The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental association of independent countries that work together in order to improve the country’s social conditions, such as peace, human rights, security, public health, environmental conservation, and economic development. It has done an excellent job in some countries, such as Sudan, with the human trafficking in Darfur, or in El Salvador, when in 1992 they ended 12 years of fighting and war. However, even though the UN has helped a lot of countries, I believe that they just handle problems at the surface. They don’t show up when it comes to smaller situations such as helping a community’s development, or helping to reduce the amount of poverty and hunger in a community of a third world country. That is when the Arc and social entrepreneurs are needed in our world.

The Arc Initiative is an UBC program run by Sauder students who “create programs that build local business management and leadership capacity”, which in the long term, leads to an economic grow for the local communities. They enforce the idea of social entrepreneurs, whose main goal is to solve social issues, such as educational opportunities, available clean water, poverty and hunger. They don’t just come with an innovative solution for those social problems; they come with innovative solutions that give the communities’ members the tools to be able to be sustainable and independent.

After working in an impoverished community in 2012, and helping them succeed and be able to produce their own products to sell them to other communities and be sustainable, I understand really well this concept and their goals. It is not about solving someone’s problems for them, it is about having the refrain of  “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn” on mind and using it to help others succeed. Therefore, I believe that even if the United Nations were fully funded, we still would need these kind of programs and entrepreneurs, we need people that look for the world’s smaller problems that impede a country’s development.

Sources: http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/Global_Reach/ARC_Initiative

The debate between if the financial incentives help or harm the production of the employee and of the company is one of the most controversial debates in the Human Resources department. As we saw last class, there are many ways to motivate an employee so he/she can do a better job. The recognition of the employee’s labor is a very important action that makes the employee feel part of “the family” and may lead to a positive effect on their performance. Also, making them feel comfortable in the environment in which they work with free food, videogames or any other type of anti-stress activities is a really good way to improve their performance at work. Finally, basing us in one of the fundamental economics laws: “the human being, is always trying to maximize their profit”, it can be said that by the use of financial incentives the employee will feel motivated to perform a better job and will always try to get more and more.

On one hand, Leena Thampan talks about the financial incentives as a threat to the company’s production. She argues that employees work better with non-financial incentives such as recognition, reward, opportunities and flexibility. On the other hand, Berkeley’s blog argues that a new generation of employees is coming and that the types of recognitions and incentives are changing too. According to 2014 Canadian Incentive Trends Survey, “prepaid credit cards are growing in popularity and preferred 2x more than retail gift cards”.

In my opinion and basing my arguments on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, there is not a single “best incentive” for the employee. As it can be seen in the pyramid below, the first floor that has to be filled is the physiological one. In this floor, breathing, sleeping and other fundamental activities that the human being needs for their well-being are mentioned. Some of these activities include food and water, which would not be possible to acquire without an economical payment from the employer to the employee. This is when the financial incentives may be fundamental for the good performance and well-being of the employee. Not all people have the opportunity to receive a good salary, and without financial incentives it would not be possible to improve the employee’s performance and productivity since the base of the pyramid wouldn’t be complete. The next four floors show the psychological and self-fulfillment needs, which can be fulfilled by the recognition and rewards that the company gives the employee. It is very important to have all of these steps complete if the company wants to maximize their production and profits.

Therefore, I don’t agree with either Thampan’s blog or Berkeley’s blog completely. First of all, I think that the incentives must be based on the context that the employees are facing, such as their personal/financial life, the economy of the country, etc. For example, a father may prefer some extra days of vacations so that he can spend time his family over a financial reward, and a young adult may value more a financial incentive with which she/he can buy clothes, electronics, etc. than more days of vacations. Also, I think that the best way to keep employees happy is mixing the financial and non-financial incentives. Every human being needs to feel part of something, as they also need to feel valued and important for someone. Therefore, it is very important to a company’s performance to keep their employees happy, making them feel part of “the family”, recognizing them in front of everyone when necessary, and also, giving them financial incentives when they deserve it.

