I spend a fair amount of time thinking and contemplating what it means to be a good leader. I came across Penelope Trunk’s blog post, “How to be a Good Manager: Be Generous” and have to say I agree with a majority of her points and have learned a lot of what it means to be a good leader.

One of her points that really stood out to me was that you should always prepare an agenda prior to a meeting. I found her reasoning behind it interesting as it was a perspective I’ve never thought about before. She stated that by preparing an agenda, it shows that you care and are respectful of their time. Prior to reading this, I had thought that the purpose of an agenda was to ensure the manager was organized in order to run a smooth meeting for their sake; I had never thought about it from an employee’s perspective.

Another point I found valuable is that as a manager, you should be popping up all the time to check in, not to micromanage or because you don’t trust those around you. You should be checking in because you genuinely care about how they’re doing. I thought that this was crucial as well due since I know that employees are much more likely to cooperate or feel a need to put effort forth if the management team makes it seem like they matter.

Lastly, I thought that her comparison with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs was a smart way to compare a job to. First you have to have the basics and then you try your best to help others. It was an interesting comparison as it’s something that you wouldn’t think to compare it to but it makes sense and it’s relateable as we know what we need to live. In order to help others, you’d have to satisfy your own needs, that goes for both your personal and work life.

After reading her blog, my mind regarding management has opened up and I see that there’s much more to being a good leader than doing what is assigned. You have to go above and beyond to make your team feel like they matter if you want them to truly care about their work.

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References:

How to be a good manager: Be generous

Samsung, one of the leading companies in the electronics industry has recently been undergoing negative publicity due to a lack of care in the production of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. In Jiayu Cao’s blog, he talks about how consumers will lose trust in the brand and the effort needed from Samsung to win back it’s customers. Furthermore, as mentioned in Helen Liu’s blog, Samsung will struggle to continue to keep it’s customers trust. In addition, while I do believe that Samsung will need to put forth a tremendous amount of effort in order to regain it’s customer base and may succeed to an extent, I do not believe that Samsung will ever be able to regain the level of trust from it’s consumers it once had.

Samsung and Apple, while not interchangeable, definitely do have several similarities between the two. Those who are Samsung fans who have lost faith in the company would have very little struggle changing to Apple, Samsung’s strongest competitor. In addition, there are several substitute brands to those who intend to stay with an Android, such as HTC or Google phones. Furthermore, while the edge of the S7 is still seen as an advantage and a critical point of difference, Apple is starting to offer different options for their screen sizes (as seen in the 7 and 7Plus) therefore Samsung’s large screens are now a point of parity in this market. As Helen has mentioned, due to the decreasing number of points of difference between these rival brands, along with Samsung’s increased risk of danger, Samsung is now at a disadvantage in the market.

Currently, Samsung is working overtime, trying to bounce back with new projects, one of them rumored to be something along the lines of a bendable phone technology. While I do believe that this will definitely catch the attention of several consumers as it is a unique point of difference, I also believe that consumers would be less likely to trust such a new idea, especially with Samsung’s faulty Galaxy Note 7. Furthermore, as mentioned by Helen, Samsung’s value propositions is to provide a wide variety of features are a reasonable price. Some of their features, such as the battery life or large screen is appreciated by consumers but as of right now, due to their shaky reputation, consumers will be skeptical of a bendable phone.

In conclusion, Samsung has hit a large bump in the road and has to go back to the beginning in order to both regain the trust it once had and continue attracting consumers to their products without creating anything that would cause a large amount of skepticism.

Word Count: 439

References:

http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2016/11/10/samsung-bendable-phone/

blogs.ubc.ca/jiayucaosauder

blogs.ubc.ca/helenl

Image:

https://www.extremetech.com/mobile/235017-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-samsung-galaxy-note-7-recall

For as long as I can remember, Walmart has always been known for their affordable pricing on groceries, especially compared to any other leading supermarket. Save money, live better has been their marketing slogan attracting the lower and middle class everywhere. But as Macy Liebriech has said, their cheap prices aren’t the only things consumers remember about Walmart, the dirty washrooms, wet floors and unstocked shelves are also part of their whole shopping experience, leaving them a rather negative memory.

