In the time I have been away from my hometown of Hood River Oregon (as you can see in my background photo), marijuana has been legalized in three additional states. In his blog post concerning the topic, Aiden Raff analyzed the entrepreneurial opportunities of this emerging market and how some companies like Eaze have already capitalized on the latest mind-altering drug available. I am not in disagreement with Aiden’s views on this breakthrough as a major business opportunity, however I do disagree with his generalization that all pot smokers are lazy. I have a close friend who has been battling with cancer for his entire life. He routinely experiences pain but he has gained access to medical marijuana and the difference in his mood day to day is inspiring. If the government can make this substance available to the masses, but also control their intake somehow, it could make a considerable impact on those who suffer from anxiety or depression. These startups that Aiden is so passionate about should consider providing more responsible options for use to consumers so this drug can be used more to heal and less as an emotionally addictive hobby.
There is, as Aiden said, a wide rage of opportunities for this new law to improve the lives of those who are sick or those who suffer from chronic illness and especially PTSD. This drug is much less aggressive when treating PTSD then many of the sedative like drugs that are prescribed. These up-and-coming businesses will hopefully open the possibilities for marijuana to make an impact in the world of disease treatment.

Aiden’s Blog: https://blogs.ubc.ca/araff/2014/11/06/marijuana-legalization-and-the-untapped-market-that-follows/

The United Nations, self defined as “51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations, and promoting social progress, better living standards, and human rights,” is perhaps the most well known peace keeping group in the world. This collection of world leaders strives to ensure a better living environment for todays generations and those to come. While the U.N does all they can, some customized attention is needed in various places that require intensive economic repair. This is where social entrepreneurs come into the picture. They are seeing a problem that needs fixing first hand and are able to craft a solution alongside the people that he or she will be helping.
The U.N has a holistic approach to world betterment while social entrepreneurs often focus on one thing, typically something that involves strengthening a local economy with then end goal of improving overall life. Also, the typical social entrepreneur is well funded and able to completely focus their time and resources on the problem at hand where as a large group like the U.N cannot spread its self thin over every group that needs help while still making a lasting impact and remaining within budget. The increased ability to focus and give all time, money, and customized problem solving that are given by a social entrepreneur cannot be matched by the U.N even if the group had full funding. There can simply never be the same level of personal commitment and customized solutions needed for work like micro finance from the U.N that a social entrepreneur can give.

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When considering the work place within a company, the first concept that comes to mind is environment. Each employee that comes to work every day brings with them an aura that contributes to the atmosphere of their workplace. The CEO of Zappos, Tony Hsieh, took it upon himself to create the most nurturing environment to improve customer service by implementing an intensive training process that helps to select the most dedicated employees. By merely reading about the Zappos headquarters, I wanted to be a part of that team solely because of the innovative efforts of this management to implement a new way of ensuring extremely high quality customer service through the happiness of employees. It is clear that Hsieh believes it is the job of the employer to create a healthy environment, however, blogger Geoffrey James explains that it is mostly the responsibility of the individual to choose to be happy that ultimately determines their mood. He explains that there is only so much blame to be placed on management when a work environment is subpar. There are steps that employers should take to nurture their employees, but the workers must consciously make the choice to see the good in any situation.
The question now is which unconventional boss is correct? Is it the manager or the employee that is in control of the workplace mood? I believe that both theories must be combined in a duel effort to work towards happiness. One cannot occur without the other and happiness is essential for productivity and overall wellbeing of any firm, especially since businesses are nothing without the employees who are the lifeblood that gives any firm mobility.

Geoffrey James Blog: http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/your-happiness-is-your-responsibility.html

New Yorker Article “Happy Feet”:

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/09/14/happy-feet

Individuals and companies make investments in certain businesses that they wish to support or more often that they believe will turn a profit. President Obama has started an investment into the innovation and growth of the United States manufacturing economy in hopes of strengthening the industry in future years. NASA and the Departments of Defense, Agriculture, and Energy will invest $300 million in to the advancement of various technologies and evolution of materials with the goal of elevating the manufacturing industry of the U.S.A into a leader in the world market. While this may not be a direct investment via the stock market, this is an investment by these influential groups into the future of the United States economy that will, assuming that the investment achieves its goal, eventually provide these investors with returns in the form of a healthy economy in which they will thrive. The money is that which they have received from Americans who live and work within the economy. This investment is the continuation of the circular cycle of companies receiving money from a healthy economy and the reinvesting it to ensure the continuation of these returns. Much like an investor in a corporation who has increasing returns and wishes to continue his returns and thus purchases more stocks.

Original article:

http://www.foxbusiness.com/economy-policy/2014/10/27/obama-plans-executive-actions-to-strengthen-us-manufacturing-722741748/

The World Cocoa Foundation is donating $600,000 in an effort to stop the spread of Ebola to one of its largest areas of cocoa suppliers, the Ivory Coast. The danger of the sickness is not only to the health of a major population, but also to the vast number of small cocoa farms that major corporations like Mars and Nestle depend on. The main point of the WCF is to “promote a sustainable cocoa economy through economic and social stewardship in cocoa-growing communities”. It is obvious that this is a company founded to make a social difference, however is widely known that Mark Zuckerberg gave $25 million towards efforts to fight Ebola, greatly exceeding the donation of WCF. Why did a foundation with such influential corporations as its members only muster up $600,000 to donate to a cause that could cripple the very industry that it claims to protect? One major issue I have with shared value and engagement in sustainability in the business world is that there is rarely participation in efforts to improve our world unless there is some profit or brand reputation gain as incentive. This article greatly fuels my desire to get involved with social and environmental issues and gives me a deeper perspective on the motivations, pure or tainted, of large corporations.

