Tag: business

Categories
Opinions

Changing the way we talk about women in business

The business world can be a scary place. I wouldn’t know much about it, because I have rarely stepped foot into JMSB (unless I really had to pee).

The shiny interior and clean glass windows intimidate me. How can you keep the windows so clean, like dude, it’s downtown Montreal.

I have always been an “Arts kid.” Math, finance and economics are intimidating words that I don’t really understand. Although my dad has explained the stock market about 600 times to me, I still don’t get it. Anyways, what I lack in knowledge of numbers, I hope I have gained in communication and critical thinking. These tools have helped me understand the social world and contextualize my experiences.

The other day, I was having a conversation with a friend in JMSB. She expressed her concerns about how the school approaches gender differences in business. Quite like myself, she has a background in psychology, meaning gender differences and bias were no foreign concept. In psychology, we learn about the social construction of gender as well as biological differences. She explained that in business, her teachers often address gender differences with slides that proclaim “women are less direct and men dominate the conversation” without further explanation. This lack of context, explanation and acknowledgement of the trend as a stereotype is not only dangerous, it is enabling the behaviour. With my friend’s arts background, she can contextualize these factors and understands not to take them at face value. As she sits in the class, she wonders how many people around her understand not only that the gender differences exist, but why.

I have spent a lot of my degree attempting to understand the “why.” This is something that I often take for granted; I didn’t know any of this stuff before. For a lot of these business students, they won’t understand the “why” until they are taught. I have learned about toxic masculinity, social constructions of gender and what these concepts do to our behaviour. We cannot keep blaming the business world for not understanding why these gender discrepancies exist if the curriculum consistently lacks the tools to help.

No one is saying that men and women are not different. The gender differences that show up in the business world are real—but they are real because they are perpetuated by society, and not because they are inherently real. That is the issue with how these topics are being presented.

Let’s go over the stereotypes that usually follow women in business. According to The Harvard Business Review, “One set of assumed differences is marshalled to explain women’s failure to achieve parity with men: women negotiate poorly, lack confidence, are too risk-averse, or don’t put in the requisite hours at work because they value family more than their careers.” With these stereotypes usually follows, “women are more caring, cooperative, or mission-driven—are used as a rationale for companies to invest in women’s success.”

All this to say, these characteristics, when presented as rigid facts, help solidify the gender discrepancies in business. As a woman in business, learning about how you differ from men, without breaking down exactly why this happens, can be quite damaging. This is not something to be taken at face value. There is a social responsibility for unpacking gender differences.

I am in no way saying that it is more beneficial to get an arts degree. Heck—I probably won’t find a job once I graduate (let’s not go there), but what I am saying is that there are aspects of an arts degree that should be universally taught. Kind of like how I should know more about finance—and learn how to do my taxes. 

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

Categories
Opinions

A marketing student’s strategy to a journalist’s success

The world of journalism is changing every day, making it more difficult for the traditional newspaper journalist to find a job. As a result, journalists should specialize in different areas, like marketing, in order to be more appealing to hiring managers.

According to IBISworld, the newspaper publishing industry in Canada is shrinking with a growth rate of minus 1.4 per cent by 2020, due to the rapid technological change that has altered media consumption. Traditional newspaper journalists are now being left without a home because big companies like Domino’s Pizza, Dove and Nike are now turning to social media influencers, online advertising and other digital platforms to share information to reach their desired target markets.

So how can we create more opportunities in this field? Well, maybe the solution begins with blending journalism with different areas of expertise.

This past spring, I graduated with a bachelors in marketing and a dream to work in advertising. While surfing through job posts, I noticed many advertising jobs were asking for journalism or communications graduates. I was amazed to find employers in the field I was planning to enter were looking for different skill-sets.

I soon realized that I needed to change my mindset. I had to blend my marketing knowledge with something else. With the increased demand in niche journalism, the multi-skilled journalist is high in demand. In Mark Stencel and Kim Perry’s newsroom study, where they randomly surveyed media leaders on their hiring tendencies, it was discovered that nontraditional skill-sets were more sought after — coding, digital design, social media distribution and data metrics were at the top of the list. Proving that journalists need to be more than journalists to successfully navigate through the new changes in this field.

