Beedie School of Business News

Young Women in Business at SFU Encourage Social Entrepreneurship

BURNABY, B.C. (October 29, 2010)- A group of enthusiastic students from the Young Women in Business (YWiB) Network at SFU (YWiB SFU) have embarked on a new project for social change. The new program, Project GIVE (Generating Innovative Visions of Entrepreneurship), will provide participants with the opportunity to develop ideas and business plans for social change while working alongside mentors from leading non-profit organizations.

Founder of the Canadian Social Entrepreneurship Foundation (CSEF), Jason Carvalho, a passionate social-entrepreneur, is very excited about the new initiative and believes it is well aligned with the CSEF goals. CSEF will provide key support for the program through grants to fund the final projects. Says Carvalho, “Education is the fundamental foundation for change in all Societies. YWiB’s Project Give’s 5 month program will be a crash course in social entrepreneurship and social enterprise for these young professional would-be changemakers.  With a solid understanding of the underlining dynamics and history of social enterprise in B.C,  CSEF hopes that this knowledge will empower these budding social entrepreneurs to harness the energy of profitmaking to the objective of fulfilling human needs.”

Tiffanie Lai, co-President of YWiB SFU, expresses her enthusiasm, “Project GIVE is YWiB SFU’s second successful endeavour for a unique cohort-based opportunity unlike any other in the lower mainland. It’s the first time that passionate and budding female entrepreneurs have the chance to fully develop social entrepreneurship ideas with the help of experienced mentors and a fantastic feedback panel.”

Project GIVE launches on Saturday, October 30^th 2010, when the program holds its first seminar at the SFU Burnaby Campus. At the event, students will be introduced to the growing field of social entrepreneurship in BC and learn about the process and structure of a strong business plan. They will receive inspiration from stories and experiences shared by the program’s mentors.

Notable program mentors who will share their insight with Project GIVE participants include Loretta Cella (Passion Foundation), Sean Peters (Global Agents), Val Litwin (Extreme Kindness) and Kathryn Graham (Are You Aware Society Canada).

Upon completion of Project GIVE, students will have developed the skills and passion to undertake their projects. With the generous donation from the Canadian Social Entrepreneurship Foundation and the help of their mentors, participants will have the opportunity to put their ideas into action and make a lasting difference and positive impact on society.

Media Enquiries:

Katie Peardon
Social Entrepreneurship Coordinator, Young Women in Business SFU
604-346-9629 (cell)
katiepeardon@ywib.ca

About YWiB:

The Young Women in Business Network is a non-profit society for emerging female leaders in Western Canada. The network acts as the central forum to connect ambitious young women from a variety of careers, industries, and backgrounds. YWiB hosts a variety of events that provide members with opportunities to develop relevant skills and knowledge, so that they have the insight, support, and capability to reach their fullest personal and professional potential.

About YWiB SFU:

YWiB SFU is a university chapter of the greater YWiB community and provides the resources and support to bring passionate young women together to make a positive impact in their own lives and the lives of others. Focusing primarily on mentorship, networking and facilitated growth, YWiB SFU is committed to bringing members closer to front-line executives who are professionals in their specific areas of expertise. YWiB SFU’s current projects include a professional development workshop series, the SOUL (Supporting Our University Leaders) Mentorship Program, and their new social entrepreneurship program, Project GIVE (Generating Innovative Visions of Entrepreneurship).

Project GIVE Program Sponsor:
Jason Carvalho, Canadian Social Entrepreneurship Foundation (CSEF)

After attending the first Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University, UK, Jay Carvalho founded the Canadian Social Entrepreneurship Foundation, a BC not for profit that strives to educate, fund and celebrate Social Entrepreneurs in Canada. Entrepreneurship and Social Entrepreneurship are his life. Over the last 10 years he has been part of the management and/or Founding teams of 3 of BC’s most successful startups.  Despite his commitment to entrepreneurship, Jay also helped launch other not for profits such as OneGlobaltribe, a USA based non-profit, which was based off the award-winning PBS Series: Globaltribe. He has been an adviser and consultant for the Silicon Valley social enterprise start-up Villagethegame.com and has served as a business plan judge/assessor for the World Bank’s Development Market Place, University of Victoria and Stanford University Business Plan Competitions.

