If you can't beat 'em, then join them !

                                            A new website known as BuffferBox.com which was created by the University of Waterloo students have now been taken over by Google. BufferBox provides users with temporary storage facilities in central locations which can accept packages delivered from online retailers such as Amazon, E bay  etc. To begin the process, users are expected to sign up for a Bufferbox address at bufferbox.com. The users can then use the Bufferbox address as their shipping address while ordering goods online. When a parcel arrives at one of the Bufferbox's self-serve kiosks, the users receives an email and can pick up their package using a one-time-use code at their convenience.

A person using the Bufferbox Service to receive their package

As quoted by the BufferBox chief executive Mr. McCauley, "So us being able to work very closely with someone like Google allows us to leverage their resources and share vision and combine thoughts and talent together to really make something a lot bigger than we ever would have imagined." This quote basically summarizes everything I basically had to say about the article. By joining a world renowned and influential corporation such as Google Inc., Bufferbox will gain the necessary exposure that they would need to reach out to more online users and expand their services. This new ownership of Bufferbox Inc. will also benefit Google because it will help them to compete with the Amazon locker packaging service.

This article ties in with the course because it talks about the different types of ownership such as Corporations like Google Inc and Bufferbox Inc. and also how sometimes bigger companies take over or buy out smaller companies to either provide more services, get a competitive advantage or to even eliminate competition  In this scenario  Google bought Bufferbox to get a competitive advantage over Amazon's packaging service. Another example of such takeovers would be by McCarthy's. McCarthy's has bought out all the other small uniform companies and have taken complete monopoly over the uniform business. They take over the smaller companies to eliminate competition.

Another interesting thing about this incident is that, just like Instagram, this company had only about 10 employees. It's surprising to see how small scale business such as these are being taken over by huge corporations such as Google due to the interests of the people. Maybe I can start up some business like that and not worry about working for the rest of my life :)

More information about this take-over can be found at http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1296016--google-buys-waterloo-startup

What are your thoughts on this? Is this a good move by Google? Would you use BufferBox to get your parcels? :) 

May the best deals win!

                    As we get closer to Black Friday, Canadian malls are extending their hours of service in hopes of competing with Black Friday sales across the border and give people a reason to stay on Canadian soil. Personally I believe that it is completely absurd and stupid because it is the deals which draw Canadians to shop in the states and not their hours of service? Canadian malls will have to do a lot more than extended hours to keep customers in country. Without mass deals on electronics and clothes like the States during Black Friday, Canadian retailers and mall operators will have no luck in trying to attract customers. Esp. at an opportune time like this when the Canadian dollar is high and with increased duty-free limits, people will do cross-border shopping since they will be able to get more of their money's worth.

The Canadian malls are trying to attract the customers to local malls and make them spend their money on Canadian soil rather than losing our money to American dealers. If I was in charge of these malls, I would try a different method to keep the people in town. I would markdown the prices which will attract more sales and thus keep the people within the country and also increase my profits. According to Ottawa CTV News, "Consumers spent more than $11 billion dollars on Black Friday in 2011." If the Canadian malls and retailers can indeed stop the consumers from border-crossing shopping, then it will greatly help the Canadian economy since there will be more money circulating in Canadian soil rather than in the foreign market.

A recent survey indicated that close to 40 per cent of Ontario residents plan to cross-border shop this upcoming holiday season.

How many of you guys are planning to go to the United States for Black Friday shopping? I know for sure that @sathishnalin’s parents will be going (as usual, every year). What are your thoughts on this move by the Canadian mall owners? Will this stop you from going to the states?

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below :)



Read more: http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/canadian-malls-take-on-u-s-black-friday-by-extending-hours-1.1025469#ixzz2Cc4Jpuzu

http://www.moneyville.ca/article/1283064--ontario-malls-to-compete-with-u-s-black-friday

It’s a Brazil-Canada beef ting!

So, as I was going through the bazillion websites to find a good article to do my blog on, I came across this article and it looked interesting so here it goes!

                   A subsidiary of a Brazilian-based company has taken over management of XL Foods, the Alberta-based plant at the heart of the recent beef recall.  Before I begin talking about this topic, for those of you that don`t know about the whole Alberta beef recall situation, I will give you a quick recap about what happened. Beef products which were manufactured in Alberta are being recalled by XL Foods due to an e-coli bacterial contamination in one of their plants. 5 people were confirmed victims of e-coli bacterial infection after consuming the affected beef materials. Since this event, the plant has been shut down by authorities and their permit has been cancelled by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. So, you guys might be wondering, " How does this topic tie in with business?" Well, I got the answer for that :) This article proved to be an amazing article to do my blog on since it talks about a lot of things that we discussed in class in the previous month such as exports/imports, Standards and Regulations, etc. 

                               In 2011, Alberta was responsible of processing one third of all the beef products in Canada due to the XL foods plant which was located there. Albertan beef has a healthy worldwide market. Nearly one half of all Canadian beef is produced in Alberta. Alberta is one of the prime producers of plains buffalo. The recent beef recall had a tremendous impact on the economy of Alberta because it affected their exports levels. After the recall, people are hesitant to buy Albertan beef products due to the risk of e-coli contamination and it also affected the sales of beef products. This whole incident has cost the Albertan government millions in revenue due to its heavy reliance on the beef industry along with the tar sands, wheat and other commodities. Now it will take quite some time for the company to build up its reputation and gain the trust of the consumers.              

                 As a cause and effect of this scenario, several employees from the XL Factory were laid off due to the shortage of work(a round 2000 workers) I strongly believe that the Brazilian company would be able to get a new permit from the CFIA to re-open the branch and re-start production. This would positively impact the lives of the residents that live in this area since they rely heavily on the beef business. Most of the residents that live in that neighborhood are either factory workers or cattle breeders. Since the closure of the factory, these residents have been unemployed. This ties in with what we talked in class about the power that local businesses have on the people living in that area. The economy of that city is greatly dependent on this one company and any changes in their management could affect the city as a whole.
          
                        As mentioned in class, most countries have specific laws which regulate foods that are sold within the country to ensure that certain levels of standards are met. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency( CFIA) is responsible for making sure that all the foods that are sold in Canada are making with sufficient care and pass the national standards. Consumption of food contaminated with E. coli may cause serious and potentially life-threatening illnesses, the agency says.  A full list of the contaminated products is available on The Inspection Agency's Website. 

This video clip is a news report from Global National about the Brazilian company that is taken over XL Foods. It also gives us more information regarding the current situation and what to expect in the near future. ( This video summarizes mostly everything about the recall if you are too lazy to read about it)

http://thechronicleherald.ca/canada/150103-brazilian-company-to-take-over-alberta-beef-plant

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/10/22/xl-foods-beef-recall-plant-reopen_n_2003152.html#slide=1578372

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1148933--beef-recall-due-to-e-coli-fears-grows-to-135-products

Lucid Dreaming

So, the first thing that I will be posting will be about....DREAMS :o

So lately, I have been really interested in learning about dreams such as the importance of dreams, why we dream, etc. I came across some really crazy dreams on the internet and it freaked me out :O Multiple people have experienced dreams about someone trying to strangle them in their sleep, hurting them, etc. Some people have also seen visions about the future and were able to predict certain events.

Here are two interesting videos that I came across about lucid dreams. Feel free to check this out :)

This pic below shows that that our brain has the capacity to dream about anything if we let out brains just wonder around in our sleep. Lucid dreaming helps us to control out dreams.