Monthly Archives: November 2014

The United Nations can’t do everything. For the United Nations to lend social support to developing countries, leaders of many countries must sit down together and come up with a decide. In addition, they only focus on major issues in the world that has caught media attention. When a decision is made, the United Nations will provide what the victims need for example, water, food, etc.

On the other hand, social enterprises are different. What the United Nations does is give people what they need. What social enterprises does is helping people to be able to get what they need themselves.

Giving people food and water does not solve poverty. What the UN does not know is that these people got potential. The social entrepreneurs found a way to help people out of poverty without feeding them. What they really need is to be able to support themselves. Many great minds started micro-finance, or micro-loans, in developing countries to help people start their own business and support themselves and potentially their employees. If you always give them food, they will never be able to make their own food. If you teach them how to make their own food, you will be the true hero in fighting poverty.

References:

“Microfinance 101 – Part 4 (final): Why Microloans Are Better than a Donation, or Charity.” MILAAP STORIES. 12 Sept. 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://blog.milaap.org/microfinance-101-part-4-final-why-microloans-are-better-than-a-donation-or-charity/>.

“What Is Social Entrepreneurship?” Skoll World Forum. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://skollworldforum.org/about/what-is-social-entrepreneurship/>.

This is one of the most influential blogs I have ever read. It is about how Netflix has came about with their human resource management.

How Netflix Reinvented HR

After discussing what human resource is in our lecture, it is clear that having a good human resource management can completely change a business. In this case, Netflix is using a strict system in hiring employees. Although they are being extremely picky, the system is effective. By hiring the personnel they need, they will get their job done better and quicker.

After seeing Yulu Hua’s blog,  NEW RECORD IS WAITING TO BE MAKE BY ALIBABA, I want to talk about what is the most important, yet most simple, thing Alibaba is doing to climb to the top of the world.

Jack Ma said in an interview on Alibaba’s IPO launch day, “We are not coming here to compete, we are coming here to help a lot of small businesses… We believe, after 15 years, the purpose of us working so hard is that we want to make these young people successful. When they are successful, our success is the result.”

Jack Ma and Alibaba’s most important philosophy is customer relations. Alibaba’s value proposition is entirely based on satisfying their customers’ needs, supporting their partners’ businesses, and helping the government to solve national issues. By creating the 11/11 annual “shopathon”, Alibaba is supporting all his partners’ businesses. Like Jack said, if all the small businesses he is supporting make money, Alibaba will make money. On the other side, he is creating a convenient and affordable channel for the customers to purchase what they need. Jack Ma and Alibaba has gained worldwide recognition for their success in satisfying both sides of the business.

References: 

Hua, Yulu. “NEW RECORD IS WAITING TO BE MADE BY ALIBABA.” UBC Blogs Site. 10 Nov. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <https://blogs.ubc.ca/yuluhua/2014/11/10/new-record-is-waiting-to-be-made-by-alibaba/>.

Tully, Shawn. “The Wall Street Fable behind Alibaba’s IPO.” Fortune. 10 Sept. 2012. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://fortune.com/2014/09/10/alibabas-ipo-a-wall-street-fable/>.

“Jack Ma: Alibaba Wants to Help U.S. Small Businesses.” YouTube. Bloomberg News, 19 Sept. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Nkh_CWzyps>.

It has just been announced that Canada and made an agreement with China in establishing a trading-hub for the Chinese RMB. The Chinese are planning on dominating world economy! Starting with Canada….

To all seriousness, this trading hub agreement will strongly benefit Canada’s economy. Now Canadian businesses can deal directly with Chinese businesses with RMB, instead of Canadian dollar to American Dollar then to RMB. Why is this important? China is Canada’s second largest trading partner and one of the largest economy in the world. Not only will this benefit Canadian companies, more and more Chinese companies will start to invest in Canada.

Reference:

Ecker, Janet. “Yuan Trading-hub Status a Major Win for Canada.” The Globe and Mail. 11 Nov. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/yuan-trading-hub-status-a-major-win-for-canada/article21541747/>.

