It is widely acknowledged that the United Nations has significant impact on helping the least developing countries. Affiliated with UNDP, the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is one of important voluntarily funded organizations , which“assists developing countries in the development of their economies by supplementing existing sources of capital assistance by means of grants and loans” (General Assembly Resolution 2186, 13 December 1966). It is undeniable that it gets donation which is a relatively large sum of money from each member countries every year. This did make a contribution to the economic development of impoverished countries in the last few years. However, it seems that the organization still faces the problem of funding shortage.

From where I stand, what the United Nations has done is not so sustainable as they require a huge amount of money to help the poor when they has, to some extent, nothing in return. Unlike the social entrepreneurs, who are businessmen focusing on creating share values as well as making their own profit, the charity organizations like the UN are not that helpful for the least developing countries in the long term. In the contrary, some business like micro finance and boutiques shops offered by social entrepreneurs would be extremely helpful. The reasons could be divided into 3 parts. Firstly, it enhances the local people’s understanding of how to do business which would be beneficial to the local economic development.  Secondly, some local get a job opportunity. It eases their pressure for basic living. Last but not least, the social entrepreneurs can gain revenue from their business. This makes their business sustainable and encourages them to do it better to trade for social purposes.

Citation

Upward Arc

http://skollworldforum.org/about/what-is-social-entrepreneurship/

http://www.uncdf.org/en/our-organization

http://www.uncdf.org/sites/default/files/Download/income-2013.pdf

Photo from:

http://galleryhip.com/social-entrepreneurship.html

“Lean Manufacturing” is an interesting method used in auto-making industry. It seems something new for me. After reading your post, I think it is a manufacturing strategy focused on efficiency and quality. I can also see your concerns about the application of this method into Starbucks.

It reminds me of some news I have ever read about the sales strategy of VIA instant coffee of Starbucks a few months before.

Starbucks began to think about how to boost the sales of their instant coffee since many of their stores shut down in the financial crisis in 2008. Although VIA instant coffee seemed to be something that was not quite consistent with their value proposition, it was a new way for Starbucks to reach more customers in different countries other than brewed coffee in their stores.  Also, instant coffee was cost-cutting while the taste of it was tested to be as good as fresh-brewed coffee. It mean customers did not need coffee mill or even directly go to their store to get a cup of Starbucks coffee. They could paid less to get VIA instant coffee for convenience. Of course, the most important thing was. this new product – VIA instant coffee did make profit for Starbucks.

From my perspective, the manufacturing strategy of VIA instant coffee can be an application of “Lean Manufacturing” as it cut the cost for the company without sacrificing the quality of their product. To some extent, I believe that it proved the feasibility of this method in the service industry.

Citation:

“Lean Manufacturing–A Panacea for All Industries?”  by Yifan Yang (Classmate)

Lean Manufacturing–A Panacea for All Industries?

The NY times “Starbucks to Sells Instant Coffee” by Reuters

Photo from:

http://hivelogic.com/articles/review-starbucks-via

Airbnb is a company famous for its new way to connect the host and travellers which disrupt the traditional industry. It provides information online for the travellers to rent a room as quickly as they can. It is really innovative as the new idea facilitate the guests to find a place to take a rest when they are travelling in a new city.

Surprisingly, Airbnb is not only creative, but it also has excellent corporate social responsibility. In this post, a “disaster response tool” is mentioned.  It allows those in need to seek help from the local residents who have extra space offered when the unexpected disaster happens in that area. Also, it charges no fee for room-booking in that area.

What the Airbnb does is quite impressive. It creates a mutually beneficial shared value for the company. Both the customers and the company would undoubtedly benefit from this tool. This is because the customers in need get the assistance while the company earns the trust and loyalty of their customers.

From Airbnb Official Blog

http://blog.airbnb.com/emergency-response-flooding-liguria/

http://blog.airbnb.com/getting-ready-for-those-in-need/

Photo from

http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/12/airbnb-disaster-response-tool/

Nothing can be more exciting than a nice holiday without disturbance. As is mentioned in your blog post, the internet has made it hard for us to separate our personal life from our work. Although the employees are in holiday, their employer can also easily find them and ask them back to work whenever they would like to. In some urgent cases, it may make sense for the employees coming back to work as it is every employee’s responsibility to help their company through difficult time.

However, it is true that a number of managers sometimes send their employees emails about their jobs in holiday simply for their personal benefit such as the promotion of their own. Not only does it disturb their employee’s relaxing holiday, it also put pressure on them. They would possibly be less productive under such pressure.

At last, I am so glad to see that it is legitimate for the employees to have a peaceful holiday without any contacts from their employers in Germany.  I hope that Andrea Nahles’  hard work on protecting the right for the employees in holiday in his own country would be paid off some day. 

Citation

“KNOCK OFF IS OFF” by Zhuge Jiamin:

KNOCK OFF IS OFF

The Lavender Town, a very small town in the map of the cheery game Pokemen Red & Green is a mysterious place. It was connected to the suicide issues in Japan as a lot of children killed themselves after the exposure of the game.  It is also weird that an obscure programmer of this game committed suicide a few days after the game was released.  As is known to all, Pokemen series are very positive games for the children. The only thrilling part of the game would be the Lavender town in Pokemen Red & Green. Thus, the public thought that the Lavender town was the cause of suicide.  That is how the rumour about the Lavender town began to spread.

Actually, the Lavender town was designed for the dead pokemen. In this town, you could see the spirits of the pokemen haunted around. The trainers of these buried pokemen were always there mourning their beloved pokemen. The background was black and white. However. all these things listed above were not the most horrible part. The music, which was  a clever use of binaural beats, was really creepy even for an adult like me. Some people even thought this music had special frequency which only harmed the children. 

This story was proved to be unreal after many years. However, it pops up from time to time on the internet. People may think it interesting as there are many different version regarding the detailed stories behind the Lavender town and the suicide coincidence. Also, out of curiosity, a number of people may start to play this old game in order to unravel this mystery by themselves. This would be something good for the game company.

Citation

http://kotaku.com/pokemons-creepy-lavender-town-myth-explained-1651851621

Photo from:

http://www.gopixpic.com/1280/-lavender-town-buried-alive-pokemon-white-hand/http:%7C%7Ci1*ytimg*com%7Cvi%7C2Rn7qjl1LXE%7Cmaxresdefault*jpg/