Category: Comm 101

Angelina Chapin, a blogger for CanadianBusiness.com, blogged about the recent venture of entrepreneur and CEO of La

Vie en Rose, Francois Roberge. Being a very successful entrepreneur, Roberge, has always been a risk taker. His latest expansion store is nothing short of a risk. Roberge is planning on opening more stores in Saudi Arabia.

This was a true entrepreneur for believing that this idea was going to be successful. Many people doubted him, saying that the Shariah Law practiced in Saudi Arabia will prevent any such thing to be allowed, let alone to profit. But Roberge stuck with his instinct despite the religious lines that may have followed.

Roberge was very brave in his move, and it has paid off. He is already expanding in Saudi Arabia and wishes to do so throughout more of the Middle East. Roberge has the true spirit of an entrepreneur, sticking to his beliefs and not taking ‘no’ for an answer. His instincts were correct though, and he deserves credit for it.

Matt Lundy, a blogger for CanadianBusiness.com, wrote a blog highlighting one of the few winners of the NBA Lockout. After highlighting the numerous industries that have been negatively affected by the lockout, which includes Bars and Restaurants, TV Stations, the players themselves and even the “Escort Services” industry; Lundy found one winner from the lockout, Google+.

Google+ is a networking site, created by the internet giant, to rival that of Facebook and Twitter. It has a somewhat of a slow start after its launch and hasn’t caught on as well as anticipated.

Lundy says because of the lockout, the tides have somewhat changed, or at least are facing in the right direction. By using the players of the NBA, which are out of contract and free to do anything they wish, to boost the attractiveness of Google+. These players are creating their own pages and provide everyday people to interact with them on a more personal level then other social networking sites. This has boosted the use of Google+ and therefore has turned around the outlook of the newly launched project.

I found this article by Lundy, very interesting. I have always been fascinated by the fact that in any scenario, there is at least one industry or company that can benefit from it. In the case of a natural disaster, blanket sales rise. Financial turmoil leads to increased movie ticket sales, due to escapism. And here again we are face with another example. I find it fascinating.

Troy Occhipinti wrote an article on the unethical use of artificial flavourings in their fries to increase revenues and sales. The article focused on McDonalds’ use of beef flavourings to add to the taste of their french fries. He commented on how this angered the vegetarian community as well as the Hindu peoples. Troy commented on the lack of ethics in this practice and that without this sales of french fries would have been lower because of taste and dietary restrictions.

McDonalds is wrong for doing this. Making their french fries known to consumers as a “vegetarian” option was truly unethical. Some consumers chose to eat these fries for the sole reason that it was one of the few things on their menu that, was to their knowledge, vegetarian. Dietary restrictions due to choice of being a vegetarian or religious reasons are a very real matter for these people. By not fully showing the ingredients of their menu items, McDonalds infringed on their faith and/or personal way of living.

I was shocked to find this about McDonalds. Troy really exposed the unethical practices of this Fast-Food giant. The problem is that I believe that there are an abundance of cases like this in the world, especially in the Fast-Food Industry, that haven’t and maybe will not be found. Oh and did you know that they also put sugar in their fries? Look at their recipe here.

Timofey Rybakoff wrote an article about the Nokia owned, luxurious mobile phone maker, Vertu. He commented on how the demand for these phones, which cost upwards of $6000, has dropped. This decrease was not because of the price of the phone, it was because of the lack of innovation and technological advancement of them. Timofey said that Vertu is now changing its ways. No longer will in just concentrate on the mere luxurious accents, such as diamonds and rubies, the company will also focus on keeping up with the changing technology.

I believe that this is very important for Vertu to keep up with. The market for their phones is there, wealthy people wish to differentiate themselves from the norm by buying these high priced phones instead of the relatively cheap iPhone or Blackberry. But if these phones are just too basic, as they only have calling and texting, then demand will decrease as the “cheaper” phones can offer more to the consumer.

Timofey did a good job on outlining this change in business plan for Vertu. I, myself, had never heard of the company before this, but the market is there for this good. Its just a matter of keeping up, technology wise, but also no steering away from the luxurious appearance and appeal of the phone itself.

This blog, http://www.economist.com/node/14548839, on The Economist, explained how economic downturn and other factors of Mexican policy has led to a decrease in oil production from Latin America’s biggest producer.

Apart from the fact that all of Mexico is feeling the effects of the present American Economy, Mexican government policy has also hurt the monopolized oil industry in Mexico. The article outlines the fact that Mexico, the seventh largest oil producer in the world, could very well be an net importer very soon, if policy and actions of Pemex (Mexico’s oil company, with monopoly power and control) are not changed. This would be a huge shake to the Mexican people and the country, as it would drive taxes up and morale down. The article claims that Pemex is somewhat outdated in its practice, by not reaching the oil fields well below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, or properly calculating its future projects’ outcomes.

I agree with the article that this monopoly that was created years ago, has led to the downturn and inability for Mexico to properly take advantage of its oil resources. If this industry was made public, then privately owned corporations could very well enter the Mexican market with expertise and could supply Mexico with payments and compensations that they would never receive due to lack of extraction of this oil. Clearly this topic is very complicated, and their are numerous ways to handle it, I believe this article really states the consequences that will come if no change is made, the trillion dollar question (literally), is what change to make.

