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Celebrities and  businesses have of a symbiotic relationship, when celebrities are paid to endorse companies, the companies usually have increased profits. Celebrity endorsements are a huge advertising tactic that help increase revenue, sometimes dramatically. In Emily Carrilo’s post about Jennifer Lopez’s campaign for Fiat. Like Emily stated, consideration for a Fiat increased by 31%.  Other campaigns such as Louis Vuitton paid Angeline Jolie $10million to be the face of their brand. In my opinion having a celebrity endorse a brand will promote it, even though its costly it will be successful. Also, Carl Jr.’s advertisement with Kim Kardashian gives people the image that you can eat “hot” salad from Carl Jr. because people like Kim Kardashian eat it. The ad is very sexy and gives that image with the product. An example of how celebrities create perfumes or clothing lines in their names, they make a lot of money from it just because its them. The image of a celebrity is very important because there are many people who buy stuff because a celebrity has it or endorses it. Also, some people look up to celebrities, and so they buy their perfume because they want to smell good like them.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/13/angelina-jolie-louis-vuitton_n_875851.html

In response to Yi-Wen Huang’s Post about the I-Phone 4s being disappointing, many people are switching to the new model. In the beginning people were disappointed because the phone looks exactly the same, but Apple advertising about the new “Siri Application” and other upgrades have captivated, what I heard is 400million buyers in the first few days. Microsoft also claimed that the Siri application is nothing new and that their products have had voice-command applications before. They also argue that the only difference really is the new application and thats what they are basing their sales on. Even though the new phone is selling quickly, in my opinion Apple should have released a version that slightly looks different than the previous phone. When someone looks at an i-phone, they can identify if its a generation 4 or 3 but they can differentiate whether it is an “s” or not. Not only does the phone look the same, its only upgrade really is the Siri application, like Microsoft has said.

Article:

http://www.itproportal.com/2011/11/24/microsoft-claims-iphone-4s-siri-nothing-new/

Erica Douglas’s blog discusses the conflicts businesses face and the techniques they should integrate. In this specific post, she discusses how traditional “stable” jobs  do not satisfy generation Y and Z (18-25). The main difference described is that this generation wants flexibility and freedom to travel compared to the previous generation who sought a college degree and a “stable” job. Another notable difference is that our generation is the most brand conscious; she describes how they “would rather have one $200 pair of jeans that they love and wear every day than 10 pairs of $20 jeans”, this means Generation Ys are qualitative rather than quantitative.

I agree with her about our generation, but a solution for employers is to empower their employees by creating new job descriptions different than cubicle positions. Employers should be more innovative when it comes to job creation and also build values in their workplace. As well, new employees are seeking flexibility in their jobs by being able to work at home or choosing their hours. The recent generation is looking for companies that have meaning and value and make a difference in the society and thus companies should be clear about their cause, goals, and values.

Picture URL: http://sparkboutik.com/social-media-2/generation-y-my-generation-of-social-media/

An American tradition has crossed over the border and captivated many Canadians. Many Canadians usually plan a trip to the America to enjoy the huge sales which causes losses in the Canadian market. In order to share the prosperity, Canadian retailers have began cutting down their prices. The article explains that “They’re responding with the big discounts and sales and scratch-and-saves and extended store hours to satisfy that need here in Canada.” The weekend promotion is going to help shoppers begin their holiday shopping without crossing the border.

In my opinion its important for prices in Canada to be lower because many shoppers are captivated to go to the states because they can save plenty of money. When I look at the same product in the states, I find $60-$70dollars savings in some items and try to find ways around buying them here. I also hear how plenty of people make plans to go shopping in the states because taxes and prices are lower. The sales are going to help keep shoppers on this side of the border rather than spending their money in the States. The lower prices are going to create a win-win situation in Canada.

Picture Link: http://www.canadianfreestuff.com/ardene-canada-black-friday-sale-weekend-long-sale/

Article Link: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/sci_tech/black-friday-becoming-a-shopping-event-in-canada-to-keep-consumers-at-home-134483268.html

Managers of several large corporations discussed that there are not enough socially responsible to conduct business with. Head of a major corporation said how  “he thought it made sense to work with social enterprises but he had underestimated how much effort would be needed to find them.” The reason for the minimal selection of Social Enterprises is because private companies are interested in making profit. In my opinion it is important for companies to become more socially responsible to maintain a positive image. On the other hand, I believe there is no powerful incentive to build a Social Enterprise because living requires financial support and the opportunity cost of spending your time developing a Social Enterprise is too high to ignore. Instead of searching for Social Enterprises, businesses should conduct trade with socially responsible businesses. After all, there must be a half-way compromise. It makes sense to me why some companies do not integrate environmentally friendly equipment, it could be costly and thus interfere with profit making. Especially for public companies, CEO’s are evaluated through profit measuring and so there is pressure to maintain high profit rather than investing in socially responsible equipment and tactics.

Article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/social-enterprise-network/2011/nov/14/challenge-engaging-social-enterprises-with-corporates?newsfeed=true

Picture 1 Link:

http://votw.wikispaces.com/

Picture 2 Link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Recycle001.svg

For the past several quarters, the stock market has been very volatile due to the financial issues in Europe and issues in the Middle East. Recently, the stock market has taken a hit as fears of France and Spain entering the crisis increase.