Blending marketing and journalism is one way to stand out. Two of the more popular combinations of journalism and marketing are brand journalism and content marketing. Brand journalism is a hybrid of traditional journalism, marketing and public relations. In Andy Bull’s book titled Brand Journalism, he states that brand journalism incorporates the storytelling aspect of journalism, core elements from strategic public relations and marketing principles like visionary planning, research, a defined purpose and incisive messages. 

On Business2Community, a website where business professionals share and receive thoughts that can further their business and gain network opportunities, Sarah Skerik explained that brand journalism looks to build awareness, earn media exposure  and build brand credibility while setting context for directional brand messaging. So in other words, brand journalism is the telling of stories to create a comprehensive image of the brand.

For example, both McDonalds and Ronald McDonald House Charities benefit from positive stories written about the charity. In 2017, McDonald’s McHappy Day raised almost $3.5 million across Canada to help Ronald McDonald House of Charities. By promoting the charity, they also promoted their products.

In comparison, The Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing as a “marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience.” Their goal is to capture interest, educate and introduce essential benefits of something short yet memorable, like words, catch phrases, and images that stimulates strong emotions that stay in the mind. According to eMarketer, in 2019, 84.5 per cent of companies in the US with more than 100 employees utilized digital content marketing strategies. 

Content marketing usually involves a campaign. Newsletters, daily emails and interactives come to mind. Therefore, brand journalism is a subset of content marketing because it can be looked at as a campaign. An example of successful content marketing would be when you are offered 10 per cent off your next purchase just for signing up for a newsletter. Another example is Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign where you are able to customize your own bottle of Coke.

Whether you pick brand journalism or content marketing, I think marketing is one of the best skills one can add to their list of abilities as a journalist. Traditional journalism is changing. By adding marketing to your skillset, your employer would know you have the ability to write a great piece geared appropriately to the targeted market, making it easier to reach your goal. With journalism taking on more and more marketing characteristics everyday, this seems like the most logical choice.

 

Graphic by Victoria Blair

Categories
Student Life

Going the extra mile in the field of green restaurants

Photo by Cecilia Piga

Nestled into the vibrant borough of Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, La Cale pub marks the first of its kind in the new wave of zero-waste restaurants in Montreal. Behind this innovative project stands a group of friends who let us peek behind the scenes of managing such a place. 

Josh Gendron shared how everything came to be after a long discussion with his co-owners Gabriel Monzerol, Lann Dery and Luca Langelier.

“We go way back and, after a while, we ended up working all at the same place,” said Gendron. “We wanted to open up a pub and be our own bosses.” Thus, the idea of overseeing a place of their own was conceived.

They did not want to conform to the status quo as, across Montreal, you can easily find an everyday pub. The four partners forced themselves to think of a way that would make them stand out, and that was when Monzerol suggested opening a pub with an ecological concept.

“Since we have been open, in our style of operation, we have not accumulated a full [amount] of trash yet,” said Gendron. Inspired by Béa Johnson’s book, Zero Waste Home, and her “refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, compost” model, what originated as being eco-friendly quickly transitioned to the zero-waste formula. Hence, even the minimal accumulated trash, which is essentially compost, is properly taken care of by a private company.

At this point, Gendron said that many considered their business idea as quite ambitious in regards to questioning how it would be sustained. However, with enough restaurant experience under their belts, they knew which practices to incorporate and how they were going to handle the pub.

Various approaches were taken into account in preparation for the opening. From interior design to day-to-day operations, La Cale follows its zero-waste philosophy in creating a business from scratch that is green at every step. The process began with how each piece of furniture was brought into use.

“Instead of buying new furniture, most of what you see inside is all recycled, second-hand or [materials] that were in the trash,” said Gendron. “Some [pieces] we built ourselves, like the bar countertops that came from pallets and the wood beams from the floor.”

The chairs and the tables again reaffirm the zero-waste motto of reusing, as they were taken from different restaurants that went out of business. Customers can also except sprinkler pipes as table legs, two-by-two pieces of wood from pallets used for lamp holders, trash lamps. Despite being rather nontraditional and not straight out of an IKEA catalogue, each of these little details helps create La Cale’s distinctive ambience.