Julia Lu posted a blog about a recently innovated high-performance vehicle, the Quant e-Sportlimousine. This is not your usual Lamborghini super car, it is a ‘hyper car’ that runs on salt water. YES, SALT WATER! Well, unfortunately, its going to cost $1.7 million dollars according to Quartz.

What I really wanted to focus on was the million dollar car market. There are many manufacturers that produces vehicles that costs over a millions dollars, for example, Porsche 918 Spyder, Mclaren P1, Bugati Veyron, and a lot more.

Obviously, they are not the common road car we see everyday. The manufacturers invests millions of dollars into engineering these vehicles. The performance of these vehicles is unimaginable. The materials they use to make them are extremely rare and expensive.

Although manufacturers do not earn a large profit out of these, the value of these vehicles will raise tremendously. Lots of these vehicles are limited production, which means: even if you are rich, you might not even get one. Some rich car enthusiasts are going to spend extra money to get these cars from other buyers.

Over time, these vehicles are not vehicles anymore; they become artwork. Like art, they are elegant and one of a kind. Certainly, the Quant e-Sportlimousine is a piece of art. It does not attract customers with the fact that it has the newest technology. People want it because it is one of a kind. Imagine if you have something that everyone wants.

References:

Narula, Svati. “This Sports Car Runs on Saltwater-but It’s No Threat to Tesla.”Quartz. 9 Sept. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://qz.com/261450/this-sports-car-runs-on-saltwater-but-its-no-threat-to-tesla/>.

Lu, Julia. “Forget Tesla, Salt Water Powered Car Emerges in European Market.” Julia Lu’s Blog. 5 Oct. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <https://blogs.ubc.ca/julialu/2014/10/05/forget-tesla-salt-water-powered-car-emerges-in-european-market/>.

Recently, a new smartphone has been on the headlines. Xiaomi Inc., a Chinese smartphone company found in 2010, has been making a tremendous revenue with extremely cheap smartphone. Its cheapest phone, Redmi 1S, costs about $150.

The Daily Telegraph states: “A table in the document showed that Xiaomi’s net profit last year rose 84 per cent to 3.46 billion yuan (US$566 million) from 1.88 billion yuan in 2012. Its revenue more than doubled to 27 billion yuan. Another table included a forecast of a 75 per cent net profit increase this year.”

On November 11th, while Canadians are mourning on Remembrance day, the Chinese are celebrating their “Singles'” day with Alibaba’s annual ‘shopathon’.  Just over 12 hours of the sale, Xiaomi has already collected over 1 billion RMB ($163 million) of revenue.

Xiaomi has climbed to the third largest smartphone makers in the world after Apple and Samsung. Xiaomi’s disruptive innovation has made a huge impact on the industry.  New predictions can be made on how the smartphone market will change in near future. Although Apple and Samsung are manufacturing much higher quality smartphone, Xiaomi can be a potential threat. Consumers are always looking to save more money. If Xiaomi’s phone is efficient and cheap, more and more people will put down their expensive iPhone’s.

References:

“Buy Xiaomi Redmi 1S | Buy Xiaomi Hongmi 1S | Redmi 1S Price.” XIAOMI MOBILE RETAIL SHOP. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.xiaomishop.com/100-xiaomi-redmi-1s-quad-core-16ghz-1gb-8gb-47-inch-ips-8mp-camera-dual-sim-wcdma-version-smartphone-black.html>.

Jones, Dow. “Xiaomi Makes a Profit on Its Cheap Smartphones.” The Daily Telegraph. 6 Nov. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/business/breaking-news/xiaomi-makes-a-profit-on-its-cheap-smartphones/story-fnn9c0gv-1227115278434?nk=b10245201f34ec2695d71791a5755407>.

Russell, Jon. “Xiaomi Clocks Record $163M Sales At Halfway Point Of China’s Singles’ Day Shopathon.” TechCrunch. 10 Nov. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/10/xiaomi-clocks-record-163m-sales-at-halfway-point-of-chinas-singles-day-shopathon/>.

Shu, Catherine. “Xiaomi Now The World’s Third Biggest Smartphone Maker, Says IDC.” TechCrunch. 29 Oct. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/29/xiaomi-now-the-worlds-third-biggest-smartphone-maker-says-idc/>.