VerticalResponse Inc. is a provider of various marketing solutions that empowers small businesses to make their marketing campaigns more effective. Janine Popick blogged about the company’s move to a new building, which brings good impacts to the working environment. She mentioned how trivial changes can bring substantial impacts to the employees, and that it is very important for these changes to occur, to improve the employees’ motivation.

I find her blog very interesting, as she mentioned incentives that I have never thought of before. One example was the enhancement of office kitchenettes that allows employees to share their days with one another, hanging out, while getting some coffee. In addition, the office is designed to be open to one another, to allow conversation to occur within working spaces. These are simple things that many might consider trivial, yet is proven to be effective to improve employees’ motivation.

This blog appears to be useful for me, as it has opened my eyes to the different possibilities (from simple to complicated ones) that could be used as an incentive to improve employees’ motivation.

Popick, J. (2011), How a Revamped Office Environment Can Boost Company Morale, Mansueto Ventures LLC (online). Available at: http://www.inc.com/janine-popick/how-a-revamped-office-environment-can-boost-company-morale.html (20/11/11)

Contributing to the society is never a hard thing to do. All it takes is just the will and effort to do so. Iwas so intrigued by the lesson on social entrepreneurs the other day, as it explains a way to dogood while still being able to make profit. Jamie Oliver was the social entrepreneur I chose for the class preparation activity. At first, I chose him because he wasthe only person I knew out of all the social entrepreneurs listed on a certain web page. As I looked deeper into it, I was so amazed how his work has brought hope on many youngunderprivileged people, while still generating income.

Fifteen started with a group of 15 underprivileged youngsters that are personally trained by Jamie Oliver not merely to become a good chef, but to leave their past and embrace the bright future ahead of them. It is amazing how he uses his “celebrity” status to pursue this social entrepreneurship. It is definitely inspiring for me, and I am certain that many people too, have been touched by this and are inspired to do similar things.

About Us (n.d.), About Us, Fifteen (online). Available at: http://www.fifteen.net/about (20/11/11)

Who does not know Wal-Mart? Its value proposition that involves low cost has captured the attention of consumers worldwide, and it can arguable be named the most successful business, at least in terms of popularity. Recently, Wal-Mart has invested more on its healthcare services, looking to partner with healthcare companies to treat serious diseases like HIV/AIDS, Diabetes, and many others. Many of its consumers are reported to be pleased that they could obtain adequate treatment with much cheaper cost compared to other clinics. This indicates the degree of success for Wal-Mart in terms of maintaining brand equity within the market.

These investments might be considered one of the company’s tactics to maintain its market position as the leader among its competitors. What may become a risk though, would be the impacts of even tiny mistakes. As Wal-Mart is a household name, a problem in its healthcare services, might have an impact on its other services, hence affecting the entire company. Conversely, a success might lead to another dominance in a new industry, and so Wal-Mart might be able to expand to new industries.

Helfand, D. & Hsu, T. (2011), Wal-Mart considers expanding healthcare services at its clinics, Los Angeles Times (online). Available at: http://www.latimes.com/health/la-fi-wal-mart-healthcare-20111110,0,4195474.story (9/11/11)

When people think about jeans, they think of Levi Strauss & Company. They patented the first blue jeans in 1873, and here they are more than a century later, still dominating the jeans market. Recently, the company has concerns regarding water depletion caused by the renowned issue, climate change. As the environment becomes a center focus for many companies, Levi Strauss & Company fears not only for the planet, but also that their dependence on water for production might cost them in the near future. One pair of blue jeans usually consumes about 919 gallons of water during its life cycle. With this in mind, the company has recently sponsored a nonprofit program that teaches farmers mostly in third world countries, methods and techniques that require less water intakes. In addition, they have encouraged their customers to wash their jeans less.

I agree with what Kevin said in his blog, that companies should participate more in benefiting the social community, in this case the entire world population, as Levi Strauss & Company attempts to produce “waterless” jeans. Sustainability is definitely one major issue in this era, and this attempt will help the company gain a good product image from the consumers.

Kaufman, L. (2011). Stone-Washed Blue Jeans (Minus the Washed), The New York Times Company (online). Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/02/science/earth/levi-strauss-tries-to-minimize-water-use.html?ref=pepsicoinc (4/11/11)