When the two words “successful entrepreneur” appeared, the first company that came to mind is the increasingly popular soocial media, Facebook. It is no longer a fad but rather, a method of communication that is essential for a vast majority of people. Through the creation of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg has become “the world’s youngest self-made billionaire” with an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion. The amount of wealth created from Facebook is enormous and generated rapidly, evidently drawing a clear distinction between a small business, and a true enterprise that Facebook has undoubtedly become.

As most people know, Facebook is a type of social media that allows people around the world to connect with one another. Everyone can share an unlimited number of photos, videos, and links of websites. To be even more innovative, Zuckerberg has offered privacy features and applications such as games (the popular restaurant city) and quizzes that users can take part in. Zuckerberg has implemented an entirely new method of communication that is quick and efficient, catering to the busy lives of teenagers and young adults. By venturing into a business area that was once unpopular, Zuckerberg managed to make Facebook the number one social media, becoming one of the best entrepreneurs of our times.

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Marketing through social media sites can provide a great boost for businesses. An example of a booming social media is Facebook. Marketing through Facebook is often an effective strategy because the business can interact with customers. Through social media, the important point is not sales, but rather the communication with customers. It is a tool to build a brand for the company, listen to customers, and gain fans and loyalty. On Facebook, companies can set up “Pages” for themselves. Unlike profile pages, these can be seen by anyone on Facebook. Each page can be “like(d)” by users and this shows on up their friends’ updates. As a result, the company is slowly getting known by more and more people. As well, once the user has “liked” the business, it acts as a subscription button where updates to the page are immediately shown to fans. Therefore, there is a real-time interaction between businesses and consumers. Consumers will always be notified of recent news and perhaps even special promotions. Through social media, Facebook is a quick and easy method for businesses to promote themselves and become well known within the consumer market.  

Recently, MIS has been integrated in many companies to improve efficiency and productivity. One such company is Wal-mart. Since August 2010, Wal-mart has placed removable “smart tags” called RFID on garments that can be read by a hand-held scanner. With this new technology, the retailer can become much more efficient as workers can immediately identify missing inventory, and ensure that shelves are fully stocked. Employee theft can be cut down because it becomes easier to see if products are missing from the back room. Since RFID sensors can be tracked, employees can instantly find out whether sizes of clothing are still available in the back of the store, and where they are located, ensuring quick and accurate customer support. Although the sensors are placed on removable labels, this new technology still raises privacy concerns for consumers. Once the garments are purchased, consumers obviously throw the labels away before wearing them. However, they worry that they will be exposed to marketers who will scan their garbage to learn their purchasing behavior. As absurd as that sounds, it is not uncommon for companies to acquire data. After all, Wal-mart’s prime purpose for using RFID is to collect data about customer purchases.   

One of Ghandi’s Seven Deadly Sins is “Commerce without morality.” Being a Sauder student, I cannot help but be thrown off by the famous statement. Finance is a large part of commerce and many people think that finance is evil due to stock market deceptions. Executives of top firms, shareholders, market and finance professionals, all lie at one point or another with the sole goal of profit in mind. They lie to investors, hide the truth, or manipulate data in order to encourage people to invest in stocks. They raise investors’ expectations and pretend to help investors gain profit. However, a lot of it is going into the pockets of executives, and not investors themselves. Greed and deceptions of financial markets and banks are believed to be the root cause of the financial crisis. Of course, that is only the dark side of finance. We have to remember that financial companies also offer us a chance to gain large profits in a short period of time. As risky as it may be, financial markets allow us to share these risks with others. With finance, people can spread the cost through mortgages, and in turn, invest the money in other ventures.   

            Most people desire some sort of materialistic possessions ranging from clothes, to jewelry, to watches. Society uses these high class brands to evaluate people and in turn, people are labeled by what they wear or carry. If you take a walk downtown, both sides of the street are occupied by massive high class stores. Something that every woman needs to carry her every day belongings in is a precious handbag. Companies such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Burberry are aware of this. Therefore, they offer a range of bags for consumers to choose from, with their signature logo plastered all over the bags. For decades, when someone mentions “handbag”, they think of the top chains such as Louis Vuitton because of brand positioning. Since the top chains already occupy all the market shares, it becomes difficult for new brands to enter the market. However, a second-place company, Coach, has been able to break through the market by using a new marketing strategy of affordability. Women’s handbags are either very expensive or very inexpensive department store products. Therefore, Coach became the middle ground and marketed itself as a high class brand that is affordable. Found in both expensive downtown areas and outlets, it caters to a wider population of consumers. Instead of being the first leader for fine handbags, it found an unoccupied position of affordability and entered the market, steadily gaining market shares and profits.

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In 2008, five sushi restaurants in the lower mainland were accused of tax fraud. RCMP discovered that owners were using a tax-cheating program designed by InfoSpec Systems which deleted $3.8 million in sales record over four years. Sales numbers used to track purchases are deleted and replaced with debit or credit card transactions at a later date. Taxes evaded include 5% federal sales tax, 10% BC liquor tax, and federal and provincial income tax. Clearly, tax evasion is an unethical act that businesses should refrain from. Although owners are well aware of the ethical implications, millions of dollars are still hidden every year. Stores claim that credit cards and Interac are too expensive, but frankly, those transactions are simply harder to conceal compared to cash. Owners bear no guilt and are willing to take the risk in order to boost company profits. Aside from owners, InfoSpec is also at fault for disregarding ethical values and selling tax evasion systems. As expected, even accountants and tax advisers help clients avoid paying taxes. It has become so common that taxes are now continually evaded by both individuals and organizations.