Sources:

– http://berkeleypayment.com/blog/picking-employee-rewards-and-incentives-for-the-multi-generational-workplace

– http://wagepoint.com/blog/non-financial-incentives-for-employees

Canada and China reached an agreement that will allow a direct exchange of goods for either Canadian dollars or Chinese yuan. This deal will allow for business from both countries to cut off the “middle-man” which was in most cases the American dollar. Without having to do business with a third currency both countries’ businesses of all sizes will have a faster negotiation and lower costs.

In my opinion, this deal is one that all of the Canadians need to celebrate. Given that China is the second largest economy of the world, only behind the US, there is a lot of money in that market. Therefore, for small business owners, trade has been facilitated and made cheaper because before, many small business were not able to enter the Chinese market because they had to exchange to American dollars and only then to Chinese yuan, creating higher costs and wasting time.

Also, the general Canadian population can celebrate this deal because with no third party currency involved in transactions between Canada and China, the costs of imported goods will be much cheaper. Not only because of the lower costs of importation and exportation between the two countries but also because of the consequence on supply levels it will have. Since the costs to sell Chinese goods in Canada will be lowered, there will be an increase in volume of imported goods from China; therefore, prices will be lowered due to lower costs of operations and because of a higher supply.

Not only that but this will increase the amount of money being circulated in the Canadian economy, thus, increasing it. Therefore, there is a reason for every Canadian citizen to rejoice from this new deal that allows direct trade with China.

Source:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-china-sign-currency-deal-aimed-at-boosting-trade-1.2828707

Last weekend I saw my parents who traveled with Aeromexico to the United States, a Mexican airline that faced an economical crisis in 2013 that threatened the existence of the airline. I was surprised with their decision of traveling with Aeromexico since other airlines offered a better service and a more comfortable trip. To my surprise, they told me that after the economical crisis they created a new strategy that was implemented last year improving the Mexican airline. When I got back to Vancouver I decided to investigate about its growth, but most of all, I wanted to know how Aeromexico (that was almost disappearing from the Mexican airlines market) had been able to get back in the market.

After some research, I realized that, as my parents told me, Aeromexico is having a significant growth.  Even though the market conditions in Mexico became unfavorable this year, Aeromexico “recently cited statistics from the country’s DGAC showing that domestic air passenger traffic increased 10.5% year-on-year during the first two months of 2014.” Also, their presence in the national market is gaining force, as it is the market’s leader.

But, how did Aeromexico accomplish these achievements in such a short period? First of all, one of Aeromexico’s strategies was to change their 767s airplanes to 787-8s airplanes, which are bigger and have a more advanced technology. Also, the Mexican airline decided to install Gogo in-flight Internet, which is 20 times faster than the competition placing new value proposition. Finally, the company decided to adopt a pricing strategy that decreased their current prices to the point in which they compete with their competitor’s fares, making it more attractive for the national market.

In my opinion, even though Aeromexico changed their airplanes and started offering in-flight Internet, I think that the most powerful strategy they started implementing was lowering their prices. More than 50% of Mexico’s population is low-middle class, and with the lowered prices, Aeromexico is reaching more of the national market and increasing their sales.

Sources:

– http://centreforaviation.com/analysis/aeromexico-outlines-its-revenue-and-network-strategy-in-an-uncertain-mexican-market-167696

– http://centreforaviation.com/analysis/aeromexico-trades-domestic–international-market-share-gains-for-lower-yields-as-2q-profits-drop-180494

According to my peer, Won Jun Kong, and the article he read about LG’s performance in the market it appears to be possible that a brand is able to increase its sales simply by creating a “warmer” tagline. By warmer it means that the tagline is more customer-friendly since with this tagline the company is able to reach their customers and convince them that their product is the best one in the market. By doing this, LG was not able to boost their sales but also be more successful than its rival company, Samsung, that instead of a friendly tagline, uses all of the awards and certificates they have won based on their functionality.

