BC Hydro is going to construct and operate a dam and  hydroelectric generating station on the Peace River in the northeastern British Columbia. However, this plan is strongly opposed by First Nation leaders due to the fact that the dam would flood 83 kilometers of the Peace River Valley and destroy farmland and wildlife habitat. First Nation chief declares that if Ottawa approves the project, local aboriginal people will challenge the decision in the Federal Court of Canada.

This news article clearly demonstrates how socio-economic factors in the PEST analysis can significantly affect business activities. Without doubt, building more hydroelectric stations will benefit British Columbia economically by providing more clean energy source. However, it is necessary for BC Hydro to negotiate with First Nation People with regard to the potential environmental impact on their lands. First Nation people have a unique spiritual connection with their lands, as the First Nation delegation says, “It’s our church, it’s our store, it’s our school. We have elders’ gatherings there annually.” Therefore, besides environmental issues, it also raises an ethical problem when business embarks on a project at a cost of violating First Nation people’s values and beliefs.

There is a video going viral on Youtube, which is created by a comedian, Paul Gale. The video has received around eight million views in three weeks. Paul Gale is playing the part of the barista and he explains why baristas in Starbucks always misspell customers’ names, even simple names such as, Jessica. “I didn’t mishear your name,” Gale says in the video, “I’m deliberately misspelling your name to confuse and annoy you.” Then he adds，“It’s the best part of my job, and I will never stop.” Well, the reason behind the annoying misspelling is even more annoying.

Writing every customer’s name and order on the cup is seemingly inefficient and in this way, baristas tend to make mistakes. Then why don’t Starbucks hand out order numbers to customers instead? After reading Roger Dooley’s blog, I had a better insight of the advantages of this scheme. I strongly agree with Roger’s idea that the process of writing names is crucial in forming relationship with customers. Baristas can remember the names of regular customers and greet them by their names. The closer connection the customers form with the store, they will visit it more often. I believe Starbucks’ unique and smart business practice enables it to outstand from other coffee shops and win more loyal fans.

Blackberry once dominated the smartphone market, now it has lost a huge portion of sales to its powerful competitors, such as Apple and Samsung. Today, it only accounts for less than 1% of the sales of smartphones. However, Blackberry’s CEO, John Chen, has planned out a comeback strategy and hopes to see the company return to profit by 2016. The launch of the new smartphone, Passport, is only a small aspect of the strategy. Mr. Chen is trying to reposition Blackberry more as a service and software provider to large companies and governments. The company is also making efforts to cater security-conscious business by building on its encrypted messaging services.

I do believe that Blackberry is able to recover from the previous loss and start to make profit only if it can stand out from its competitors and have a unique position in customers’ mind. Blackberry’s strong brand background and great reputation for its cell phone security are beneficial and important for it to win back the market. The recent nude photo hacking scandal has raised people’s attention to smartphone security and highlighted their demand for trusted cell phones. With its sufficient and innovative technical talent, I believe Blackberry will regain the market.

Have you ever associated a casual food truck on a street with a fancy luxury hotel, such as Four Season? Now, you have the chance to try it out! Four Season has started its second annual food truck tour along the East Coast in the U.S. The food truck will visit nine cities and serve local gourmets in each city, such as lobster rolls in Boston and pastrami sliders in New York. The food truck also makes contribution to charities. By donating a portion of its revenue to local charities, it helps raise breast cancer awareness and supports pediatric oncology research.

I think this is a smart marketing scheme carried out by Four Season. Because besides all the basic services that customers expect from a hotel, it also offers a unique and interesting food truck service, which differentiates Four Season from its competitors. It is now possible for people to get high-quality hotel restaurant food in a convenient and casual way. According to Ries and Trout’s ideas, if a firm can claim a unique position in people’s mind, it will effectively stand out from other products and win the “battle for mind.” The creative collaboration of food truck and luxury hotel sets up a point of difference for Four Season and enables it to attract more customers in the future.

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