Month: November 2012

I definitely agree with Andrea’s thoughts on the increasing need in our society to eat more healthy foods and live healthier lifestyles. However, everything is easier said than done. In the case of ice cream and frozen yogurt, it IS healthier to choose the latter, though some frozen yogurts are only marginally healthier than ice cream itself. However, for businesses, this is fantastic news. Now, they have a new marketing edge where they can label “70% less fat” or “low in calories” and it would naturally attract some customers. Qoola is a fairly new frozen yogurt franchise with a trendy cute theme, and a do-it-yourself frozen yogurt bar, which is appealing because one can design how much and what they want. The pricing is fairly expensive, as one small cup is the same price as a 4 liter bucket from SuperStore (for example, $4). They are very popular now, developing more and more branches, as they are indeed appealing to the “healthier lifestyle” that society seems to like nowadays.

It is easy to believe that some foods are healthier than others, but when we eat out, be it restaurants or fast food or sidewalk stands, there will always be more unhealthy ingredients than we’d like to believe. I believe the intent of healthy eating is definitely present, as it should be, but sometimes people may have to be careful in always believing what they see; it may not always be 100% truth.

(Source: https://blogs.ubc.ca/banzon/2012/09/22/the-next-best-thing-to-ice-cream/, http://s3-media1.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/zpmU_o8O2xJK52qVqEDPUw/l.jpg)

The fashion company of Zara is young and ambitious. They have an incredibly efficient supply chain management team which spews out fashion designs every two weeks, which includes everything from production quotes to estimates of fabric needed, from the overall cost of material to marketing, and in two weeks, this is a very impressive amount of time. Many companies have issues with broken communication between the marketing team and the supply chain management team simply because they have two very different goals in mind: marketing to look for the trends in the fashion world and the supply chain management team to actually produce these products. Every time a marketer changes their mind on a product, the supply chain management team must adjust accordingly and it is very hard to make the two see completely eye to eye, which is precisely why it takes on average 6 months for a product to, from becoming an idea, to the finished product.

Zara is a refreshing new company with a surprisingly efficient supply chain. How did Zara manage to keep their inter-function conflict to a minimum? And why is it so hard for other companies to follow? I think that Zara has an incredibly well-oiled machine where quantity is slightly valued over quality. They produce in mass production, but they do not dwell on any idea for too long and too heavily so as to not lose any profit. I think that Zara was bold enough to keep shooting out designs without really thinking about it too much. This risk was a bold one, but one that seems to work for Zara. Can other companies learn from this?

(Source: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2003/05/30/business/30ZARA.583.jpg)

Salem Kassahun is an indigenous woman from Ethiopia, and she has opened her own boutique and used her passion for crafts and jewelry for the good of others: it’s a win-win! Though it may not be much, her participation in the market is a vital part for Ethiopia’s economic movement and monetary flow. She provides an oasis in the middle of a barren highway, and offers a tourist attraction for travellers. I would definitely say that she is a social entrepreneur, as she is providing jobs for women and she is earning a profit as well. With the help of some Arc Initiative students from UBC, she was able to refine her business model to accommodate the increasing popularity of her crafts. Her kind of social good is helping others be employed, have a purpose and contribute to the local market. The inclusion of her website was a big step in her career because she is now able to reach the corners of the world with the Internet. She evens uses her profit to build more equipment and more room for more women to come and work, so that they will all serve a purpose. Her mindset is truly focused on social good and she is most definitely an entrepreneur, so I do believe that there are more cases similar to this in various parts of Africa, their own little support system.

(Source: http://global.factiva.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ha/default.aspx, https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5025/5595701629_c775aa570e_z.jpg)

One of the Sauder School of Business’s own students, Edward Yan is the creator of a new social networking app for iPhone and Android that makes connecting with relevant people easy. The key word being “relevant”, this app is intended for students or anyone to connect with people in their vicinity and to know about events that may be happening close by. However, this is only one of the many accomplishments by Edward. He is one of the founders of Peoplesapp Network Group Inc., which specializes in mobile application development. He invested in an office in Gastown, Vancouver, and is currently expanding to a more global scale. It is projected that this corporation will become very successful in the coming years.

Being such a young entrepreneur, Edward and many others alike, have to take risks and think opposite of any normal businessperson. Though a normal person’s main interests may be being as profit maximizing as possible, one may have to lose money before gaining money, hence the risk. Many people shy away from the prospect of starting a business because they are afraid of the consequences, because one must live with the actions that they make. Personally, I am one of those people, but then again, it is still possible for anyone to become an entrepreneur if they have an idea that they would be able to develop. The hardest part is taking the first step, which is what I learned from the Comm 101 Entrepreneurship class with the guest speakers.

(Source: http://mingoapp.net/tera/company.php)

TOMS Shoes has, in recent years, become a popular franchise  with its trendy footwear and slogan “One for One”, meaning that for every pair of shoes they sell, they will donate a free pair to a needy child living without shoes. This slogan is TOMS Shoes’s outstanding point of difference that launched the brand into the category of a social enterprise.

In April 2012, TOMS Shoes launched a campaign called “One Day without Shoes” which was to spread awareness of all the children in the world who live without shoes. Their video was received with much critique, and rightly so. “One Day without Shoes 2012” though it raises awareness, promotes no action that should be taken other than not wearing shoes for one day. With the power and influence that the company has, shouldn’t they do more than just raise awareness? In addition to that, TOMS Shoes also disrupts the local market by giving free goods and stealing the sales of the local residents who sell shoes, making poverty even more prominent and rendering them more desperate for donations. In other words, should poor countries be taught how to be self-sustaining or forced to rely on outside aid forever?

In my opinion, TOMS Shoes provides a great service with a good intention, but perhaps they may be going about it the wrong way, and can use some new ideas building on their concept of just giving. Then, I would consider TOMS as an effective social enterprise.

Source: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/toms-shoes-founder-ends-apolitical-charity-work-with-focus-on-the-family-following-media-criticism/snapz-pro-xscreensnapz012-5/