Behind the bar, there is also a great deal of self-production in regard to the preparation of drinks. Instead of relying on mainstream plastic bags, which get thrown away after use, tonics and syrups are homemade. They are stored in glass bottles, which not only preserves the freshness of the taste but also spares the owners the need of a supplier. The pub does not stop there; it has even gone the extra mile of revolutionizing the beer culture.

Because the caps on beer bottles cannot be recycled, the solution La Cale provides is simply getting rid of serving this option.

“The only substitute is canned beer,” said Gendron. “Everything else is on tap because it’s the most efficient and eco-friendly alternative. Pretty much all of the alcohol is local, from local Quebec breweries, which also helps reduce the carbon footprint.”

Usually, local products translate to a boost in prices in comparison to outside imports. However, despite the dominating presence of local brands, La Cale puts the effort into balancing out the green concept to bill ratio. Unlike many places that serve beer, La Cale offers a pint for $7.50, which can be considered rare for Montreal.

Indeed, the project aims to change the way we think of pubs but, at the same time, it manages to remain competitive. Gendron claims that what makes the real difference are the small details in relation to execution. He doesn’t deny the hardship in taking up such a risky endeavour but knows that this is just the beginning.

“Financially, when opening a pub, there is a small margin of profit,” said Gendron. Right now, we are fresh, we are new, and we hope people will be interested.”

For him, La Cale can also be an inspiration for other businesses to follow the zero-waste model.

In the future, the owners are seeking to host more live performances. The pub has already hosted a couple of gigs featuring local bands and musicians. The show area, as Gendron refers to it, is also open for comedians to perform their bids while customers enjoy their eco-friendly drinks and good food.

The chef has currently cooked up a seasonal vegetarian menu that will leave anyone longing for a portion of the restaurant’s sweet fries. Carnivores should not lose hope in this place, as meat options will soon be introduced.

The interior aesthetics will also undergo more decoration with the addition of plants and mural paintings by emerging artists.

“What we really want is to influence other people, but without forcing our idea down their throats,” said Gendron. “Just to show that it is doable.”

Photos by Cecilia Piga

Categories
Arts

Cultivating a relationship between two worlds

Concordi’ART presents the second edition of their arts and business conference

After their first success in November of 2017, Concordi’ART is bringing The Collision of Art and Business Conference back for a second edition this Friday, March 15, in the John Molson School of Business (JMSB) building. The team behind the conference is gathering eight talented professionals and entrepreneurs who will share their experience working in the arts industry.

Concordi’ART is a club that serves as career guidance for students who have a passion for both arts and business. The President and Founder of the club, Alizé Honen-Delmar, is a graduating student in international business and film studies. The idea of starting the club came from a desire to cultivate a relationship between these world.

“I created this club because, three years ago when I was at Concordia, I was in JMSB and in the Fine Arts faculty, and no one was talking to each other. JMSB students were staying with each other,” said Honen-Delmar, “and then the same for the arts faculty students, I decided to create this club to bridge the gap between business and arts at Concordia but also in general.”

The core belief of Concordi’ART is that arts and business are not opposites. Rather, a student could very well study both fields.

“The objective of this [club] is to show students that art and business are not two different things. They can work together and create amazing things,” said Honen-Delmar. “We believe that if you work in the art industry, you need some business skills also. That’s why business is also central to us.”

The eight speakers attending the conference will discuss their background, studies, and key decisions they made to achieve success.

“We want them to share their career paths. Especially since there are a lot of students ready to graduate and go to these industries,” said Sarah Morstad, the social media manager of Concordi’Art and a graduating student in communications. “They can learn about the stepping stones of how these big people in the industry got to where they are now.”
Honen-Delmar added that “it’s also an opportunity for students to network and to discover this industry that a lot of people don’t know about.’’

The event will start at 5 p.m. and runs until 8 p.m. After the discussion, a networking mixer will follow. Not only will students hear the speakers’ presentations, they will also get the chance to speak with them one-on-one.
“You will have eight people from the industry and then you will have 50 or 60 people in the audience. It’s very easy to communicate with these people and ask them questions and advice,” said Honen-Delmar.

