COMM 296 – 30/03/2013 – Reflective Post on the Marketing Plan Assignment

As I said in my previous post, bringing practice to theory is empowering and facilitates the learning process. Even if we won’t implement our recommendations to the marketing plan of Whole Foods Market, diving through research in their marketing strategy and trying to apply the tools learnt in class to a real concrete case was very interesting. Having a true interest in organic foods made it of course easier as well as an overall enjoyable academic experience.

From now on, all I learned in COMM 296 will probably take 3 different shapes: there will be first of all the Continue reading

COMM 296 – 18/01/2013 – Ethics, Marketing and the Issue of Advertising to Children

I study at the Sauder School of Business this year but I’ll graduate in Arts. The fact of the matter is that I’ve always had an interest for Business but I’ve also always been scared of having to take unethical decisions for the sake of profit maximization. This year, as an exchange student, I decided to broaden my views and challenge my bias. I have to admit that “Ethics” seem to be an educational priority in the syllabuses of Sauder: the issue exists, the issue is identified; … and some people try to solve it at its deeper roots; that is to say the Business Schools.

Every commerce student caring about Continue reading

COMM 101 – 20/09/2012 – Crisis: are Business Schools to Blame?

While wondering to what extent aiming at profit maximization is ethically viable; I read a blog post by the former dean of the Yale School of Management Joel M. Podolny highlighting the Business Schools’ responsibility in the 2008 crisis: “Are Business Schools to Blame?” (March 30, 2009 – Harvard Business Review). Joel Podolny identifies 3 main reasons explaining the burden put on MBAs:

Firstly, leadership is taught as a soft, big picture oriented course contrasting with the details on which hard, quantitative courses focus. Such dysfunctional divide between the challenges of management and leadership under-considers values and ethics. Secondly, the fact that MBA degrees compete with one another in terms of graduates’ salaries increases doesn’t foster that a MBA is before all a professional degree requiring responsibility and accountability. Finally, Business Schools emphasize the success of their former graduates but don’t accept responsibility for the harm they do.

How will Business Schools demonstrate a greater affinity with society’s interests? This question needs to be answered for trust to revive between people and Business Schools.

At Sauder and elsewhere I see changes. Building-up on my previous blog post introducing Social Business, I notice for instance sprouting and Continue reading