Arc’teryx is a Vancouver based company with a marketing strategy almost as outstanding as its products. The company produces high performance outdoor gear, competing with brands such as The North Face, Columbia, and Mountain Hardware. When building its products, Arc’teryx claims that: “Our sourcing team dedicates extensive research into staying informed and continually searches for the best materials available” (Arcteryx). The company’s process of creating new products is tied to the way in which it competes. Arc’teryx’s main purpose is to “build the finest products possible” (Arcteryx), the company doesn’t focus on outdoing the competition, but in creating innovation, which changes the perception of how outdoor performance products should be built.

Next, it is important to note Arc’teryx’s commitment in preserving the environment and being socially responsible. Even the durability of the company’s products is relevant to its environmental concerns, as this reduces the total amount of materials and energy used in manufacture and distribution over the years. As well, when manufacturing its products, Arc’teryx ensures that its down sources (for jacket insulation) are certified non-force fed and non-live pluck. In addition, the company offers a life time warranty and repair on its products, which satisfies customers while simultaneously keeping old jackets out of landfills. Moreover, any product that Arc’teryx can’t repair to meet customer standards is often donated to the less fortunate. All of these aspects work in tandem to offer customers with unique and higher value than its competitors offers.

Sources:

http://leaf.arcteryx.com/About-Us.aspx?EN

http://www.arcteryx.com/environment.aspx?language=EN

Many of the ads from decades ago would not only be banned today, but are also laughable. The Coke ad below, for instance, is trying to sell coke based on what is likely a false premise. I’m not sure if it has been disproved that drinking coke as an infant will get you friends in high school, but I’m fairly certain that any infant who starts drinking Coke habitually will likely become obese and have a host of health problems in high school. There were countless of unethical advertisements in those days, but now in 2013, altruism seems to be a prevalent theme among large corporations. Interestingly enough, many of the corporations that boast of corporate social responsibility today, were heavily scrutinized in earlier years. So are they being socially responsible because they care, or because they have evolved with the times? It is now evident that consumers value companies which are attentive to the needs of their communities; so from a business perspective, it’s a rational decision to spend money on some charitable foundation in order to capture unrealized profits. Perhaps it’s feigned altruism, or perhaps it is a sincere attempt to better the world. I’m sure many companies have realized that by being charitable, they benefit just as consumers and third parties do. Nonetheless, corporations are first and foremost profit driven, so I believe it’s important to consider all of their social responsibility warily.

I agree with David’s blog, I also believe that in the long run, the lack of useful innovation from Microsoft will cause more people to shift towards buying a Mac. Years from now, when many people decide that their computers running on Windows 7 are too old and decide to to buy a new computer, they’ll hesitate to buy a computer that runs on Windows 8 since it has nothing great to offer. Subsequently, they’ll look for a better alternative, which in most cases will be a Mac.

Blog:https://blogs.ubc.ca/davidprestage/

Nathan Ho mentioned in his blog post that university graduates are struggling to find work, while this is certainly true, I think that there are also many factors that influence the future of a business student other than his degree. For instance, with the supplemental application prospective Sauder students have to prove that they’re proactive rather than just being able to get good grades in high school. For reasons such as this one, a business student doesn’t just have a different degree than an arts student, but they’re also a different kind of person. Hopefully we’ll be able to differentiate ourselves enough to secure a job.

Blog: https://blogs.ubc.ca/nathanho/

It seems the economy is about to fall off a cliff. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 185 points today because of grim prognostics in the future of the world economy. The price of oil rose because of Israel’s surgical strike on a Hamas leader, and stocks in the U.S. keep dropping in response to the uncertainty of the U.S’s budget for next year. President Obama warned that if the Republicans and he don’t reach a suitable budget, the economy could easily fall into another recession.

President Obama said he’s open for ideas and that he will try to reach an agreement with the Republican congressional leaders in upcoming talks. It is likely that the Republicans will give small concessions to Obama and the economy will, at least for a little longer, stay on top of the cliff.

Sources :http://business.financialpost.com/2012/11/14/we-could-go-back-into-recession-obama-calls-for-rich-to-pay-more/

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-14/asia-stocks-fluctuate-as-china-congress-ends-aussie-strengthens.html

http://etfdailynews.com/2012/07/27/u-s-economy-17-reasons-why-a-recession-in-2012-is-underway-indexsp-inx-spy-tza-faz-gld/

UrtheCast is an incredible business venture that will commence in the next year.

After listening to Wade Larson, the Co-Founder of UrtheCast, a lot of  interesting question arise. Firstly, will UrtheCast start a new market  of commercial space photography? How beneficial will UrtheCast’s  contract with Russia be for the nation’s interest? And will it cause  other countries to create partnerships with UrtheCast? I speculate a  positive response to all my questions; but we’ll have to wait and see the results after UrtheCast’s inauguration.

Sources: http://www.urthecast.com/blog/about/

Wade Larson talk at Sauder School of Business on November 8th

http://www.404techsupport.com/2012/08/urthecast-247-live-hd-streaming-video-of-earth-from-the-iss-coming-next-year/

Unfortunately, it seems Canada isn’t quite yet in the clear. According to TransUnion, Canadian debt is increasing at a rate 400% higher than inflation over the last five years, and non-mortgage debt increased in the second quarter of this year. Experts speculate that this is due to a lack of alarming headlines; Europe’s bad news have started to dissipate, and the U.S. is reporting job growth. So people have to started to buy new cars and luxuries again, but if the spending doesn’t stop soon, Canada will face an economic downturn again.

Source:  http://business.financialpost.com/2012/11/14/canadians-debt-loads-grew-at-fastest-pace-in-two-years-during-summer-spending-spree/

Soundcloud has an amazing point of difference. It is the first social media website which succesfully allows individuals to share their own musical creations, much like Youtube allows its users to share their experiences through video, Soundcloud allows its users to share their experiences and interests through music files. Unlike the other social media websites like Facebook, Youtube and others, Soundcloud doesn’t create its revenue through advertisement, it lets users interact and use the website for free and also offers a premium service at a cost. Soundcloud has grown steadily since inception and will clearly continue to do so because since it already has millions of users, it will be very difficult for a new competitor to dislodge Soundcloud from its current position.

Sources: http://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2012/soundcloud

http://www.sonicscoop.com/2012/06/24/inside-soundcloud-how-it-integrates-with-other-apps-and-why-that-matters-to-music-creators/