Morstad said the conference will be more relaxed and intimate compared to larger events that take place in the JMSB building.

“You are sitting right in front of them and there are only 60 people,” said Morstad. “There’s more of a connection.’’
“It’s not a business formal kind of conference. It’s very business casual,” added Honen-Delmar. “Everyone is very relaxed—even the speakers who have very high positions in their companies. They are very approachable people. It’s very easy to network with them.”

***

At the event, attendees can expect to meet:

Aude Mathey, a marketing and business development expert who is now working in distribution and marketing for Cirque du Soleil. She is also the founder of Culture et Communication, an online magazine on the best practices for cultural and PR professionals.

Helene Ha, a film producer and entrepreneur who graduated from Concordia University with a B.A. in communication studies and a minor in film studies in 2015. Ha founded her own production company, Gourmandises, and has worked with L’Oréal Canada, Moisson Montréal and The Government of Canada. One of her latest accomplishments is the screening of her short film Merveilleuse at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

Minh Nhat Le, a modeler/texture artist at Ubisoft. During his career, he has worked on AAA games that include the Far Cry franchise, the Watch Dogs franchise and Rainbow 6 | Siege.

Peter Dehais, a marketing professional who has experience working on festivals like ÎleSoniq, Osheaga and HEAVY MTL. In recent years, he has managed hundreds of events while working for Evenko. Dehais is also a Concordia graduate with a bachelor’s degree in commerce and marketing.

Tickets for the event can be bought online for $17.50. For more information about the conference or the eight speakers, visit the event on the Concordi’ART Facebook page.

Categories
Arts

Work of passion gains momentum

The 20-year-old artist said she is saving up for a studio of her own. Photo courtesy of Saige Mukash.

A young Cree artist speaks about her budding business and aspirations for the future

While​ ​homemade​ ​jewelry​ ​and​ ​ink-based​ ​artworks​ might​ ​not​ ​be​ ​an​ ​unheard​ ​of​ ​​business​ ​idea, not​ ​many​ ​can​ ​say​ ​their​ ​orders​ ​are​ ​flown​ ​out​ ​of​ ​Quebec’s​ ​​northernmost​ ​Cree​ ​community.

Saige​ ​Mukash,​ ​a​ ​20-year-old​ ​Cree​ ​woman,​ ​calls​ ​her​ ​business​ ​Nalakwsis​—the middle name her​ ​Abenaki grandmother gave ​her​ ​in​ ​her​ ​native​ ​language. Nalakwsis​​​ ​products include ink​ ​drawings,​ ​digital​ ​artwork,​ ​beaded​ ​jewelry​ ​and embroidered​ ​works, all​ ​hand-made​ ​by​ ​Mukash​ ​herself. While​ ​she is​ ​a​ ​creative​ ​woman​ ​by​ ​nature and ​always​ ​enjoyed​ ​making​ ​pieces​ ​with​ ​her hands,​ ​Mukash​ ​only​ ​recently​ ​chose​ ​a​ ​more​ ​organized,​ ​business-oriented​ ​path.

“I​ ​chose​ ​‘Nalakwsis’​ ​as​ ​my​ ​official​ ​business​ ​title​ ​about​ ​a​ ​year​ ​ago, but​ ​I’ve​ ​been​ ​serious​ ​in​ ​my​ ​work​ ​for​ ​the​ ​past​ ​two​ ​years​ ​now,”​ ​Mukash​ ​explained. Though,​ ​what​ ​is​ ​now​ ​a​ ​profitable​ ​business​ ​first​ ​started​ ​out​ ​as​ ​a​ ​passionate​ ​hobby.