In my opinion, LG’s strategy is perfect. I am certain that LG’s chief officers know that their technology and functionality is inferior than that of the competition, therefore, instead of falsely publicizing that they are a superior technological brand they advertise that their product is capable of bettering their customers’ lives and making it more comfortable, which is something that is impossible to calculate with any quantitative method.

This marketing strategy is not only smart for the fact that they are not lying but also because it explores humans and their nature. By suggesting that their product is able to better one’s life it almost automatically grabs the customers’ attention because people want things that will make their life easier and more comfortable. However, whenever a customer sees Samsung’s awards and certificates, they might feel too overwhelmed and think that they do not necessarily need the all of the perks and technology, causing them to decide that they do not want to invest their hard-earned money in something that they will not even use all the features. So instead of buying the clearly better apparel the customer decides to buy the one that is not as great but offers a better life for them. And who can blame them? I am absolutely sure that I would chose the brand that says that their product will make my life better any day, instead of the one that prizes itself by winning all of those awards on features I will hardly use.

In conclusion, I have to agree with my colleague Won Jun Kong that LG’s marketing strategy of adding warmth to their brand is a very successful one. Obviously it would be even better to have the awards and certificates that prove you are the better brand, thus, causing you to proportionate your customers with a better life. But since this is not the case it is clear that being customer-friendly and knowing how to appeal to the population is key to become successful.

https://blogs.ubc.ca/wonjunkong/2014/11/09/what-would-be-the-effect-on-positioning-of-adding-warmth-to-the-brand/

Yesterday, the Tsilhqot’in tribe emerged a totem pole near Fish Lake as a marker of the new Dasiqox Tribal Park. This was the result of a historic Supreme Court Decision from a few months back that granted the Tislhqot’in people 1,750 square kilometres of disputed land. This news, despite being very significant for the Tislhqot’in tribe, would not be as widely publicized if it were not for the fact that the new Dasiqox Park is covering the area where the Taseko’s $1.1 billion New Prosperity copper-gold project would be founded.

The tribal park is created in order to protect several species of fauna an flora that are endangered and cannot be found in this quantity anywhere else in the world. However, tribal parks are not officially recognized by the provincial government of British Columbia. This makes it harder for the Tislhqot’in people to ensure that the park’s boundaries and their rules of what can and cannot be done are going to be respected. This fact means that Taseko’s plans for building the mine at Fish Lake are not completely ruined.

Nonetheless, Taseko still has to have their plans approved by the federal government before anything can be done, since their plans have been continuously criticized because it contaminates the environment around it. It would have been a better choice for Taseko to implement a PEST analysis before anything else, so they could evaluate the political and social factors that are affecting the mining company’s projects.

It is very clear that before anything is done, there will be the need for a meeting between the government, the Tislhqot’in people, and the extracting company in order to clarify what will and what will not be allowed inside the tribal park.

source:http://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/Unilateral+park+declared+Tsilhqot+includes+Prosperity+mine/10192766/story.html

 

 

As Kamilla Bekbulatova wrote some days ago (you can see her original post here), logo colours are of utmost importance in becoming a successful and renowned brand. According to her research, she found out that people do, in fact, remember brands better because of their colours since most of them will provoke some type of reaction to the consumers.

Her post made me realize how companies need to put a lot of effort in every single detail in order to survive in today’s competitive market, since any small mistake or lack of attention to some minor detail may give them a disadvantage. For example, if a fast food company, who’s target market are children and teengers, decides to make their logo green and blue, it is very likely that they will not attract a very significant amount of people. This happens because the colours they chose gives the customers a more health-councious and trustworthy feeling, instead of an exciting and energy-filled feeling that children are looking for.

Also, it is impressive the brain’s power to associate colours to very specific things. therefore, it is also very important to make sure your logo colours reflect exactly what you offer because if they do, it is very likely people will assimilate your logo to various feelings and situations based on your colour choices.