Notable Project GIVE Mentors:
Loretta Cella, (Passion Foundation
Sean Peters, (Global Agents)
Val Litwin, (Extreme Kindness)
Kathryn Graham, (Are You Aware Society Canada).

Simon Fraser University’s business school has been ranked as one of the world’s most productive institutions studying international business.

A study in the International Business Review has ranked SFU Business 38th out of 40 universities around the world, based on the total number of academic articles published between 1998 and 2008.

SFU was one of two Canadian universities to make the top 40 ranking. The University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of Business ranked fifth overall, after the University of South Carolina, University of Pennsylvania, Chinese University of Hong Kong and Michigan State University, which topped the list.

Daniel Shapiro, dean of SFU Business, said rankings like these only help to bolster the university’s global standing in the competitive world for academic talent with more than 12,000 business schools around the world.

“It certainly helps to attract visiting scholars and students at the graduate level, particularly at the PhD level.”

The school has continued to focus on international business issues like cross-cultural communication and management, emerging markets and China in particular.

Their studies have also been included in the most recent Business Council of BC Outlook 2020 series providing insight on the opportunities and challenges for B.C. relating to Asian Pacific trade.

The school has continued to expand its international business focus, recently launching the Jack Austin Centre for Asia Pacific Business Studies in partnership with the Asia Pacific Foundation.

rchu@biv.com

http://www.bivinteractive.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3284&Itemid=1

October 26, 2010

An undergraduate student team from Simon Fraser University garnered finalist status at the Collegiate Ethics Case Competition, hosted at the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management from October 21 to 23 in Tucson.

The event featured 30 leading business schools from across North America, including four from Canada. SFU’s team – featuring students Andrew McKinlay and Owen Hosford – was one of only four to reach the finals, along with the University of Southern California, University of Texas, and Elon University. The team from Elon eventually won the competition.

The challenge was especially daunting for Canadian business school students, since the case dealt with the intricacies of the United States health care system and associated U.S. immigration issues.

“The odds were against us, but our students triumphed and we can be very proud of their accomplishment,” said Sam Thiara, Manager of Student Engagement and Recruitment at SFU Business. “What they have accomplished at this competition says much about SFU Business and the calibre of our student body.”

Thiara, who served as team coach, notes that the SFU team was the lone Canadian representative in the finals, and was the only team that made it to the finals as a first-time competitor. He was assisted in coaching duties by recent Bachelor of Business Administration graduate Pam Hernandez.

The annual Collegiate Ethics Case Competition exposes students to a thought provoking business ethics case that they could face in their professional careers. Student teams collaboratively analyze, present, and respond to questions posed by a panel of judges. The event challenges students’ moral reasoning while raising awareness of the importance of corporate social responsibility.

For more information, visit: http://ethics.eller.arizona.edu/competition/

As part of the Vancouver Sun’s week-long series on the worldwide decline in shark populations, the October 25 edition of the newspaper profiled Claudia Li and her organization, Shark Truth, which advocates for the removal of shark-fin soup on restaurant menus in Canada and internationally. The article in its entirety appears below.

The dangerous allure of shark-fin soup and the grassroots movement to combat it

by Larry Pynn, Vancouver Sun

Tai Cheng’s father Derick, a prominent Chinatown businessman, was okay with not serving shark-fin soup at his son’s wedding.

But Cheng’s mother, Roxy, had her doubts.

Shark-fin soup is traditional at such banquets. Failure to serve it could send the wrong message to the 680 guests assembling at the Floata Seafood Restaurant on Keefer Street.

“She was worried about the backlash, the stigma, the talk in the community,” Cheng explained.

As it turns out, nobody complained and everyone was forced to take a fresh look at the ecological impact of their culture — in this case, the global decline in shark populations.

“There is no purpose other than the fact it’s a sign of wealth,” said Cheng’s bride, Julianna Paik, who’s of Korean descent. “Ask yourselves why you’re choosing to serve it. Understand all aspects of that dinner and make a conscious choice, not just because of tradition or to show that your family is wealthy.”

