In Seth’s blog, he mentions a few attributes that many of us value in co-workers, bosses, employees, friends and venders. His main point in his blog is that these valuable attributes can be trained. It’s an excuse to say that they are naturally born with some people. I agree with his idea that these attributes can be learnt, but he forgets to mention how people can learn these attributes and how companies can train its employees to have these valuable attributes. My blog will focus on one topic that is how companies can train its employees to have these attributes.

Companies can train its employees by establishing an organizational culture. An organizational culture is “a pattern of shared values, beliefs, and assumptions considered to be the appropriate way to think and act within an organization.” Companies should come up with a set of attributes that are valued in the organization. They should instill these attributes into the minds of its employees through working environment and training sessions. Once these attributes are engraved in employees’ minds, they will unconsciously act according to these attributes. Thus, companies successfully create an efficient and desired workforce.

In conclusion, valuable attributes are “not a gift”. However, companies can train its employees to have these “gifts”, which will in turn make companies more efficient.

Sources:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2013/11/not-a-gift.html

Pictures from

http://www.business2community.com/strategy/a-new-years-resolution-for-defining-and-nurturing-organizational-culture-0359799

http://www.clearmindedcreative.com/seth-godin-spectacular/

I have many ideas that are bugging me but I’m not an entrepreneur. After COM101 lecture 20(Innovation and Entrepreneurship), I start to think about what an entrepreneur is and what important characteristics of young entrepreneurs are.

The definition of an entrepreneur in lecture 20 states, “An entrepreneur is a person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit.” From the definition, I know that the first important characteristic of a young entrepreneur is that he must be courageous. A young entrepreneur must have the courage to take risks.

I read an article about stories of five young Canadian Entrepreneurs. There are two suggestions from them that I want to share. Marc starts his film company at the age of 27. He advises, “It’s important to seek out as much advice as possible, especially in areas of business that are unfamiliar.” Another important characteristic indicated by Marc is that a young entrepreneur doesn’t have to know all the knowledge about business. Instead, a young entrepreneur should find the right person to give useful advice and be open-mined. Monica Mei is the CEO of What I’m Wearing. She says, “Your passion shows through in the way you talk about your product.” Monica reveals one necessary characteristic. A young entrepreneur should be passionate about his or her products. If a young entrepreneur isn’t passionate, it’ll be hard for him to convince other people to buy his products.

In conclusion, having ideas bugging me is the very first stage to a young entrepreneur. However, I have to train myself to be courageous, open-minded and passionate in order to make ideas come true.

Sources:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/5-young-canadian-entrepreneurs-reveal-secrets-to-success-1.1021852

Pictures from

http://www.techvibes.com/blog/young-entrepreneurs-resources-2013-03-27

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/nurse-at-edmonton-military-base-charged-with-trafficking-steroids-1.1474270

Elizabeth focused on a very interesting holiday in China. I really appreciate one of her points, “this made-up festival is mainly celebrated by young people.” The Singles Day is artificially made by savvy sellers in China.

The marketing campaigns of savvy sellers target single young people. They understand that single young people are rebellious, so they persuade young people to buy stuff for themselves since no one cares about them. These marketing campaigns make Singles Day’s celebration like “Anti-Valentine’s Celebration”. The Singles Day actually becomes a day when singles buy stuff crazily online and sellers are busy counting money from Singles Day sales.

Here is an example of arbitrarily made crisis in North America. Everybody still remembers December 21, 2012 as the date that the world is supposed to end. Again marketing and advertisement campaigns of some savvy sellers persuade people to buy stuff for themselves. The campaigns’ logics are clear. Since the world is going to end, people should buy stuff crazily before they die. Obviously, the world is still running well today. Savvy sellers again have their wallet full by creating an artificial crisis.

In conclusion, I think that artificial festivals and crises are efficient marketing strategies that make customers buy stuff from sellers. However, sellers should use these two strategies cautiously. If customers no longer believe in the artificial festivals or crises, they are going to stop buying from sellers. Especially, artificial crises may cause chaos in the society. Sellers must not use the marketing strategy that may make the society unstable.

