An article posted about Thorsten Heins on November 15th talks about why he took the job of RIM CEO and what BlackBerry 10 brings to the table. But my question to RIM is, where’s the innovation?

For a long time, up to about 2010, RIM was a leader in the smartphone world. The BlackBerry device had a few distinguished points of difference which set them apart from the likes of Apple, Google, and Nokia. Namely, BlackBerry was known to provide a true push e-mail experience, instant messaging through BlackBerry Messenger, and overall security of information.

Fast forward to 2012, BlackBerries still have those capabilities. They’ve been improved, too. But that’s where the innovation has halted. Apple now offers an instant messaging service of it’s own to users, which has been popular amongst iOS users. Google offers push email service to Android users. Essentially, the competition not only caught up to RIM (rather easily, I should add), but far surpassed them. Desktop-like browsing and media playback has become a staple in the smartphone world. RIM is the company that has to play catch up now. They lack a point of difference from competitors, and are even struggling to find little points of parity with Apple and Samsung. Come January, we’ll see how BlackBerry 10 shifts this, if at all.

Forbes recently posted this article about a company called Strive, an organization geared towards giving children a guide to success via education. Strive is a prime example of a social enterprise, as it seeks to improve human well being rather than maximizing profits.

While skimming through the article, one particular sentence caught my eye: “Imagine what would happen if we put as much effort into the analysis of data when investing in the success of children as we do when investing in our stock portfolios.” Strive believes that a flourishing economy is a direct product of quality education and guidance, which I personally agree with.

By investing in research of the current educational system around the globe Strive aims to highlight “key transition points” where students must show signs of development. The company has a long term goal of improving the quality of education, which will eventually lead to a new age of graduates which will be informed, intelligent, and success-oriented. Strive is only one example of how beneficial social enterprise can be to our society, as entrepreneurs understand there is much more to business than solely profit maximization.

Wall Street Journal had an intriguing article about the importance of critical thinking in the world of business. The author of the article claims that a lot of students recruited out of university today lack this skill according to employers. As such, universities have adapted by making sure students are practicing this skill.

According to Wikipedia:

“Critical thinking is a type of reasonable, reflective thinking that is aimed at deciding what to believe or what to do.”

Personally, I wonder whether critical thinking is something that you can completely teach to all students. I feel as if it is very important to decipher the context in which you are making such decision, which is quite specific. However, I do believe practicing critical thinking skills are vital to all students. In COMM 101, each case requires numerous variations of critical thinking. One such example would be choosing which parts of the “business toolkit” to use when analyzing a case. It is not viable to use every single tool we have learned, and some tools are more useful than others. From what I have experienced so far, the Sauder School of Business has recognized the importance of critical thinking which will allow students to be more successful in their endeavors.

Source

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_thinking

Recently I read an article posted by Jules Karorero which talks about a recall made by Honda. The popular Japanese car manufacturer noted that at least 50,000 cars between 2002 and 2006 had a faulty door switch.

Along with Jules, I also believe Honda strengthened its brand value by notifying consumers immediately about the problem and offering to fix it immediately. For potential buyers, they could look at this situation two different ways. Either someone in the market for a compact vehicle with be alarmed with this news, because Honda allowed it’s customer to buy potentially hazardous vehicles. On the other hand, some buyers will credit Honda’s customer relations, as they were concerned with consumer safety and attempted to address the issue immediately.

If I were a potential buyer, I would give Honda credit in their decision to address the issue and offer a fix. Buyers must accept the fact that no manufacturer is perfect in their construction. Additionally, there may be vehicles on the road that pose a greater risk than any fault door switch that we may never be aware of. I’d like to think Honda’s brand value is strengthened in this case, and consumers should have no doubt that Honda keeps safety a priority.

It is a predestined fact that James Bond movies are going to be popular draws for the box office. “Skyfall, which was released on October 23rd, continues the box office dominance Bond movies are known for. Aware of the fact, marketing divisions of the most prominent companies seek to further increase brand recognition by using product placement techniques. An article in the Chicago Tribune touches on the fact that brands are expected to receive over $7.6 million in exposure from the film.

Heineken, Audi, Sony, Adidas, and Omega are just some of the brands which are shown in the film. Of course, Aston Martin makes its mark on the film in many ways, and by doing so the company has created a distinguished image for being in Bond movies as early as 1974. Aston Martin has long set the bar for product replacement effectiveness. Companies such as BMW have tried similar tactics themselves. Famously, BMW offered to pay millions of dollars to switch away from Aston Martin to models made by the German manufacturer.

Aston Martin can thank James Bond movies for making the brand a staple in pop culture globally. Even if most viewers are unable to afford the expensive vehicle, they can surely recognize it whenever they see one.