Not far away, restaurant manager Daniel Chow sat down with The Vancouver Sun as the midweek luncheon crowd eased.

“In my opinion, it’s about time to stop it,” he said of the global slaughter of sharks. “Sharks are the top of the food chain. Once no shark, the ocean will lose the balance.”

His boss is sympathetic, but not quite as committed. He doesn’t want the restaurant’s name published in the paper.

Chow understands the desire to meet the demands of customers.

Shark-fin soup is also a lucrative item that restaurants cannot easily dismiss.

“It’s the meaning of high class,” he explained. “The ancient Chinese people, they used to do it. They’d like to eat something that’s hard to get. Like shark fin — they have to get the shark to get out the fin. Once they’re used to it, ‘Oh, I’m rich, I can afford to eat something expensive.’”

The long-standing view at wedding banquets: “If you don’t serve shark fin, that means no respect.”

Sharks in decline

Yet the impact is enormous. Shark populations are in free fall around the global, with as many as 73 million thought to be traded annually for their fins, and Canada’s Asian communities are contributing to the conservation crisis.

Scientists warn that the removal of a top predator will have serious ecological consequences, and they appreciate grassroots efforts within the Chinese community to make a difference.

“We have to stop that,” asserted Dennis Thoney, director of animal operations for the Vancouver Aquarium. “We need to educate Asians about shark-fin soup. The fishery just cannot handle that.”

Chow’s restaurant charges $25 for an individual bowl, although one can pay many times that, depending on the quality and the size of the fin. Herbal shops in Chinatown can charge more than $600 a pound for better fins.

During cooking, shark fin becomes long and transparent, like vermicelli. “It doesn’t have any taste,” Chow said, noting the soup base is the “soul of the soup” with ingredients such as pork, chicken bones and ham (for the salt).

Larger and thicker fins fetch the highest price, especially the dorsal fin on the back of the shark.

“It’s getting more popular,” Chow said. “Chinese society is getting rich, so many occasions.”

The demand led the Green Party of Canada, in 2007, to call for a ban on the import of shark fins. Shark Truth, an organization founded by Simon Fraser University business graduate Claudia Li, supports that ban in hopes of putting an end to shark-fin soup.

Nick Dulvy, co-chair of the shark specialist group for the International Union for Conservation, supports efforts within the Asian community to educate consumers about the impact of their actions.

“That’s the way forward,” he said. “There is a sense that people in the Chinese community want the opportunity to do something about the consumption of shark-fin soup.”

Chow said he asks, but does not push, customers to consider an alternative to shark-fin soup when planning a wedding banquet.

“It’s a first step,” he said. “If they’re open to the idea, I’ll suggest something else.”

Options include other expensive soups, perhaps one with rare mushrooms or another type of seafood, such as fish maw (swim bladder). “Find a substitute to shark fin … otherwise it won’t be stopped.”

Some young Asian couples are taking a position on their own against shark-fin soup at their weddings.

“I feel proud when they do that,” Chow said. “But it’s still small. You’ll have to wait for a certain long time to change peoples’ minds.”

Lack of action

International government action to save sharks has proven largely futile.

Even the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) achieves limited success.

“The problem with CITES is that countries that have an enormous vested interest in the economics of fisheries hold sway,” Dulvy said.

“It comes down to who has the most influence and power and carry the most votes on the day. At the moment, while many countries are concerned about pelagic sharks, the reality is that the bulk of countries are not voting to list sharks under CITES.”

A study published online recently in Progress in Oceanography by Peter Jacques of the University of Central Florida, found that globally active shark management is “nearly nonexistent,” while pressures on sharks, through practices such as finning, have increased over the past 20 years.

Jacques noted that “there are blocs of countries working actively against shark listings in CITES, and intense financial interests for fins at stake in legal and illegal markets, where organized crime syndicates have infiltrated the industry, complicating the geopolitical possibility of effective conservation.”

Dulvy, who also is Canada research chair in marine biodiversity and conservation at SFU, said oceanic sharks are often caught as “collateral” damage of our desire to eat bluefin tuna and swordfish.