Sources:

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-11/forget-cyber-monday-dot-chinas-singles-day-is-arbitrary-consumerism-done-right

https://blogs.ubc.ca/elizabethguan/2013/11/16/singles-day/

Pictures From:

http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-11/11/content_14080470.htm

http://geeknation.com/nasa-weighs-in-on-end-of-the-world/

It’s a really interesting topic and article. American Airlines and US Airways planned to create the biggest airline company in the world. Cap thinks that it’s not a good idea, but I think the merger is a good move for the two companies.

In Cap’s blog, he argues that the merger will make the merged company too big to operate. I agree that the potential biggest airline company will be much harder to operate than a small airline company, but with an experienced management team it’s possible to make the merged company efficient. More importantly, two companies that are merged bring together personnel, funds and equipment, which will be easy for the potential biggest airline company to expand its markets and create new routes.

Cap also argues that the only way that the merged company can create barrier to entry is the lower price. I disagree with this idea. The merged company will be the biggest airline company in the world. With all the funds, personnel and planes, the merged company will be able to provide better services and more routes. The merged company has potential monopoly power in the market. Thus, I think that the barrier to entry the merged company creates is its company size and its equipment. The merged company can provide customers with good-quality services and unique airline routes that small   new airline companies can’t provide.

In conclusion, it’s a good idea for American Airlines and US Airways to be one merged company. With more funds and equipment, the merged company will be able to eliminate its competitors and provide good-quality services.

Sources:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/libozhen/2013/11/15/american-airlines-and-us-airways-sense-prevails/

http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2013/11/american-airlines-and-us-airways

Picture Sources:

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/story/23806826/airports-want-chance-to-support-aa-us-airways-merger

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/runway-girl/2008/07/us-airways-scales-back-a330-pl/

Africa receives a lot of donations from charity each year. However, it is also the land for vibrant social entrepreneurs.

I read an article about several social entrepreneurs in Africa. The most interesting one is the story of Mr Farmer who founded Partner in Health (PIH). He strived to make sure PIH provide affordable health care services to people in Africa and other developing countries. PIH has trained more than 8,000 community health workers, and set about proving that this workforce was as capable as professionals in their adherence to rigorous standards.

Mr Farmer created his social enterprise by building supportive industry clusters, reconceiving products and markets and redefining productivity in the value chain. PIH trained community health workers in local communities, which gave more people the knowledge about health care at the same time offered job opportunities to local people. PIH reconceived its health care services to be affordable, and it offered its services in developing countries. Productivity meant that PIH cured more people. PIH saved people’s lives while making profits from it.

Mr Farmer’s social enterprise is for-profit but driven mainly by a social objective. Profit is the means to sustain his business. It works better than charity. Instead of negatively receiving donations, people positively work for social enterprise. Social enterprise is a win-win situation while charity needs a large amount of donations from society and charity may make people become lazy and only want help from others.

In conclusion, social enterprise is a better help in Africa. Instead of simply donating money to African people, we should support social entrepreneurs in Africa.

Article Source:

http://www.thisisafricaonline.com/News/How-social-entrepreneurs-tap-Africa-s-greatest-resource?ct=true

Picture Sources:

http://www.partnership-africa.org/challenge-africa

http://www.roosevelt.edu/Business/SocialEntrepreneurship.aspx

After I learnt about the concept of a company’s culture, I felt that a company’s culture was costly to maintain. Thus, I thought that it should be treated as the least important thing that a company should consider. However, the case of Grasshopper changes my mind.

Grasshopper is a start-up telecom company. It once had 65 employees and it grew exponentially every year. However, many employees were a poor cultural fit. Ten years later, only a fraction of employees remain from the company’s start. Then, its owner decided to standardize its culture and hiring process to stabilize its staff. Today, the turnover has reduced from 25% to 10% since 2008.

I think that a company’s culture should be put at the first place when creating the company. It has two major benefits. First, with a clear company culture in mind, it is easier for the human resource department to hire the right person according to the culture. Second, a company’s culture informs employees about the core values of the company, which makes them strive for the same goal.

In conclusion, the benefits of the company’s culture clearly exceed its costs. A company’s culture unifies its employees and makes talents stay in the company, which will reduce its turnover costs and increase its efficiency.
Source:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226424

Picture comes from: http://grasshopper.com/