The US Government shutdown has now followed into its second week, and according to BBC News, the repercussions are starting to be felt in businesses. The country itself is reportedly losing 300 million dollars everyday the shutdown continues. The US Commerce Secretary explains that the shutdown has rendered her department unable to collect vital economic data that businesses need and now are not able to get. 800 000 workers have been “furloughed”  or sent home on unpaid leave, affecting individual bank accounts. National Parks, museums, and even passport services have been shutdown. All these things will lessen the amount of money being pumped into the still recovering economy of the United States. With the government already sitting on a 16.7 trillion dollar debt, right now their only option is to extend the debt ceiling even higher just to pay their bills. Though the shutdown has not been felt on a global scale, in words of the Philippine President Benigno Aquino, “what happens in the US, affects us all.” If not resolved soon, this shutdown can spark an economic crisis that will be felt all over the world.

Related Articles / Sources

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/markets-jittery-as-u-s-shutdown-enters-2nd-week-1.1928199

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24419564

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/05/us-shutdown-what-will-happen-who-affect

I was browsing through Ted Talks recently when I came across a video entitled “The key to success? Grit”. Intrigued on what the speaker would have say on this subject, I clicked on it. The speaker was Angela Lee Ducksworth, a psychologist who found that talent doesn’t always mean success. After numerous studies at different locations, Ducksworth and her team came to the conclusion that the most common characteristic to success is “grit”, which was defined as having passion for a long term goal, and persevering through tough situations not just for a day or week, but for years.

I believe this applies to us business students because everyone has failures, failures in school work, business ventures, or even just getting a girl/guy. It is important to see a failure not as a sign to stop trying, but as a motivator to try even harder. We need to have grit, and strive no matter how many failures we endure to reach the our end goal. I’m glad to have come across this video, it has strengthened my resolve to succeed in school.

The Ted Talk Video: http://video.ted.com/talk/podcast/2013S/None/AngelaDuckworth_2013S.mp4

I think we’ve all heard about the Sauder Frosh pro-rape chants, it’s been the talk of the first 2 weeks of school, from friends, news, family and teachers. In response to this event, “comprehensive measures” have been put in, which included a fact a fact finding inquiry into the chant, it the report it showed that these offensive chants have been a tradition for Frosh, but it was this particular one that shed light onto them.  In the words of Mr. Robert Helsley the dead of Sauder, “”This is a deeply, deeply troubling event and one that we take very seriously…and we will take steps to ensure that nothing like this happens at UBC again.” However that wasn’t the end of the metaphorical mud that has been tarnishing the reputation of not just Sauder but also UBC. Another piece of news surfaced revealing that there have been students who witnessed a chant that mocked the Aboriginals. If we weren’t in trouble before, we sure are now.

This brings up the topic of brand reputation, UBC has a reputation of being one of the top universities in Canada. It’s a school that is often at the top of a high school student’s list of universities they want to go to. My personal thoughts on this issue are that it has been blown out of proportion, though that’s just me. In the eyes of many other people it may be a much more serious issue that can possibly dissuade them from coming to UBC. Fortunately, UBC has taken a lot of measures to emphasize their opposition to any sort of offense, but I believe only time will erase all the concern from the public’s mind.

Sources:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/ubc-investigates-frosh-students-pro-rape-chant-1.1699589

http://www.abbynews.com/news/224299891.html