Rob Sandall's Blog

Shachi Kurl’s Blog Post about the effects on the rising workers compensation rates features what is estimated at 65% of British Columbia companies that are going to see their rates that they have to pay WorkSafeBC rise, for the first time in nine years. The author states that the reason that the rates have been kept so artificially low over the years is due to good investment income. There has been controversy over whether or not the 4.3 million paid to WorkSafeBC’s employees in bonuses couldn’t have been used to offset rates.

However, rates were always bound to rise eventually, due to the law of inflation. Though the rates may seem high now, its likely in 10 years they wont seem unreasonable at all. Its always shocking when prices are raised, but once companies have adjusted, it is likely this controversy over rate rises will be forgotten.

Link to official post here. 

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In her post about BC Hydro’s new smart meters program, Carly criticizes BC Hydro for not taking into account consumer preference, and are abusing their monopolistic crown corporation power. She states that even though the Smart Meters would’ve been introduced despite consumer outcry, BC Hydro should have dealt with concerns more delicately and empathetically, so to not upset customers.

This brings up a good argument against crown corporations. They have no competition, and can therefore do practically whatever they want. It doesn’t matter if BC Hydro’s customers aren’t happy with them, because they will continue to use their services as there is no alternative. Therefore, speaking from a business perspective in BC Hydro, why would they spend money to delicately deal with customers they have no chance of losing? This is why crown corporations can be bureaucratic, because there is no one to keep them in check other than the law. So from BC Hydro’s perspective, if British Columbians are dissatisfied with them, who cares? Short of moving or stopping their use of electricity, consumers are pretty much stuck with them.

Link to her original post here.

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In response to Nicola Brookes Post about TOMS shoe manufacturer giving away a free pair of shoes to someone in need of them every time you buy a pair, and questioning the motives of companies that do so called good deeds.

Her point was that we can’t be too quick to become enticed by companies who do good deeds, as it could just be another marketing scheme to pull at the heart strings of consumers to gain more revenue from sympathetic buyers. This is a good point, as millions of dollars are spent every week trying to figure out how to draw consumers in, and sympathy and compassion been shown to be an extremely good bet when it comes to consumer mindset.

However we must ask the question: Does it really matter WHY the companies are doing good deeds, so long as they are doing them in the first place? Well, honestly no. But it does make the cause seem cheaper when there are ulterior motives in place. Good deeds done by companies do benefit people, such as TOMS giving away free shoes. But for the company itself a good deed is only really a good deed if you know why you are doing it, and it is for the right reasons. So while its true that either way the people benefit, when there is an agenda in play it does make the sweet act a little more bitter.

Link to her original post here.

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In case you haven’t heard, the new James Bond movie is out. But what does a major film release such as this have to do with the corporate world? The answer is simple: movies, which are a part of the media, have an inordinate amount of influence on trends, and in the marketing world trends are all the difference between a booming and busting business.

Asda has reported a 68% increase in suit sales due to what is being called the “James Bond Effect”. Suits have been flying off the shelves due to British men channeling arguably one of the coolest characters in film. Men just want to be him, and that has a positive effect on the sales at Asda, and other suit retailers. Maybe our culture is too easily influenced by the goings-on in the media, but if you’re a suit supplier right now, you probably aren’t complaining.

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Everyone is aware of the common ads for charity work in the African continent. The advertisements from WorldVision and the like showcasing the hardships of impoverished families in Africa. These ads are obviously moving, and many go to organizations such as these to contribute aid relief for others. I for one completely support this action, however it is a different kind of aid that is being given by the Arc Initiative.

This program takes business school students across to Africa to help entrepreneurs develop and grow their business acumen to become self sufficient. I believe this is a revolutionary idea on how to provide aid to Africans: by teaching them to take care of themselves. Everyone loves that feeling of working hard to achieve success. and why shouldn’t this motive that has proven so effective in Europe and North America function elsewhere around the globe. By teaching self-sufficiency, the Arc Initiative is helping people to reach their full potential, and giving them a better chance to be successful.

I believe that the Arc Initiative is a showcase model on how business schools themselves can become social enterprises that make an impact. By giving these people the skills they need to be successful, they are making themselves known around the entrepreneurial world, as was the case for Salem’s Ethiopia. I for one would love to be a part of the team that the Arc Initiative is putting together, as I feel this would be an incredible opportunity to be a part of a real social enterprise, that is truly making a difference.

The website for the Arc Initiative can be found here.

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The European economy has stopped scaring financial markets since the financial crisis of Greece, however analysts say the Eurozone is still in a recession, and likely to remain in one until 2014. Without economic growth, there wont be enough money to pay down the debts of countries such as Greece, Italy, and Portugal.

