Adrian's blog

Helping the World As a Whole

Sauder’s Arc Initiative offers business student the opportunity to go to the developing countries and exchange business skills and knowledge. People in these countries would be able to see what the most up-to-date products are, and students would know what the economy is like in these countries and how is different from others. The Arc Initiative could benefit the development of new social enterprises in these countries. That’s why I think it should be kept even the United Nations is fully funded.

Social enterprises are entrepreneurs that help the cause in the society. Just like what “Skoll World forum” has explained, these social entrepreneurs are society’s change agents, creators of innovations that disrupt the status quo and transform our world. However, social enterprises are different from the charities organizations. They make a profit while helping out the community. These factors make sure that social enterprises can survive longer than others and more sustainable

In my opinion, when the United Nations was fully funded, they would have more power to finance the programs that they have already, or even offer more. The Arc Initiate could bring out more social enterprises around the world, and under the help of these social enterprises,United Nations would be able to determine what are the issue they should focus more.

Welfare Queens in US

In Barry Ritholtz’s blog, he finds out that McDonald and Wal-mart are the biggest Welfare Queens in America. I’m interested in this blog because that I’m responsive to this topic. There are two reasons why I feel that way. First, the article mentions that the workers from both companies receive more than billions of dollars in public assistance. That means we, the taxpayers are subsidizing these profitable companies; they take enormous advantage of us, whereas the same time they are operating within the law. Although the blog suggests that the simplest way to solve this issue is to raise the minimum wage for everyone in the states and to make sure everyone gets a fair wage, that’s still the ideal situation. In my opinion, that would bring US society a rising unemployment rate.

The second reason is that I think these two companies should provide their employees a better environment and a more comprehensive training program. Just like what we’ve talked about in class. Organizational Culture is crucial to every business, because it gives the company more efficient workers, which means a rise in productivity for these two companies.
There’s nothing much we can do, as the consumers. However, if we can get everyone in the society to respond to this issue, and call on a change in these outdated rules. Maybe we can change a life for all these workers who aren’t treated fairly and appease the anger of the taxpayers.

Ecommerce Challenge

Recently, I’ve been doing couple research on commerce retailers. The reason why is that I’ve been thinking of being a purchasing agents. I believe it will be a good practise and an excellent opportunity of gaining experience for my future business career. Most reports or news online only talks about the fun part of this job or the upside of doing this, but I want to know both the pros and cons.

While I was doing the research, a blog written by OrenLevy caught my eyes, because it talks about the downside or the risk of doing this business. In this modern society, the powerful internet gives people the ability to shop at wherever they want and whatever they like. My business plan is to build a cross-border retail that provides variety of goods at a lower price than what they offer in store, and I’m aiming for the Mainland Chinese customers. But, what Levy has written in his blog reminds me of the risk of providing such service. His findings show that most people is not comfortable with buying things from another country, because of the unfamiliar payment methods and unclear on questions of duties, taxes, customs, shipping, and other hidden costs. After reading his research I realize that if I want to success in what I’m planning to do, I must address people’s concerns first. As long as people understand how the process runs and how they are getting charged, then they would shop at my store with no concerns. Now, it’s obvious that there would be numerous “small” bumps on the path to cross-border retail, but Levy’s blog tells me what I should look out for as I start this business.

Electric cars or Gasoline cars?

ev vs gas

With the advanced technology, Tesla informs people that having a fully-electric sports car is no longer a dream. They differ their product from Nissan’s as they provide comfortable, high-performance and comfortable experience with their model S. However, people argue if Tesla a disruptive innovation, or not. Would it affect the sales of gasoline cars?

Michael Kanellos compare these two types of cars in a lot of aspects. First, we could look at the fuel price. Providing for an electric car requires a lower cost than a gasoline car. Although some people would say that in some countries (i.e., Germany and Australia) the electricity price is high, the fuel price is still way higher than the electricity. Second one would be the fuel efficiency. Electric car has a dominant lead in this area. Lastly, we could look at the range. No doubt, gasoline car wins in this game.

Although the above evidences are just part of the analysis, we can see that electric car has a competitive advantage in this competition. But, is Tesla a disruptive innovation? I would say no. Although it dominates in the competition to gasoline cars, it is still a new concept to people. Furthermore, the magnates in the automobile industry are still gasoline cars. They can offer a variety of vehicles whereas Tesla can only provide their only model–model S.

Air Canada’s New Move

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CBCNEWS has reported that Air Canada decides to add $25 checked bag fee for passengers who fly within Canada, also those flying to and from the U.S., Caribbean and Mexico. The fee only applies to passengers who chose the lowest-fee ticket option. This change wouldn’t affect anyone who holds an Air Canada membership, military personnel or anyone booking with Air Canada Vacations. When Air Canada’s CFO was asked why they made such decision, he explained, “It’s what the market is bearing at this point in time.”

If looking at this move in the view of an accountant, this decision could benefit Air Canada. I think there might be an increase in the company’s revenue. But, considering “it’s what the market is” Air Canada might not find an increase in their profit. On the other hand, if looking at this action in the perspective of a marketing person, there would be an adverse effect on Air Canada. Recently, an American airline called Southwest Airline is trying to enter the Canadian Market. They are offering cheap price and high-quality service, which is attractive to people. As the service both companies provide is at the pretty much same level, people would choose Southwest Airline over Air Canada, because of the price difference. In my opinion, Air Canada’s decision of adding checked bag fee would put the airline in a disadvantageous position. Since there’s another better offer waiting for them at Southwest Airline, Air Canada might face a decrease in their demand.

