This blog makes references to Candice Chiu’s blog post “WE are the Power of Change- The Story of a Social Enterprise” (https://blogs.ubc.ca/candicechiu/2013/11/13/we-are-the-power-of-change-the-story-of-a-social-enterprise/).

When I first heard that we were talking about social enterprises in class, the first organization that popped into my mind was Free the Children. Throughout my high school career, I have been actively inspired and involved with this organization. I have so much passion towards their vision, mission and their incredible work across the globe.

Free the Children is a charity organization that seeks to empower youth to make a difference in the world and to discover and achieve their full potential as change agents. Founded by a curious 12 year old, Craig Kielburger, along with his brother, Marc, have been changing the world since 1995. The movement is still strong and growing after all these years, driven with the same vision that initially sparked Craig’s passion.

Free the Children have since initiated many community charities and development programs to improve lifestyle and provide aid (such as enhancing education, water and sanitation, health, income and livelihood, and agriculture and food security) to third-world countries. Furthermore as discussed in Candice’s blog post, Me to We, a social enterprise, manufactures and sells products where part of the profit goes towards supporting Free the Children. Finally, Free the Children created We Day. We Day is a movement of this generation, empowering young citizens through a workshop-like day of speakers, performers and inspiration.

For the past couple years, I was blessed enough to be involved with many Free the Children’s campaigns including We Scare Hunger, We Create Change and two global initiatives. We Scare Hunger supported the food bank by collecting non-perishable food items on Halloween to raise awareness about local hunger. We Create Change collected pennies to raise money to build schools over seas. Together with my high school, I helped create, organize and run two fundraiser which both raised more than $20,000 for water and sanitation projects in Kenya and to build schools in Sierra Leone. Because of my efforts in these initiatives, I was privileged enough to meet Craig Kielburger and other inspirational speakers, including Spencer West at We Day 2012.

Without a doubt, it is evident I have a passion for this sort of work. I can not think of a more suitable example that fully encompasses the aspects of a social enterprise than Free the Children. Their charity is truly inspiration and is still growing. I am excited to see how the Kielburger brothers will continue to impact the world.

To learn more about this incredible organization, take a look at their website: http://www.freethechildren.com/about-us/our-story/

Check out this amazing movement that is sweeping across Canada and US: http://www.weday.com/what-is-we-day/our-story/

Source 1: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/09/28/free-the-children-penny-drive_n_1924312.html

Source 2: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/we-day-draws-activists-to-toronto-with-emphasis-on-engaging-young-people-to-care/article14431332/

This blog makes references to Mikaela Wang’s blog post “Tom Dobranski: Realizing Passion and Potential” (https://blogs.ubc.ca/mikaelawang/2012/11/18/tom-dobranski-realizing-passion-and-potential/).

The familiar question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” has always haunted me. I would try and slither my way out of answering it at all costs. Why? Because I never knew what I wanted to do. But here’s the funny thing, I still don’t have an answer.

It always seemed like everyone else had their life figured out, their goals they wanted to pursue, and how they plan on achieving them. Then there’s me: lost, confused and torn between my passion and career. It has always been drilled in my head: A passion is something to think about on the side, after your career has taken off and you are stable. This was my mindset until I had the privilege to hear about Tom Dobrzanski’s story.

As Mikaela addressed, Tom’s secret to success was to explore and pursue what makes your heart happy, “because passion differentiates a great career from good careers”. Tom was able to combine his love for music and his business-background to stimulate a profession that satisfies his passion. Like Tom, I am very passionate about music, as well as dance. I enjoy writing my own music and fiddling around with the guitar and piano. However, I never gave the music and dance industry a second thought when thinking of my future career. “There are too many risks”, “It’s just a silly dream”, “It’s a waste of my time”, “Nothing will come out of it”. As I was making excuses for my lack of action, I failed to realize the only thing stopping me, was ultimately myself.

In an article by Eric Sinoway, people must take advantage of life’s inflection points. They are opportunities for people to take a hold of their own destinies. You must not be afraid to test out your ideas, for you will never know what will happen if you take that risk. Tom Dobrzanski’s story has inspired me to not be afraid of taking risks and thinking in the future. I truly hope that wherever I may end up career-wise, I find a passionate Peony along with it.

Blog Reference 1: https://blogs.ubc.ca/mikaelawang/2012/11/18/tom-dobranski-realizing-passion-and-potential/

Source Article 1: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/7041.html

Figure 1: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-money/business-funding/how-to-build-a-world-class-recording-studio-on-the-cheap/article4585699/

Reflecting on the Human Resource practices explored in the lecture, the professors proposed a question that left me thinking. What motivates you right now? What will motivate you when you are 40 years old? When you are retired? The easy answer for young adults, like myself, would be money. Like most others, I am a financially struggling university student. Saving money or earning money is very desirable and therefore, would be a major motivator. However, the later questions got me thinking. When I grow up and am more financially stable, will money still be my main motivator? If not, what would?