“Instead of keeping the shark, they cut off the fins and throw the live shark back overboard. The business that runs the fishing fleet is making money from tuna and swordfish, but the fishermen on the boats are supplementing their salary by keeping these fins. They’re making a bit of money on the side … trying to make a living like you or me.”

More countries are banning the inhumane and wasteful practice of finning and requiring fishermen to at least bring the whole shark back to the dock; that way, officials have a better idea of the species and numbers being impacted.

Ernie Cooper has closely followed the international trade in wildlife for more than 20 years as Canada’s first wildlife inspector with Environment Canada, and now as a wildlife trafficking specialist with the World Wildlife Fund.

At the latest CITES meeting in March 2010 in Qatar, the U.S. sought to list hammerhead and oceanic white-tip sharks under Appendix II, which would require export permits and the assurance of government that the trade is not detrimental to the species.

But international politics combined with poor attendance due to the high costs of visiting the Gulf state conspired against the interests of conservation, Cooper said.

Japan did its homework and lined up enough opposition to defeat a more contentious proposal that would have banned the commercial trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna, a species highly valued for sushi but in decline.

“That was the real battle,” Cooper said. “Japan, as the primary market, pulled out all the stops to ensure the bluefin tuna proposal didn’t pass.”

Libya called for a vote early in the discussion — which every country has the right to do — and limited discussion on the merits of the proposal. “It’s politics. Let’s just say Libya did what it was supposed to do.”

The vote: 72 out of 129 CITES members voted against the trade ban, 43 voted in favour, 14 abstained. A two-thirds majority is needed to pass under CITES rules. CITES has 175 member countries.

Once the bluefin tuna listing was defeated, the sharks fell as well. Proposals by the European Union to list the spiny dogfish and porbeagle shark also failed, with Canada opposing listing of the dogfish but supporting porbeagle.

To date only three shark species have been listed under CITES Appendix II: the basking shark and whale shark are killed mainly for their fins and meat, and the great white shark for its jaws and teeth.

Even so, the giant retail website, eBay, brazenly lists great white shark teeth for sale, mostly from China, but also the U.S.

“When it comes to the wildlife trade, it’s always about the money,” confirmed Cooper, describing Vancouver as a “major entry point” for Asian wildlife products entering Canada.

The awe of wild sharks

As for newlyweds Paik and Cheng, both Vancouver lawyers, their conservation journey only began at their wedding.

By committing not to serve shark-fin soup, they entered and won a Shark Truth contest that took them to Mexico’s Mayan Riviera near Cancun last August. There, they snorkelled with whale sharks — the largest fish in the ocean, at well over 10 metres — that had gathered to feed on plankton.

“It was overwhelming,” Paik said. “You see them coming up through the darkness with their mouth open. They’re scary looking because of the image we have of Jaws, but they’re harmless, very gentle, and so beautiful.”

Cheng was unfazed by the fact the sharks were big enough to swallow him.

“It was very calming to be in the water with them. They were just minding their own business.”

lpynn@vancouversun.com

This article was printed in the Monday, October 25, 2010 edition of the Vancouver Sun.

On October 21, 3BL Media caught up with SFU Business Assistant Prof. Stephanie Bertels during the 2010 Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR) conference in Toronto.

CBSR, a non-profit, member-led organization that mobilizes Canadian companies to make powerful business decisions that improve performance and contribute to a better world and 3BL Media, a leading CSR and sustainability communications company, have partnered to raise awareness about organization’s efforts and progress around corporate social responsibility efforts.

Click here to see the interview.

October 25, 2010

A new ranking of global business schools measured by scholarly impact in the realm of international business has put Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Business Administration among the best in the world.

Published in the journal International Business Review, the survey ranks universities in terms of international business research output in elite business journals over the past decade. SFU Business ranked among the top 40 business schools globally, and was one of only two Canadian schools (along with the University of Western Ontario’s Ivey School) to appear in the survey.

“This is a significant accomplishment for SFU Business, and speaks to the commitment we have made as an institution to be global thought leaders in international business and to be active participants in the global exchange of ideas that connects our community to the world,” said Daniel Shapiro, Dean of SFU Business.