In the recent economy, small farms across America are turning to different routes to ensure a successful year, as the weather and economic patterns are unpredictable. With this instability, farms have turned to tourism. They have converted parts of their ranches into Bed and Breakfasts, hold ranch tours and provide horseback riding. I found this to be a genius idea. Middle class families are always trying to find new ways to travel, and with struggling times, local vacations are very popular. These small farms have capitalized on this opportunity, by attracting families of all ages to their ranches. If I were a farmer and had the ranch to provide such an attraction I would certainly do so. Family vacations are much more dependable than the weather. Farms need this insurance that tourism provides. Some may say that tourism has fell in recent times, this is true, but tourism to far away locations. Local tourism has prospered in the struggling economy, these ranches and small farms are an example of this and I am very impressed with their ingenuity.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/10/business/10tourism.html?ref=smallbusiness

Recently, Brazil has implemented itself into the top 4 oil producers in the world. Since the 1950s, Petrobras, the national oil company of Brazil, has explored and found oil in waters offshore Brazil and in fields deep underneath Brazilian soil. Until recently, spending has been moderate, but the discovery of massive fields deep underwater and far offshore mainland Brazil has made spending on this industry skyrocket. Brazil has always been a big player in energy, but now has surpassed Mexico and Venezuela with its expenditures. But this expansion has its sceptics, the underwater field is so far offshore that it will require a midway station to be built, for reasons of emergencies, they will be close enough to reply. To me, this is a bit of a red flag, with the recent BP Gulf Coast disaster. Deep water oil exploration is a phrase that is accompanied by a huge black cloud, with good reason. They have never been completely proven to be as safe as normal land explorations. To me, these types of explorations should be closely monitored and the fact that they need a halfway house to the oil rig is reason for much concern. I understand where Brazil is coming from with their expansion but there has to be some point when a line is drawn.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/business/energy-environment/in-brazil-energy-finds-put-country-at-a-whole-new-power-level.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1

SEI Industries, a company from Delta, British Columbia, recently released its most innovative product; a cost saving fuel transport bladder that has air cargo companies around the globe buzzing about the product. The BATT (Bulk aviation transport tank) will be used in such fuel transport operations like in warfare and, more locally, for delivering fuel to the mining boom in Northern BC.  SEI Industries is a leader in this market, with sales to places such as Columbia and more recent demand coming from across the globe. It is reassuring to know that there are more companies from Canada that are innovative other than RIM and Bombardier. SEI is relatively unknown to Canadians, myself included, yet it has some inventions that are used around the globe. Its most famous one is the Bambi Bucket, which is famously used by helicopters in order to combat wildfires, is used in every corner of the globe. SEI Industries should be proud of itself, and should get more recognition for its globally utilized products.

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Delta+firm+portable+diesel+bladder+fuels+mining+exploration/5529041/story.html

Liquefied Natural Gas has been Alberta’s main energy export for years, which is eye opening to most, as the oil sands are so well talked about. Even though the oil pipelines proposed to be built from Alberta to the BC Coast (TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline and Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline) are still slow to be processed and approved; the Kitimat LNG Project is already underway. It will be a line that will connect the natural gas reserves in Alberta, to Asia, with the main port being Kitimat, BC. This is a pipeline in very high demand, as its main customer will be China, the fastest growing and most profitable economy of modern day. The local Kitimat native tribe is very excited about the pipeline, as it will improve the city’s economy. I was very surprised to find out that Natural Gas is still more profitable and important than oil is Alberta. Also, the pipeline is very similar to those proposed by the oil companies, which doesn’t make sense to me as the oil pipelines are so controversial. They both pose environmental problems yet one has successfully flown under the radar, while the other one has caused uproar and huge debates. This is confusing and makes me wonder what the reason for these pipelines to have such different viewpoints with them, even though they are very similar in environmental damage and risk.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/kitimat-bc-ground-zero-in-the-race-to-fuel-asia/article2195213/

Monsanto Co. claims to be the world’s leader in innovative crop growing.This means that they use genetically engineered seeds to mass produce their crops. This isn’t unethical on any means. But when they have to compete with the “Organic” market (farms that don’t use chemicals or pesticides) Monsanto Co. gets scared. They are incredibly infamous for aimlessly suing smaller organic farms for no apparent reason other to cripple them financially with the legal costs that there lawsuit brought upon the smaller company. These lawsuits are a win-win situation for Monsanto Co.. Either they win the lawsuit, which is rare as their arguments are usually absurd, or they lose but in the meantime of the trial, they eliminate the smaller competition by bankrupting them. Monsanto Co. holds much of its crops in third world countries, where they can use harmful unregulated chemicals and pesticides that aren’t outlawed in these areas, but pose huge health risks. This isn’t illegal to do, although it is highly unethical and unfair to any smaller farms that cross Monsanto Co.. Apparently, Monsanto Co. is unaware of business ethics in general, but what they are doing, although cruel and a massive health risk, is perfectly legal.