I came across a very interesting blog page by Chris Brogan. Among his numerous blog posts, I found the one titled “Instagram Video and What it Means for Vine” the most surprising. Many would think that Instagram, an app having over 130 million users, would wipe out Vine when it introduced its new video function in the summer. However, Vine was able to stay in the game, because people were still using both apps regardless of the functions introduced.  This article was interesting to me, because it reminded me of Blackberry.

The outcome Blackberry faced was completely different from Vine’s. Competitors, Apple and Samsung completely wiped out Blackberry with their products. How could Blackberry lose all their customers and fall into bankruptcy? Failure to follow the newest trends, and changing their strategy definitely contributed to their outcome.  As well, customer loyalty differentiates why Vine is still in the game, while Blackberry isn’t. Maybe the outcome for Blackberry would be different if they differentiated their products faster for a competitive advantage. Blackberry is a reminder for Vine and Instagram. With growing technology and innovation, Vine and Instagram should step it up and introduce new functions before another competitor enters the market.   

As I was browsing through blogs, I came across Claire Pourbaix’s post “What Makes a Successful Entrepreneur?” Briefly speaking, her post talks about how there are six key points that distinguish entrepreneurs from being good to great. I find it interesting how three of these six points were hinted in our lecture last week. For example, the first point is “seek counsel from others”. As we learned in class, entrepreneurs in Ethiopia—whether it was craftswoman Salem, or banana paper businessman Tesfaye—both became more successful because they sought help from others at the Arc Initiative conference. The second point is “seeing small details sets the great apart from the mediocre”. Tony Hsieh, owner of Zappos, is successful because he realized that job environment differentiates productivity among employees. The last point is “persevering where others would quit”. Michelle Lei, owner of Light Activewear, showed perseverance when retailers refused to sell their expensive products. As shown, these keys points are present in entrepreneurs: Tesfaye, Salem, Tony and Michelle.

I came across an interesting article, Sharing Suits, on classmate Rachel Chan’s blog. Her blog post talks about how Moores Clothing for Men holds annual suit drives, where Canadians donate their used professional attire to the unemployed. Moores Clothing for Men reminded me of the organization, Dress for Success.

Dress for Success is an international not-for-profit organization founded in 1997. Unlike Moores’ Suit Drive, where men are provided with suits, Dress for Success focuses on giving professional attire to women. On top of that, they provide career development tools and support to help no or low income women transition into the workforce.

Although a non-profit organization, Dress for Success is able to create shared value. By providing jobs for the ones in need, social well-being is improved. In return for supporting a good cause, Dress for Success will attract financial investors, volunteers and companies to lend their support and spread the cause. Moores Clothing and Dress for Success are both great examples of how organizations are shifting towards creating shared value.

Apple has been a big figure on the news as they are constantly launching products one after the other. Their newest product is the iPad mini. The iPad mini is the first to feature Apple’s Retina Display technology, which allows its screen to have twice as many pixels per inch as the previous iPad. The device is also said to be lighter and faster. Personally, I only own one product from Apple and it is the second generation of the iTouch. The reason why I don’t purchase Apple products constantly, is because their products are similar to one another. For example, the cost of a new generation of an Iphone is double the price of the previous generation, simply because of slight improvements. This is shown to be the same for the iPad mini. Apple is able to charge one hundred dollars more for the so called “new” iPad mini because of the Retina Display technology. Nevertheless, Apple fans are still willing to pay the price for this product because of a slight adjustment. No wonder Apple is a billion dollar company; their marketing strategy keeps customers rolling in by the minute.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/new-ipad-mini-with-retina-display-goes-on-sale-1.2423593

The Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto has offered a Back to Work Program for Women in Business, targeted towards well educated women who have left their jobs to take care of their children at home. The Back to Work Program covers a range of topics including management skills and training in new online tools to help women get back into the game. The program also encourages networking and helps match candidates with potential mentors and employers.

This new program further improves the reputation UOFT has, because they are creating shared value. The program strengthens society by giving an opportunity for well educated women to put their knowledge into good use, and benefits the university itself, as they are gaining more money. As well, the standards of living in general will improve because unemployment rates will be lower. It will not be surprising if many universities look into offering programs similar to UOFT’s, because many women will want and need to have a refresher on various skills to get back into the workforce.

Siegel, Alisa. “Program helps highly educated moms return to workforce”. CBC News. 9 Nov. 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

Sauder graduate, Michelle Lei, came in last week to share to us her endeavours on her business Light Activewear. The company designs sustainable spandex garments and other yoga apparel to more than 60 fitness centers and yoga studios across Canada and the United States.

What are the challenges the company faces?