Walmart, at one point had built their entire branding and marketing around smiley faces but had more than the usual share of upset customers. There were constant complaints regarding dirty washrooms or poor customer service, therefore, only 16% of stores were meeting customer service goals. As a result, sales dropped for five straight quarters.

In order to combat the increasing decline in revenue, Walmart, known for their low wages, has actually decided to increase the salary of their workers in 2015. As Macy has pointed out, the person who suggested raising wages had a very strong knowledge of the importance of customer segments. And that person was correct in increasing wages as Walmart has seen an increase in overall profits and a reduction in employee turnover resulting in a more stable environment within stores.

I also agree with Macy’s statement that in the long run, it’ll stay positive due to the fact that everything is a chain reaction. I also see her connection with Porter’s sustainable competitive advantage theory, stating a company must have a combination of activity systems. Where “in Walmart’s case, it was time to move away from budget cuts and focus on investing in their employees.”

This year, Walmart plans on implement “Holiday Helpers” into their system in order to increase efficiency at check out lines and give consumers a better shopping experience this year, compared to past years. The “Holiday Helpers” will be wearing Santa hats and grabbing groceries you may have forgotten while you’re waiting in line in order to speed up the check out process.

Walmart is once again increasing their expenditure on wages. Will this be a hit or miss? Personally I believe it will be a hit and increase consumer’s interest in Walmart. I believe so because Walmart’s reputation in regards to customers satisfaction has been steadily going up while keeping prices affordable. By implementing “Holiday Helpers” which is very rare among grocery stores, I believe it will increase interest in Walmart due to the point of difference as well as the promise of more efficient lines.

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References

http://time.com/money/4547501/walmart-holiday-helpers/

http://www.therecord.com/news-story/6932197-walmart-s-lesson-treat-employees-well-and-the-company-does-well/

As most of us have heard about by now, Snapchat, an app which has over 200 million active users is planning on launching “Snapchat Spectacles.” Snapchat’s new product reminds us of the time when Google Glass first launched, and well, that was certainly a fluke on Google’s behalf.

Priced at roughly $130, these glasses are advertised as sunglasses with a connected camera inside and are meant to record footage of your everyday life for up to 10 seconds at a time. The glasses work in conjunction with the popular app, Snapchat and are connected through Bluetooth, uploading your recording to Snapchat as soon as you get WiFi.

Personally, I believe that Snapchat has a chance at succeeding and breaking through while Google has failed.

Why?

Well firstly, Snapchat is much more focused in their design and their target is simple, it’s for users to record moments of their daily life worth snapping. In addition, by wearing glasses, it’s far more convenient to record something for your story, versus say, holding onto a phone while skateboarding, and the perspective your followers get are different as well. Google, on the other hand, offered too much on their product, giving us the function of browsing the internet or recording videos but there’s no purpose behind it and we don’t have an overall use for the product.

Furthermore, Google Glass was considerably more expensive than Snapchat, having had their glasses sold for a breath taking price of roughly $1500 in comparison to Snapchat’s $130. Snapchat’s glasses are far more price friendly towards it’s target audience of teenagers and young adults. Google, however, set their price too high, $1500 is a hefty price to pay for most adults making a decent living.

Lastly, appearance of the product is key to marketing and from this aspect, I doubt the success of Snapchat and understand a partial reason as to why Google Glass failed. Google Glass looked weird and out of style to begin, almost similar to laboratory goggles with a weird piece on the right lenses. In any case, Snapchat isn’t much better, though more stylist, they’re very fashion forward with their options for neon colours and oddly shaped cat frames which in turn may deter people from purchasing them.

In conclusion, I believe that Snapchat Spectacles will have a successful launch in the market based on the fact that it’s a reasonably priced, beneficial add-on to the already successful app.