First nation partner issues

have been a major external factor impacting Canadian organizations’ business model. The federal government has been in charged of aboriginal affairs since Canada was founded 1867. Canada has published couple acts to take control of most aspects of aboriginal life. For example, as it was mentioned in a CBC report that Canada published Indian Act in 1876. As an outcome, the Indians express an ambivalent emotion the Indian Act; “They denounce its paternalism, but are at the same time reluctant to give up its protections.”

As Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a formal apology in 2008 to Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples on the behave of Canada’s policies. The politicians’ attitude towards the first nations has changed. The changes that they have made have an impact on Canadian organizations’ business model. For example, on September 14th of 2014, B.C. Premier urges cooperation, and she hopes that there would be less litigation in the future.

The suggestion of having interaction between the natives and the “Canadians” would affect the business environment, customer demographics, cultural limitations, and the lifestyle attitude. Indeed, the first nations have relatively different taste towards goods and culture. I think these organizations should plan some strategies to fit the new market. In my opinion, they may need to adjust their products or services to meet the new needs of the market; study the characteristics of the new market, and adapt themselves. The change of the business environment and new demands could be an excellent opportunity for the organizations to expand or improve themselves.

Umbrella Revolution

“Umbrella Revolution” has been the hottest topic for all sorts of magazines and newspaper. The protest started in the late September. It started because the Chinese government said that they are going to approve the candidate who can run for the upcoming election in 2017. People started protesting, and as time passes along, the protesting transferred into some sort of revolution. This revolution is all about if Hong Kong could stay as “Hong Kong”, or it’s just going to become like other provinces in China mainland.

Hong Kong has always been referred to a financially successful city. It has developed its own legal system and economic system, when it was under the lead of the British. When it was given back to China, it kept its own systems. As it was mentioned in Vivian Lam‘s blog, the revolution may damage Hong Kong’s current reputation in the financial world. Certainly, The Umbrella Revolution is going to have a huge economic impact on China, because the investors would consider of the higher risk of putting money into Hong Kong’s market

However, we could look at this revolution from a different perspective. As the revolution slows down China’s economic growth, US’s economic growth is accelerating. The difference between two is a “positive net global impact”. That means it is a good thing for global economic growth.

iPhone 6 reseller’s lost out

As Apple releases iPhone 6 and 6 plus, a new fashion has been brought up. People feel cool when they walk around with an iPhone 6 or 6 plus in their hands. They want to get the iPhones as soon as possible so some of them would buy the phone no matter how expensive it is. Since the iPhone 6s haven’t been released in the mainland China yet, the dealers in the mainland’s grey market for smartphones see their chance of making big money. They stock the iPhones from US, and then resell them in China. Initially, they were earning an enormous monopoly profit, but then more suppliers come into the market– people from Hongkong. These individual sellers could get their hands on the new iPhones with a much lower cost, which means that they sell the iPhones at a lower price.

Indeed people would go for a lower price. The accident subjected the grey market to a deadly blow. It is reported “they have lost heavily by betting on Apple’s new iPhone 6.” No one wants to buy the iPhones from them anymore, and they have stocked too much, they couldn’t even balance their cost.

As mentioned in Zhenxi’s post about iPhone 6 reseller’s lost out, these resellers were trying to earn big profit, but in the end they lost a lot. I think that they made couple mistakes during the process. They didn’t understand what business they are in; they targeted the vulnerable people, and they didn’t plan well ahead.

Picture:

http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/09/19/iphone-6-launch-day-scenes-from-around-the-world-

Alibaba–World’s Largest IPO

If you have never heard of Alibaba, then you might want to google it because it is the World’s largest IPO. Mr. Jack Ma, the CEO of this company has demonstrated to everyone that hard works pay off. This company was first established in 1999 as it grew bigger and bigger. People see potential in this company. On August 11th, 2005, Yahoo decided to invest $1 billion in cash, in exchange for a 40 percent stake in Alibaba. But then, Mr. Ma was worried that he gave up too much control. Without the board’s permission, he transferred the ownership of the company’s crown jewel—Alipay, to an entity that he controlled. His bold and courageous determined his success. Starting from a small company that’s in his apartment, Mr. Ma makes Alibaba a dominant force in China’s e-commerce.

Jack-Ma-Forbes

I feel like that I always can learn a lot from Jack Ma. I’ve seen a couple of his interview, and there is one quote that is inspiring, “You should learn from your competitor, but never copy. Copy and you die” I think that in my future career, this is a quote that I should always remember with my heart.

A Model for Other Provinces

Manitoba government is now working on a program called a model for the rest of the country. The working condition and health condition of the temporary foreign workers have been serious concerns. The reason why it’s hard to monitor is that no one is really taking responsibility of it. In 2009, Manitoba’s government passed Worker Recruitment and Protection Act (WRAPA), and they centres it. I think it’s a really efficient way of taking care the problems above. It requires the local businesses must register their temporary foreign workers with the government, so that the inspectors can check on their working conditions to make sure the workers are being treated appropriately and fairly.Manitoba’s government is trying to set themselves as a model and let other provinces’ governments to follow their actions. It’s hard to achieve, but it’s doable.

Nowadays, Canadian people talks a lot about the working condition and health condition of the temporary foreign workers. I think if the government of every other province could address the issue, and improve those’s workers’ safety problem and working condition, then “working in Canada” would sounds more attractive to people who seeks job abroad all around the world. Thus, an increase in production efficiency level would raise.