There are several reasons that the growth of the European economy is being impeded. The banks are shaky, customers are holding back on their purchases, and there is anti-business legislation that makes it nearly impossible to trim down on workers during poor economic times. So what is Europe going to do during these next few years?

In all likelihood, the European economy will do everything it can to keep the Euro afloat, the rich countries will continue to give to the poor in hopes of trimming their deficit margins, and Europeans will carry on despite economic troubles. And when the economy finally recovers, the poorer countries will try to stop this drain on the Eurozone from happening again.

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Protesters are meeting in Washington to protest the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport oil from the Alberta Oil Sands to Texas to be refined. The protesters argue that the Oil Sands are a dirty means to produce oil, and that the USA shouldn’t be doing business with Canada for Alberta oil.

This Keystone Pipeline can be seen as a prime example of Business Ethics, and one can argue either side to be unethical. For the Keystone protesters. they view the exploitation of the Oil Sands to be a deplorable attack against the environment, and that continuing to exploit these resources is unethical. However the USA needs oil from somewhere, and if its not from us, its from Saudi Arabia or elsewhere in the middle east. The ethical oil campaign, though controversial, does bring up some fair points about what is the lesser of two evils, offences against the environment, or offences against human rights?

The protests are ongoing, however it seems it would be more practical to find a way to use Canadian oil more efficiently and environmentally friendly. The worldwide demand for oil is not going away any time soon, so perhaps we need to take a closer look at what we deem unethical, because even the most environmentally conscious rely on oil to survive, and if it can stimulate the Canadian economy while doing so, I’m all for it.

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The economic impact of Hurricane Sandy will be felt for a long period of time. The New York Stock Exchange was shut down for two days due to weather, and the major business centres of New York, Philadelphia, and Boston were all but shut down. Not to mention damage to infrastructure and weather related impacts and one begins to wonder how this storm starts to impact the world?

The answer is this: The supply chain will be disrupted, prices will soar until they hit the price ceiling, and will likely stay there for some time. Not since Katrina has the USA faced a more expensive natural disaster, and in what many feel is the worlds financial center. Scarcity of items such as gasoline is bound to occur while New England rebuilds itself. And rebuild itself it will.

There will be economic setbacks, prices globally for some products may rise, etc. But the world’s economy will survive. It survived Katrina and Rita in 2005, it survived the Tohoku earthquake of Japan in 2011, and it will survive Hurricane Sandy. In the meantime we will just have to shell out more money for certain goods, and wait patiently for the supply chain to correct itself after Sandy’s attack

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After Hurricane Sandy ripped through New England, there has been much talk of finally beginning the switch to renewable resources for powering the USA. Being the market economy that the United States is, the only way a switch like this would ever happen is if it was a profitable maneuver, and social enterprises may be the answer environmentalists have long been looking for.

In Nepal, the USA based Empower Generation leads to suppliers of power to use solar energy as a green way to supply Nepalese with electricity. This has allowed suppliers to get off the power grid and develop profits through renewable resources. If this enterprise was to break into the USA market, maybe they would be able to start the switch from fossil fuel based energy to renewable, sustainable power for America.

A transition like this will not happen overnight, and it will likely be many years before the USA even begins to have a majority of their energy coming from sustainable means, but nonetheless if something like this is to occur it will be from social enterprise yielding a high enough profit margin to warrant the switch. If social enterprises can make the clean, green energy happen, maybe we will start to see a change in the way of the energy based world, and storms like Sandy will stop being blamed on global warming from harmful emissions we are doing nothing about.

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The technology company who once held a near-monopoly on the smartphone marketplace has taken another hit in the global market, falling 37 spots from 56th to 93rd in Interbrand’s annual list of best global brands. The fact that new Research in Motion products have been met with lukewarm response, such as the PlayBook, as well as the delay of the anticipated BlackBerry 10, have led to the freefall of the the Research in Motion brand. RIM is also plagued with harsh competition in the smartphone market, including the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy SIII, both of whom are already on the market while the BlackBerry 10 is awaiting release. Interbrand also noted that RIM’s shipments are down 41% in the past year, and their market share has fallen from 11.5% in 2011 to 4.8% now.

This is a clear example of what happens to a corporation when they stop innovating and lose their value proposition to the competition. It is much easier to maintain a good reputation in the market than to regain one, and it appears this is exactly what RIM is going to be forced to do. They must regain that competitive advantage that they rode for so long, and rehabilitate their global image, as well as the BlackBerry’s “cool factor” that Apple and Samsung have taken from them. Let’s hope the new BlackBerry 10 will be just the thing that RIM needs to recover its market share, because RIM’s margin for error is small, and this may be one of its last chances to redefine its image in the market before it is drowned by the competition.

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