The biggest news on the internet today surrounds the topic of
Alibaba Group making a record breaking $9.3 billion in sales today during China’s Singles Day, which also happens to be Alibaba’s one-day shopping bonanza of the year. They made a 60% increase in sales from last year’s $5.8 billion in sales. So the question now may be, what is this Chinese e-commerce platform doing to declare itself as such a powerhouse, and how are they doing so well?

In the video below that I watched, there was a more detailed explanation as to what Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba Group, is doing to make his company so successful. When I first read the article I was extremely curious as to how this company has generated that much money in sales, in just one day. Was there some kind of exclusively  limited sale going on? Jack Ma goes on to explain his strategy as “global vision, local win”. I strongly agree with his theory and mission statement; the globalization of companies needs to start with the idea of how you can help that other country, what are their needs, and how can you create value for them. Ma also states that there are many small businesses outside of China using their services free of charge, which I think is a great way to build good connections between businesses of different countries. “It’s not about how much revenue we can bring out of China, rather what value we can bring to local people” (Jack Ma, Stanford Business School Talk Video).

Sources:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/hengshao/2014/11/11/9-3-billion-sales-recorded-in-alibabas-24-hour-online-sale-beating-target-by-15/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2014/11/11/macys-saks-bloomingdales-and-more-accept-alipay-to-woo-rich-chinese-shoppers/

http://www.inc.com/jack-ma/alibaba-jack-ma-reveals-his-global-strategy.html

In our recent COMM 101 Class about People, Culture and Teams, we discussed the extraordinary benefits the employees of Zappos receive. My friend and classmate, Gurinder Mahal, also wrote a new blog post about benefits. Blending these two discussions together, I want to add on to what Gurinder has stated about benefits enticing employees to stay longer and more faithful to their company. 

The discussion about Zappos and their employees enjoying many perks that other companies fail to offer, had two distinct sides you could look at the situation from. The first perspective is that the benefits are equating to be too much of an expense, and that offering these assets is doing nothing and is a waste of money. On the contrary, I believe that a companies’ employees are one of their most important assets. Without an enthusiastic and faithful team, your company cannot and will not sustain itself with strong brand name known for good customer service. For Zappos especially, as an online shoe retailer, they rely heavily on a good customer service reputation, by ensuring the highest quality trained employees who truly want to be there. I believe that this is a great “moral” to say the least, as businesses should not be being “cheap” in terms of offering the best they can to customers and employees. If you provide a product that is good quality for a reasonable price, and have employees who genuinely want to assist you in a smooth purchase, then that will earn you a positive brand recognition and returning, loyal customers.

Sources:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/gurindermahal/2014/11/10/the-benefits-of-benefits-reality-or-misconceptions/

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

After reading my classmate  Ian Paul’s blog , about a recent sponsorship deal between Bose and the National Football League, my thoughts were very parallel with that of Ian’s.

I really enjoyed discovering how Beats by Dr. Dre has responded, to the adamant ruling bound to the sponsorship deal Bose made to the NFL. Bose proclaims to restrict affiliation between any NFL player and Beats. I personally find it to be a bit desperate to “shut down your competition” by inhibiting customers from choosing a different company. From a different point of view, one can argue that it is a sponsorship, and so it “makes sense” to restrict the usage only to that of Bose. However, I believe Bose should not be restricting their competition. Allowing consumers the freedom to choose their products should be a given, and if your product truly rises above all others based on quality, then you should have no trouble being the more favourable company.

Aside from the controversy, Beats’ response to the actions of Bose and the NFL, was that they would pay for the fines given to those who still choose to wear their headphones during any televised events. This is a very calm, cool, and collected way to handle the situation, not to mention intelligent as well. Beats did not start a quarrel, and was smart about their marketing strategy, declaring that personal branding with the more well-known players has prevailed more so than the attempts of Bose.

Source:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/ipaul/2014/11/08/beats-vs-bose-in-the-nfl/

Upon looking for some interesting business blogs to read, I recently stumbled upon Guy Kawasaki’s blog: How to Change the World. His most recent post revolves around “The Art of Evangelism”. This title right there and then caught my attention and put me in a position of confusion; a business blog that discusses the topic of converting people into Christianity? I had to look into it some more… What I learned is that the Greek definition of evangelism means “to announce good news” or to be “made aware”/”brought up to date”. Perhaps for others the meaning is obvious, but for myself it definitely left a questionable impression in my mind. Now that I am evangelized of the interpretation Kawasaki was going for, let me tell you a bit more about this successful business man.

Kawasaki has written twelve books, was an advisor to the Motorola business unit of Google and chief evangelist of Apple. He is a very well accomplished man, and his blog, How to Change the World, gives a unique insight to business for entrepreneur from a venture capitalist perspective. For me, I find that his blog is quite technology based as well, which isn’t surprising given his background with Google and Apple. 

What I loved about his blog was the structure of his posts. He would include extremely useful tips on the topic being discussed, and elaborates in fine detail what he means by each recommendation. A great read for those of you who are tech-savvy, and have a entrepreneur/VC mindset.

Sources:

http://www.guykawasaki.com/about/

http://blog.guykawasaki.com/

http://www.businessinsider.com/24-must-read-blogs-for-entrepreneurs-2012-6?op=1

”If the United Nations was fully funded why would we need the Arc or social enterprise”?

It is a well-known fact that society benefits from the works of organizations set with a clear goal to better our world. Whether it be keeping peace and security, or generating a business based on a non-profit entity, there are many organizations out there that are determined to make a difference and create positive impacts in different ways.

The United Nations has been around since 1945, and are notorious for mainly peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance. However, there is a significant difference between the UN and a Social Enterprise. A Social Enterprise is a profit generating business, that is not for profit. Confused? Although these businesses are making money, the sole purpose is driven by sustainability – making social, economic and environmental difference (The Triple Bottom Line [COMM 101 Sec 106 Nov.4, 2014]). Now, the UN runs internationally aiming to make improvements for everyone in terms of everything. With there being so many people and so many issues, can the UN really cover all problems and details? Even if they were fully funded, development in undeveloped countries may often times be overlooked if the issue isn’t critical. And that is where the Arc, or a social enterprise can step in to target smaller segments of problems from a business standpoint, giving opportunity for growth to countries that aren’t as privileged as ourselves.

Sources:

http://www.un.org/en/aboutun/index.shtml

http://www.socialenterprisecanada.ca/learn/nav/whatisasocialenterprise.html