References

https://www.cnet.com/products/snapchat-spectacles/preview/

http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/24/13042640/snapchat-spectacles-how-to-use

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/532691/google-glass-is-dead-long-live-smart-glasses/

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2015/01/snapchat_why_teens_favorite_app_makes_the_facebook_generation_feel_old.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3493078/Is-Snapchat-making-Google-Glass-Smart-specs-disappearing-pictures-videos.html

Photos

http://www.diazmag.com/ray-ban-partenaire-des-google-glass/

https://www.cnet.com/news/snapchat-spectacles-glasses-camera-snap-inc-evan-spiegel/

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Day in, day out, I see countless Starbucks cups in the hands of university students, parents and even children. Starbucks is continuing to grow within the beverage industry with their new innovative ideas while Pepsi and Coca-Cola’s sales are decreasing.

At one point, roughly twenty years ago, people would drink diet coke or pepsi like they drink coffee now. They’d wake up, drink a can, go to work and drink another during break like a daily routine. Nowadays, people consume beverages from Starbucks in place of pepsi and cola causing sales of those products to decease.

So why is it that Starbucks’ Frappuccino, a drink more expensive and with more calories than a can of coke, is higher in demand than coke?  Well, it is believed that Starbucks’ marketing for their products attracts consumers in such a way that they believe there is a purpose in drinking an additional cup of coffee. Starbucks is an excellent company as they are well aware of “consumer perceptions” therefore they “carefully balance their menu with both gourmet, coffee snob approved beverages and sweet sugary options to appease all customers.” As a result, they have a good reputation among their customers.

Further more, in the beverage industry, people don’t always drink to stay healthy, their choices and demands are based off the drink’s function and purpose. Brands in this industry that have succeeded within the past few decades all have one thing in common – a purpose with a solution, which are both often related to health. In addition, third parties such as the government has been advertising coke and energy drinks in such a way that discourages people from consuming too many units of it which may have also led people to drink more coffee.

Within the past twenty years or so, Starbucks has expanded tremendously, and is still continuing to grow with their never ending ideas. It’s because of Starbucks’ strong understanding of the demand of consumers as well as their strategic marketing that has allowed them to thrive in this industry. Another reason that Starbucks has been able to thrive in this environment is because of how they manage to keep up with technology. By introducing a Starbucks app, it’s made it extremely convenient for people to pay and order drinks, furthermore, their rewards program also acts as an incentive for people to continue buying.

Starbucks has something for everyone and I believe that at the end of the day, it’s their smart marketing, branding and knowledge of consumer’s interest that has allowed them to thrive.

Reference: http://www.businessinsider.com/starbucks-takes-down-coca-cola-and-pepsi-2016-6

For some people, having an EpiPen on them during a period of an emergency reaction is as crucial to their survival as breathing is to ours. That being said, companies are continuously increasing the prices of their EpiPens without much need to, despite their inelasticity.

The price of an EpiPen has seen continuous increase over the past few years, the cheapest price being $614 for a package of two. That being said, Mylan’s does have a savings program, however, it only decreases the expenses by $100 which helps only those who have a decent insurance plan while the remainder of the population is left in confusion as to how to keep up with the continuous price increase.

For inelastic items like these, which are also extremely necessary to survival, companies shouldn’t be increasing the prices so drastically within such a short amount time, specifically since they “portray themselves as the inventors of life-saving medication,” when in reality, they “often do real damage to their reputation by being greedy and jacking up prices.” (CBC)

By increasing the prices of EpiPens, consumers may struggle paying the hefty fee necessary to replace an expired one. As a result those who need an Epipen for survival may be forced to choose between daily utilities or resources in their lives, such as a newspaper subscription, and purchasing the EpiPen needed in emergency cases, especially since it’s getting harder for people to .

Furthermore, Mylan has refused to comment on the steep price increase which can lead us to speculate that they’re doing it for nothing but profit out of greed. It’s unacceptable that the prices are increasing at such a rapid rate without any valid reason for doing so or an explanation for the annual spike in prices.

Yes, in society, it’s good to make a profit, but in all honestly, is it right to do so with items concerning life and death; We have to be ethical when deciding when and why a price of an item should be increased.

Resources: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mylans-epipen-price-increases-are-valeant-like-in-size-shkreli-like-in-approach-2016-07-20

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/08/22/epipen-price-rise-sparks-concern-for-allergy-sufferers

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/epipen-price-1.3734214

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