elitebeef.com/cattlehandbook.html

The Tsilhqot’in First Nation tribe are ready to declare a site near Williams Lake a new tribal park. Although not entitled to the land of a nearby prospective mine, the First Nation group has integrated the site into their park borders causing a debate to arise.

Premier Christy Clark stands in the middle of this debate. On one side, she has the First Nations group who she signed a letter of understanding with in the hopes of further ameliorating their relationship. Those hopes would be crushed if this mine were to commence operations as the ecosystem around the mine would be damaged. On the other hand, she has the financial aspect of things. If this mine were to be approved, B.C could be looking at a hefty increase in tax revenue as the government would be able to tax everything involved with that mine. It would also increase jobs in BC while reducing unemployment which is always important come election time.

This comes down to a discussion of ethics and the social responsibility of businesses. Is the maximization of profits the best option in this case while completely ignoring the environmental effects? The Premier needs to decide whether or not she is willing to forsake this relationship with the First Nations in order to increase the revenue of her company (BC government) and allow the mine to proceed with its operations.

http://www.thearmchairexplorer.com/utah/fishlake-national-forest

Fish Lake, BC

References:

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/Unilateral+park+declared+Tsilhqot+includes+Prosperity+mine/10192766/story.html

Netflix has become the king of video and movie distribution. Their eight dollar a month average subscription fee appeals to a large market thus leading to an impressively large amount of subscriptions. Recently, Netflix announced that they were going to start producing movies on their own that will solely be played on their streaming service.

Recently, Netflix announced that they would be partnering with Adam Sandler in the making of these “self-produced” films. This agreement will allow both parties to feed off the strengths and popularity of one another. Adam Sandler brings a certain reputation with him when he is advertised for the lead in a film. It’s going to be funny. This marketing strategy made by the management team at Netflix already plants a seed inside the heads of many eager fans.

What I believe the deciding factor of whether or not these movie will be good is the quality of that first film. They already have a giant number of viewers who will surely give these “homemade” movies a try, but its grabbing their attention with that first one that will refute or back this idea. Adam Sandler is the name brand here, and he was the key to opening the door on this new possibility. It is up to Netflix to prop themselves through and emerge as a movie producer as well as distributor.

References:

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/adam-sandler-netflix-deal-affect-career-article-1.1962621

http://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2014/10/03/adam-sandler-deal-cheers-netflix-stock-but-will-it-prove-to-be-a-blockbuster/