According to the ranking’s authors, their analysis of international business research demonstrates that international business research “consistently emanates from many of the traditionally highest ranking universities throughout the world.”

“As business continues to internationalize, the need for researchers and academic institutions to produce significant and impactful international research also increases,” they said.

The survey is entitled “A perspective on the state of the field: International business publications in the elite journals as a measure of institutional and faculty productivity.” It is authored by J. Trevin, Franklin G. Mixon, Charles A. Funk, and Andrew C. Inkpen.

Click here to view the ranking and methodology in their entirety.

October 22, 2010

Contact:

Derek Moscato
Director, Marketing and Communications
SFU Business
778.782.5038
derek_moscato@sfu.ca

Vancouver, BC, October 21, 2010 – Some sobering findings on the lack of diversity on the boards of large Canadian companies were released today in the Canadian Board Diversity Council’s Annual Report Card. From the number of women holding directorships – about one-in-seven – to the number of visible minorities (just over five per cent) to the less than one per cent Aboriginal Peoples, FP 500 boardrooms are not reflective of the broader population of Canada.

SFU Business is a founding member of the CBDC, and PhD business student Stacey R. Fitzsimmons conducted a research review for the Report Card, examining which conditions allow gender diverse boards to flourish, and which conditions drive gender diverse boards to fail.

The Report Card establishes the first-ever baseline representation of women, visible minorities, persons with disabilities and Aboriginal Peoples on the boards of Canada’s FP 500. The Founding Members of the CBDC, which include Simon Fraser University, initiated the project to encourage greater diversity within the boardrooms of the country.

“We have a distinct gap between our perception and reality about diversity when 62 per cent of Directors believe their boards are diverse. Yet, for instance women hold only 15 per cent of board seats. When a company’s talent pool reflects the diversity of those of its customers and employees, it can only be more effective at meeting their needs and therefore meeting or exceeding its business objectives. As a large number of directors retire over the next five years, the time to address this talent and diversity gap is now.”

The Annual Report Card presents the findings of a survey of Directors and was conducted by Northstar Research in July 2010. Key findings of the survey include:

• There is a clear disconnect between the reality and perception of board diversity. While 62 per cent of Directors believe their boards are diverse, women hold just 15 per cent of board seats, visible minorities 5.3 per cent, persons with disabilities 2.9 per cent and Aboriginal Peoples including First Nations, Inuit and Métis, 0.8 per cent. Encouragingly, 39 per cent of Directors identify the issue of board diversity as very important.
• Women have greater representation on the top 100 companies than the broader FP 500 (19 per cent versus 15 per cent). The diversity gap widens for Board Chairs where, for example, women make up only 10 per cent.
• Diversity is not ingrained as a principle of good governance. Over two-thirds (68 per cent) of Directors say their board does not have a written diversity policy while 16 per cent have one and another 16 per cent are unsure if there is a diversity policy for their board. Again, the top 100 organizations fare better with 30 per cent having a written diversity policy compared to eight per cent for those ranked below the top 100.
• There is still resistance or a lack of urgency to increase diversity. Among those whose boards do not have a diversity policy, two-thirds (66 per cent) felt the board should not develop/adopt a formal diversity policy. In comparison, only 21 per cent said the board should have a diversity policy.
• The aspiration for diversity initiatives differs drastically across industries. Among those whose boards currently do not have a board diversity policy and said the board should develop/adopt a formal diversity policy, 27 per cent were from Knowledge/Service Based industries and just 10 per cent were from Industrial/Resource based industries.

“Countless studies have shown the positive impact diversity can have on the bottom line of an organization when they have diverse leadership and a diverse board,” said Michael Bach, National Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for KPMG, a CBDC Founding Member and sponsor of the Annual Report Card. “The onus is on Corporate Canada to take concrete steps to support this initiative and reflect the amazing diversity of our country. Working together we can affect change that will help this great country to prosper and grow.”

