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/