As we learned in the “Finance and Crisis” class, the main reason stock prices are falling are because of the expected returns in the future, mainly from dividends.  Several U.S economists fear an unproductive future,”It is stunningly easy to slip into recession, ” says US Chief Economist at RBC Capital Market. Economist fears are infecting most of the population. Investor expectations about the “expected returns” in the future are not looking good causing stock prices to fall rapidly. The troubles in Europe have caused many investors to feel unsafe in the Stock Market and thus they are pulling out, trying to minimize losses. The market has experienced a seven month low which may indicate a crisis in the near future.

Recent turmoil in the market can help us understand clearly how a crises on the opposite side of the world can influence markets on a global scale.

http://www.thestockmarket4u.com/

Articles Link:

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11314360/1/stocks-slip-as-france-and-spain-are-drawn-into-europes-debt-debacle.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN

http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/20/8913235-a-short-topsy-turvy-week-awaits-wall-street

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/europe-debt-crisis-risks-of-global-recession-mount/articleshow/10810130.cms

The Occupy Vancouver Protests was the first movement I’ve witnessed in person. From what I understand, they are protesting because of the current state of the economy and how wealth isn’t distributed amongst the population. I embarked on the Occupy Vancouver several times and noticed that most of the occupiers are hippies, poor, lazy, and under drug influence.

In New York, business owners are laying off their workers due to falling sales because of the occupiers. The occupiers are discouraging shoppers from entering the areas around the camp. Recently several business owners spoke to the occupiers telling them the externalities they are causing. One owner explains, “”People who are working for us have a right to their jobs, and you can’t go and usurp other people’s rights”.

The occupiers have been protesting for two months and in my opinion the movement has gone too far. The occupiers are wasting their energy protesting and giving “free hugs” instead of actively searching for opportunities or jobs. The economy isn’t at its greatest and instead of finding ways to improve it, they are causing businesses to lay off their workers and possibly close down in the future.

Article Link: http://brooklyn.ny1.com/content/news_beats/political_news/150774/downtown-business-owners-say-occupy-wall-street-protests-hurt-their-revenue/

http://mungowitzend.blogspot.com/2011/01/trade-is-good.html

China’s carbon emissions have drastically increased recently and so a recent press conference marked the beginning of China’s future in sustainability as the president discussed goals to develop a sustainable economy. China’s steps are similar to the Carbon Reduction Strategy Vanoc used. First, Vanoc’s strategy is to “Know”, as the president admits their economy is facing unsustainable development and that the technique used to produce energy must be altered. Second, China is planning to “Reduce” as the president dressed that ” China will honor its commitment to growing a green economy” by integrating more water dams and better ethics. Third is to recognize the “Offsets” which China describes as maintaining high manufacturing levels and energy production levels; they will lower the emissions by through better equipment in the future. Fourth, is to “Enable and Inspire” which China has recognized as their goal to become green-efficient leaders in Asia as they take the first drastic measures to integrate greener energy.

China has really taken a step towards sustainability by mapping out their economies future through working to balance out their economy with social responsibility by trying to set limits to carbon emission and developing more efficient manufacturing methods.

http://capitolcommentary.com/2009/07/01/global-warmers-co2-and-the-outsourcing-of-jobs/

article:

http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/china/review.php

http://www.ny-forum.com/forumblog/2011/11/a-new-role-for-china/

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-11/14/c_131246367.htm

The concept of Entrepreneurship was clearly depicted by one of the most successful families in the Middle East. Elia Nuqul, founder and CEO of Nuqul Group, is possibly the richest and most successful man in Jordan and one of the most successful in the Middle East. He clearly defines the concept of “from rags to riches”; in 1948, he was a refugee from Palestine who had no belongings and nowadays his families net-worth is approximately $1billion. He was able to build a huge amount of wealth in his lifetime and his business has recorded record profits in the past several years. Within several years of building his companies his fortune was steadily increasing, his wealth rapidly grew. Nuqul Group has ventured into construction, concrete and aluminum manufacturing, car-trading, packaging and printing, paper mills, and other fields. The company has become an international one with presence in North America, Asia, and Africa. The sustainability and efficiency protocols, ventured by Elia Nuqul, has helped expand the company rapidly into several high risk industries and enter very competitive markets which they control now.

http://www.nuqulgroup.com/ Continue reading →

Ever since Jordan and the United States have created a free trade agreement, American apparel companies have taken advantage of the free zones in Jordan. Companies such as Walmart, Target, and Ralph Lauren. Recently, labourers and employees have begun speaking up about the dismal conditions they are living under. Employees explain that they work up to 20hours on some days and 7 days a week. Others complain that employers and managers physically abuse the workers when they slack off or complain. In some instances, the workers have been jailed for complaining about the harsh environment they work in.  Several interviews with workers have caught the attention of advocacy groups all over the world.

Most factory workers are brought in from China and Bangladesh and are promised salaries up to $120 a month but, unfortunately, they later discover that they will only get $50 for several months. The workers get far less than the Jordan’s set minimum wage and their passports, ID’s, and rights are confiscated in order to keep them tied to the job.

The main ethical issue here is the fact that the workers are forced to work 90-120hours a week and basically have no rights.

They Youtube video is just proof of how workers are treated, the example was a worker died.

Article and Picture Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/03/business/worldbusiness/03clothing.html?pagewanted=all