The company has a high cost structure, because their products are sustainable and environmentally friendly; this forces them to increase the price of their products. As well, the company is mainly focused on online consumers, as they lack a physical store to sell products in. This is disadvantageous for them, as it prevents them from getting their brand image and name into the market. The companies value proposition is to sell environmentally products that are comfortable, and are of great quality.  However, without a strong brand image and attention, consumers will not know about their great quality or choose their brand over their competitors. Light Activewear is faced with an important decision: Should they continue to be ethical and produce products that benefit the environment, or should they follow the production process of their competitors, which will allow them to lower their costs and compete over a low-cost strategy?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-growth/day-to-day/when-retailers-arent-interested-in-your-pricey-new-product-line/article13116739/

For the past century, cellphone companies have been providing monthly cellphone plans, where consumers pay a fixed price each month, regardless if they use up all their airtime or text messaging.

Earlier this year, a new Canadian Wireless provider, by the name of Ting, introduced a new cellphone plan, where the customer only pays for what they use. Ting buys network from other companies at a wholesale price and then sells it back to people who sign up with the company.

The Toronto-based provider thrives in the U.S as Sprint company sells them their mobile network. Ting “would love to be in Canada” but cannot, because the big three, Bell, Telus and Rogers refuse to sell them their network.

The big three cellphone companies have a comparative advantage as they have a strong barrier protecting other competitors from entering the telecommunications market. Consumers’ have no choice and are forced to pay high prices due to a lack of cellphone carriers. In order for Ting to thrive into the Canadian market, and benefit Canadian consumers, the government must enforce laws to loosen the patent the big three have.

Saltzman, Aaron & The Canadian Press. “The Canadian mobile phone service you can’t get here- Ting buys network access in the U.S. and sells it on to its subscribers”. CBC News. 01 Aug 2013. Web. 05 Oct 2013.

Link on the new wireless provider:

https://ting.com/

Statistics Canada, one of the top statistical agencies in the world, has disappointed many after launching results from the new voluntary survey. The survey known as Canada’s National Household Survey on incomes, reported unreliable data to the extent that it is known as “garbage”.

The voluntary survey is weaker and obscure from the previous mandatory long-form census in 2010, because of lower response rates that make it difficult to produce unbiased conclusions. Society as a whole is harmed from this data, as it misguides important policy decisions, like how income is distributed, and whether new social services need to be made etc.

The NHS by Statistics Canada shows how important and influential auditing is in the world of accounting. If the auditor-general had paid close attention to the numbers and the data, the survey wouldn’t be so ridiculous. The irony is, the new survey which required more money than the previous census, proved to be completely useless. If the government had continued to use the mandatory census in previous years, urban planners and consultants would get a better picture on the distribution of incomes, and be able to make strong decisions accordingly.

Grant, Tavia. “Canadian income data ‘is garbage’ without census, experts say”. The Globe and Mail, Phillip Crawley. 04 Oct 2013. Web. 05 Oct 2013.

Yogagurl, a small business owned by Alex Leikermoser, is a competitor Lululemon Athletica Inc. should be worried about. The company has a small studio in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto, which sells yoga fashions and accessories and provides classes. Their most popular product is a $55 women’s T-shirt imprinted with the company’s slogan.

Leikermoser focuses on changing her company’s weaknesses into strengths to gain a larger share in the market. She does this by differentiating her product through the use of slogans, and by approaching a new marketing strategy.

Her new marketing strategy includes selling a limited edition T-shirt through an invitation-only basis. The first ten customers will get to buy the product, and share this invitation with five other friends and so on. This will create a unique brand identity that pushes consumers to notice the product. Their company will also benefit through this strategy in two ways. Firstly, manufacturing costs will decrease because there will be no surplus of T-shirts. Secondly, she may be able to increase the price of the T-shirts as there is great demand and short supply for the product.

Leikermosers business model is similar to Dell’s strategy of Virtual Integration. The company won’t have surplus as they produce exactly the amount demanded, manufacturer costs are cut down as the company doesn’t require offshore manufacturing, and they will have a close relationship with customers through yoga classes. With a completely fresh strategy to business, Yogagurl may be able to steal the spotlight for yoga fashions.

Brijbassi, Adrian. “Her Dream: take Lululemon to the mat”. “The Globe and Mail” Phillip Crawley.  25 Sept 2013. Web. 25 Sept 2013.

In the previous Comm101 class, we had a discussion on why students either own or do not own a hybrid car. Recapping the lecture, hybrid cars are vehicles that run on both gasoline and electricity. It was invented in hopes to create a more sustainable environment, particularly, reduce pollution in the air. I found an article about the anticipated launch of a new car by the Japanese company, Nissan. Reports show that this new vehicle is able to control itself through cameras, radar, and solar sensors. Not only will this car reduce pollution, but it will also help reduce accidents caused by drunk and careless drivers.

The idea of a “driverless” car is bizarre to me. This car will potentially decrease the number of car accidents on the road, but is it right for our society to be put into the hands of these robots? A number of other problems will arise because of this invention. People in the car insurance field, policemen controlling traffic, and construction workers will lose their jobs. Innovations are supposed to improve the lives of human beings, not cause trouble for them.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2013/08/driverless-cars