Original article: http://www.newsweek.com/multi-billion-dollar-cocoa-industry-gives-600000-fight-ebola-277748

      Considering that friction between the First Nations and Canadian settlers dates back hundreds of years, this new proposal by BC Hydro to once again infringe on Native land seems very unreasonable. Even Primer Christy Clark stated that “BC is indian land” and this should be remembered with regards to the hydroelectric dam project.  While BC does need clean energy, this plan would take precious lands away from native peoples. BC hydo’s business plan is to continue to provide clean and affordable energy to Canadians and according to them this new project will provide said energy for more then 100 years. They say that it could provide 5,100 gigawatt hours annually but the costs to the native peoples of the Peace River area(Peace River regional district contains six indian reserves and one Indian settlement) are detrimental and cannot be ignored through shady environmental reports. If this plan succeeds, indigenous peoples will unfairly loose their rightful fishing abilities as well as hunting and ceremonial ground amounting to more then 83km of flooded land that has previously been taken from them. It is unreasonable for the BC hydroelectric company to implement this new project, no matter the benefits to BC. It is insulting and unfair to the people who possessed this land before. The growing population of British Columbia can surly find less harmful sources of energy and provide the deserved respect to the native people whose land they enjoy everyday. 

Original Article:

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/First+Nation+chiefs+stage+Site+showdown/10215965/story.html

In almost every aspect of business we are trying to maximize something ranging anywhere form profit to production to brand name value. Stress has detrimental effects on productivity and ability to function well as we have seen through working in our business plan groups. Learning how to properly manage stress should be a core part of learning about business considering that human interaction and productivity are essential in the success of individuals and firms. The article “About to Lose it?” by Peter Economy gives 18 strategies on reducing stress in unconventional and creative ways. These interesting techniques include popping bubble wrap (releasing as much stress as a 30 minute massage), going barefoot, chewing gum, and even preforming a random act of kindness. As a college freshman, I have been experiencing plenty of stress in these first few weeks at Sauder. I have noticed that when I overwork or succumb to stress, I get almost nothing done. Considering that we are learning how to work in groups and to manage people in constructive ways, it seems like utilizing some of these tips would help us function much more effectively. If large companies could implement some creative outlets or even provide weekly exercise classes to reduce stress using these tips, they could greatly improve their employee’s happiness and thus their productivity.

Original Article:

http://www.inc.com/peter-economy/about-to-lose-it-try-these-18-unusual-stress-busters.html

The brand name of a company is it’s most essential weapon in the competitive world market. It is used to differentiate firms from the competition and to inform customers of their goals. A successful company must not only have a strong brand name but also a consistent value proposition. Within Sahir Shivj’s blog post “Target Canada Making a Comeback“, he analyzes the downfall and shortcomings of Target in Canada by criticizing their shift from providing products at a low cost in America to charging more in Canada. This falter in brand promise resulted in an inconsistent brand name in the minds of Canadian consumers. Sahir outlines that as consumers began to look elsewhere for their shopping needs, Target realized that a shift back to its core values was the only way to stay in business. Taking into account this real life example of the importance of consistency of value propositions, I have gained a better understanding of what Al Ries and Jack Trout were explaining in the article “Positioning”. They concur that a company that has a previously established brand that is successful in a market must not falter or change because consumers will always have that first impression as their idea of that company and inconsistency portrays weakness. I agree with Sahir that Target must continue to improve and return back to its core values in order to continue in Canada’s market.

In class we have been analyzing various companies looking for strengths and weaknesses that either launch a company into success or drag its net worth down. In the article “From healthy fries to segways: Why most products fail” Susan Krashinsky outlines why 72% of product launches fail. Surprisingly, it seems that most sources of fault come from neglect of simple market research and planning. Even large companies with the resources to invest in research and development sometimes fail to put in enough time. The author used Segway’s launch to illustrate how analyzing pricing is essential in determining whether or not the sales of the product would be high enough at the set price. Segway launched at too high a price resulting in low sales. Personally this article raises awareness about the difficulty facing a company marketing a new product. Its one thing to market a product that is an improvement on a past model, which make up almost all successful launches (iPhone 6) but convincing consumers of the need for this new product and introducing it into the highly competitive market is daunting.  In class we have learned about the delicate nature of a young business and this article explains that a company must have the experience and recourses to put in enough research, development, and marketing to better prepare for the highly competitive markets.

Original article:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/burger-kings-failed-healthy-fries-campaign-not-unexpected/article20680200/

Whole Foods Market Business Ethics

A business cannot survive without the support of its stakeholders. As Freeman’s Stakeholder Theory points out, you need the involvement of customers and communities as well as happy employees, financiers, and suppliers. A working business can survive without one of these things but it will not thrive in its environment and will most likely face decline. Following a code of business ethics by being responsible to all stakeholders will help keep a corporation afloat. Whole Foods Market prides its self on providing its customers with healthy and environmentally conscious products sourced from many local and organic suppliers. Its new efforts to help The Cooking and Gardening program in Berkeley’s Unified school District will educate children and families on making healthy food choices while working hands on in gardens with the foods they eat. By investing in the well-being of the community’s students, they are satisfying parents who are also customers and employees. They are helping the reputation of the company and thus its value by following through on its goals and values, which satisfies finances and suppliers. Developing a strong statement on its goals for community or environmental improvement seems to me to be the best strategy for a business to portray its responsibility and trustworthiness to consumers.

Original Article
http://media.wholefoodsmarket.com/news/Berkeley-USD