In this precise second, millions of mice, dogs, rabbits, primates, and other animals are being poisoned, blinded and killed. Do you know why? Because of MAC’s lip-glosses, Clinique’s face powders, DOLCE & GABBANA’s blushes and many other products from renowned brands. However, The Body Shop is an ethical and natural beauty company promoting social and environmental change. They were the first international cosmetic brand in being recognized by the Humane Cosmetics Standard for the Against Animal Testing policy.

A couple of months ago, there was a news report about The Body Shop and their stores in Chinese airports. Choice was criticizing the company by having stores in Chinese airports since the Chinese government has the right to take cosmetics out of the stores’ shelves and conduct tests on animals. Many of The Body Shop’s customers were shocked about the news since one of the value propositions of the company is that their products aren’t tested on animals. A lot of news reports came out criticizing the brand and mentioning that since 2006 (when The Body Shop became part of L’Oreal company), the company had lost its value and that all the “against animal testing” was just a publicity stunt.

In my opinion, The Body Shop should have never become part of L’Oreal Company. L’Oreal commands more than 10% share of the prosper Chinese cosmetic market, and does animal testing, all of which are against The Body Shop’s values. Therefore, it is hypocritical of them to say they are against animal testing when they are trying to enter to the Chinese market and by belonging to L’Oreal. Those decisions might have cost The Body Shop a lot of loses, however, after the hard criticism Mark Kindness, CEO of  The Body Shop Austrlia,  said, “Until China changes its stance on animal testing, we are prepared to not enter that market… While it’s tempting in terms of the size, until the day comes that you do not need to test your ingredients or your products on animals, we will not be going into that market at all [emphasis added]”.

On the other hand, entering to the Chinese market would be a great opportunity for The Body Shop and its international expansion, however, that might cost the company a lot more criticism and the loss of credibility since a lot of customers would be disappointed with the brand. Thus, giving the bran bad reputation and bad publicity, reducing sales and impeding the company’s growth.

Sources:

http://www.choice.com.au/reviews-and-tests/food-and-health/beauty-and-personal-care/cosmetics/the-body-shop-sells-out-on-animal-testing.aspx

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/12/body-shop-removes-products-from-chinese-duty-free-stores

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/body-shop-under-scrutiny-as-crueltyfree-products-found-in-china-20140311-34iv0.html

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow, September 18th, 2014 the UK will hold one of it most important poles in order to decide if the Scottish population desires to continue as part of the United Kingdom or if it wants to have an independent country. This all started when the Scottish National Party(SNP) won the parliament elections in 2011, allowing them to call the vote. Backing their desire for independence, the SNP’s leader says that considering that almost 90% of the oil and gas supply from the UK comes from Scottish land, if they were an independent country they could be one of the richest countries in the world. However, the opposition says that oil, being a non-renewable resource, will one day end and, therefore, basing the future of an entire nation in solely one scarce resource is a foolish move.

Leaving all of the political discussion aside, this independence movement will, and already has, had an impact in the economy of the UK and of Scotland if the voting turns out “YES”. Due to all the uncertainty around what will happen tomorrow, investors are unwilling to invest in in the UK, therefore, their money would be more expensive for the UK. This results in less investments form business and less consumer spending, thus, explaining why the sterling has been in decline. Not only that, but if the the vote results in a “YES”, Scotland would need to adopt a new currency since the UK has already declared that there is no way that an independent Scotland would be allowed to use the pound. This would cause somewhat of a trouble for Scotland because without an established currency it is harder to attract investors. Also, this would be bad for the rest of the UK since they would lose their main source of oil and natural gas, thus, making it very likely for their debt to start increasing. In addition, if the vote is result in the Scottish independence, it is more than likely for the sterling price to continue in decline since the investors would still be hesitant to put money into the UK and Scotland until all of the separation negotiations are concluded.

If the result says that Scotland remains as part of the UK, the investors hesitation would end in the day following the results, stabilizing the sterling price and resupplying the businesses. Therefore, it is impossible to tell what will be more beneficial for the economy from both countries in the long run, however, tomorrow’s voting has already had some impact in the economy. Despite the results, tomorrow’s voting will definitely cause some changes in Scotland and in the UK.

 

 

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29103437