According to many blogs and articles, money is not the top motivator in a business. Edward Deci noted that people have three physiological needs: to feel independent and self-governing, to feel capable and skilled and to have good interpersonal relationships with others. Money does not fit in with any of these needs. Money may be what initially attracts people’s attention, but it doesn’t do a good job keeping it. There must be other factors out there that maximizes employees motivation and thus, increasing satisfaction and productivity for the long run.

Creating a sense of autonomy in the work place will intrinsically motivate employees. They will feel respected and more in control. Unlike money, an extrinsic motivator, having a reasonably autonomic work environment will make employees want to do their best, rather than having money be their “bait” to come to work. Also mentioned in the Entrepreneur Blog, simple statements of praise will motivate people. It’s inevitable. When someone compliments you on something, you cannot help but smile and feel good about yourself. You would want to do anything to receive that compliment again. Therefore, you are motivated to repeat that success and work harder. Finally, when people feel like their job has significance and a purpose, it will ultimately create greater job satisfaction and lead to greater motivation. Although money will ignite the spark, it will not keep the flame burning.

Blog Reference 1: http://blog.clarity.fm/how-money-can-hurt-employee-motivation/

Blog Reference 2: http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/225041

Article Source 1: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120509-is-it-all-about-the-money/1

Article Source 2: http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/06/money-motivation-pay-leadership-managing-employees.html

Figure 1: http://community.sparknotes.com/2011/01/21/interview-with-a-sparkler-round-million-dollar-billz-for-everyone

This blog makes references to Tiana Mae Piva’s blog post “Pinterest: The Marketing Strategy of the Future” (https://blogs.ubc.ca/tianapiva/2013/10/04/pinterest-the-online-marketing-strategy-of-the-future/)

The most beautiful thing in my inbox: the weekly Pinterest “Pin’s you’ll love!” email. This email provides me with a custom tailored look into the world of photo-sharing based on the recent pins I have repinned, liked or searched up. It gives me “promoted pins” suggestions, as well as new boards to follow based on my historical interests.

Pinterest is a perfect example of a company that uses data collected from their users to help further enhance the user’s experience on their website and create unique marketing strategies. Pinterest uses a management information system (MIS) to gather user information. By adapting business technology management (BTM) , Pinterest uses the information collected and technology for important decision making. The effective use of information technology has helped Pinterest increase their ability to sense and respond.

As addressed in Tiana’s blog post,  Pinterest used this technology and introduced the concept of “Rich pins”, which allows business owners to grow their customer base by providing compelling images of their products, deals and promotions. Also, Pinterest allows these businesses to put additional information in their pins, including price of products and external links to their websites. By including this marketing strategy, customers are able to fully experience the beauty of photo-sharing and take it one step further: making purchases.

Pinterest has enhanced their value proposition through IT by getting the customers’ interest, keeping healthy customer relationships and growing their customer base. Pinterest is definitely keeping customers interested.

Source 1: https://blogs.ubc.ca/tianapiva/2013/10/04/pinterest-the-online-marketing-strategy-of-the-future/

Source 2: http://www.businessinsider.com/pinterest-is-fastest-growing-content-sharing-platform-2013-11

The familiar sound of grinding coffee beans, the overwhelming scent of cinnamon and distant chatter between friendly faces fill the quaint Starbucks coffee shop. This crisp autumn morning is now complete as I sip on my piping hot holiday drink. As I settle down with my homework sprawled across the table, I could not help but reflect on something that happened just minutes ago. As I was ordering my drink, the Starbucks barista, much to my surprise, unexpectedly said: “Sorry for the long and inconvenient wait, here, your drink is on us. Have a wonderful Saturday!”.

Those two simple sentences got me thinking. Wow, what an incredible and refreshing culture Starbucks has developed. Starbucks’ vision is to completely engage and create a personal connection with their customers. They want to create an uplifting atmosphere and be genuine in their conversations and actions.Today, I experienced their values and beliefs through the organization’s observable artifacts. By offering the free drink, Starbucks demonstrates that their company cares about their customers and are devoted to creating a sense of belonging in this “haven”. With such an evident and respectable organization culture, Starbucks is able to engage in a positive culture.

Although creating such an inviting and captivating environment can be difficult and time consuming, Starbucks has proved that investing in a positive culture will ultimately benefit the company through customer loyalty and satisfaction. Starbucks’ mission statement “to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time” is truly enhanced through their strong culture.

Check out Starbucks’ awesome mission statement here: http://www.starbucks.ca/about-us/company-information/mission-statement

Also take a look at this blog I referred to: http://tortora.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/starbucks-mission-statement/