Based on the results, the CBDC has set ambitious goals to improve the diversity of Canadian boards, including increasing the representation of women on boards from 15 per cent to 20 per cent by 2013, while also increasing board representation of visible minorities, Aboriginal Peoples including First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, persons with disabilities and members of the LGBT community over the next five years. To support a talent pool of diverse, highly-skilled candidates to drive this increase, the Council has developed a three-level national education program “Get on Board”. The CBDC will also hold Nominating Chair round table discussions of board diversity best practices including recruiting.

In 2011, the CBDC will address board diversity in the public sector and report on the findings in the 2011 Annual Report Card. The next FP 500 Director survey will be conducted in the Spring of 2012, with a report on the progress made by those reviewed in this year’s Annual Report Card.

The 2010 Annual Report Card is available at: www.boarddiversity.ca

Diversity Award

• Burnaby Now ran a story on the award to KPMG last month of SFU’s Nancy McKinstry award for leadership in diversity.  The Burnaby Now story also told how the Burnaby Board of Trade organized workplace tours for 21 skilled immigrants at SFU.
  Burnaby Now story: http://at.sfu.ca/JzwNnY SFU news release: http://at.sfu.ca/OndIEc

Putting a human face on e-commerce

By Scott Simpson, Vancouver Sun

Shopping websites showing friendly faces and culturally appropriate colours have a distinct advantage over online marketers who focus exclusively on their merchandise, a researcher from Simon Fraser University has found.

Dianne Cyr, a professor in the SFU business faculty, says that shoppers are inclined to perceive e-commerce sites as more appealing and trustworthy, and as evoking both warmth and social presence when those sites include friendly human images.

Cyr, research partner Milena Head of McMaster University and two associates are basing their findings on lab tests involving 90 subjects, 30 each from Canada, Japan and Germany.

The reactions of subjects were individually catalogued, through questionnaires, interviews and via eye-tracking analysis, to gauge their reactions to a website similar to one designed by Sony.

Subtle changes were made between versions of the site, such as putting a face onto the screen of a laptop computer in a merchandise display, or showing a partial human image, or leaving the screen blank.

The paper, which is available at diannecyr.com, says “users specifically noted human images contributed to the warmth of the website, and without them the site had a ‘stark’ appearance.”

For their efforts, the authors’ work was recognized as paper of the year in the information-system world’s top research journal, Management and Information Systems.

Last week, Cyr also learned that a Senior Scholars committee for the Association for Information Systems had selected the paper as one of the best overall for 2009.

“It’s a very prestigious honour, so I’m thrilled,” Cyr, an online-shopping enthusiast herself, said in an interview at her office at SFU’s Surrey campus.

“We found, in fact, human images across all countries resulted in image appeal. It resulted, in all cases, in greater social presence. It also resulted in trust across all three countries.”

The researchers divided reactions into four categories — esthetics, emotional response, functionality and whether a viewer found additional or symbolic meaning in the images — and found some notable national differences in reaction.

“For Canada, the most important categories were esthetics, affective and functional. The only one missing was symbolism.

“When it came to the Germans, and this is a little bit stereotypical, we found in our study that the main appeal came from the functional interpretation aspect of the site.

“For the Japanese, the most important characteristic, and the only one that surfaced to any degree, was the emotional aspects of the websites.”

Cyr said there are ample opportunities for e-marketers to boost their sales by tailoring sites to suit regional tastes. One of her previous studies, involving a sampling of 30 websites each in the United States, Japan and Germany, found that North American e-marketers have lots of room for improvement. Cyr said 27 of 30 Japanese websites offered English-translation options, and 19 of 30 German sites also offered English.

“For the American website it was three out of 30 — yet when you look at the demographics in the U.S., there is a huge Hispanic population, for example.”

She said 1.5 billion people will have Internet access by 2011, with the largest growth in Russia, Brazil, India and China. By 2011, Asians will make up 42 per cent of the population with Internet access. The U.S. and Canada’s online population growth will be about three per cent more by 2011, while China’s will grow 17 per cent in the same period of time.

“If that customer retention rate is increased only five per cent it can increase profits by 95 per cent. So it’s huge,” Cyr said.

“So for these companies who want to get into those markets it’s imperative that they do some adaptation or localization of website design for those different countries.”

ssimpson@vancouversun.com