Mukash​ ​attended​ ​F.A.C.E. School ​in​ ​the​ ​heart​ ​of​ downtown ​Montreal​, ​where​ ​she​ ​was​ ​able​ ​to exercise​ ​her​ ​artistic​ ​abilities​ ​and​ ​express​ ​herself​ ​through​ ​various​ ​mediums ​in​ ​an​ ​organized​ classroom setting.​ ​However,​ ​it​ ​was​ ​returning​​ ​to​ ​her​ ​Cree​ ​community​ ​up​ ​north that​ ​had​ ​the​ ​biggest​ ​effect​ ​on​ ​her.​ ​“My​ ​art​ ​really​ ​blossomed​ ​when​ ​I​ ​came​ ​to​ ​Whapmagoostui​ ​to reconnect​ ​with​ ​my​ ​Cree​ ​culture,”​ ​she​ ​said.

Mukash titled this piece, For the missing and murdered.

Not​ ​long​ ​after,​ ​Mukash​ ​created​ ​a​ ​Facebook​ ​page where​ ​she​ ​could​ post photos and descriptions of​ ​her art​ ​pieces;​ ​a​ ​sort​ ​of​ ​headquarters​ ​for​ ​all​ ​​her​​ ​works. As​ ​people began to show​ ​interest​ in buying ​her​ ​pieces​,​ ​Mukash​ ​realized​​ ​she would have to take further steps to establish her business​.​ ​She​ ​created ​two​ ​online​ ​shops ​where​ ​anyone​ ​in Canada​ ​with​ ​access​ ​to​ ​a​ ​credit​ ​card​ ​could​ ​purchase​​ ​her​ ​artworks.

It​ ​was​ ​then​ ​that Mukash​ ​knew​ ​she​ ​was​ ​in​ ​business. While​ ​she​ ​still​ ​lives​ ​​with​ ​her​ ​parents​ ​and​ ​two​ ​siblings in their home in northern Quebec,​​​ ​Mukash​ ​found​ ​a​ ​way​ ​to create​ ​her​ ​own ​workspace ​in​ ​her​ ​spatially​ ​limited​ ​environment. She​ ​has​ ​a​ ​small​ ​studio​ ​space​ ​in​ ​her​ ​home​ ​where​ ​she​ ​crafts​ ​all​ ​her​ pieces, packages and ships them​.

In​ ​the​ ​past​ ​month​ ​alone,​ ​Mukash​ ​has​ ​made​ ​over​ ​$1,000​ ​in​ ​sales,​ ​and​ ​spends​ ​an​ ​average​ ​of​ ​$200​ ​on​ ​supplies per​ ​month.

However,​ ​living​ ​three hours​ ​away​ ​from​ ​Montreal by plane is​ becoming​ ​more​ ​and​ ​more​ ​of​ ​a​ ​problem. Due to​ ​her​ ​isolated​ ​location,​ ​Mukash​ ​must​ ​order​ ​all​ ​of​ ​her​ ​supplies​ ​online.​ ​“It’s​ ​getting​ ​very hard​ ​to​ ​be​ ​able​ ​to​ ​buy​ ​supplies​ ​online.​ ​Shipping​ ​is​ ​getting​ ​very​ ​expensive​ ​for​ ​my​ ​community, which​ ​is​ ​a​ ​fly-in​ ​only​ ​community,”​ ​she​ ​said.

Not​ ​only​ ​are​ ​all​ ​of​ ​Mukash’s​ ​supplies​ ​located​ ​hours​ ​away,​ ​so​ ​are​ ​the​ ​majority​ ​of​ ​her customers.​ ​Shipping​ ​fees​ ​are​ ​added​ ​onto​ ​every​ ​sale​​ ​she​ ​makes. Yet, while​ ​these​ ​obstacles​ ​are​ ​present​ ​in​ ​the​ ​young​ ​artist’s​ ​day-to-day​ ​plans,​ ​she​ ​is​ ​not​ ​letting​ ​them slow​ ​her​ ​down.

“I​ ​think​ ​my​ ​first​ ​long​-term​ ​goal​ ​for​ ​my​ ​business​ ​is​ ​owning​ ​a​ ​studio​ ​here​ ​in​ ​my​ ​home​town,” Mukash​ ​said.​ ​“It’s​ ​a​ ​struggle​ ​for​ ​anyone​ ​here​ ​to​ ​own​ ​their​ ​own​ ​business​ ​because everything​ ​is​ ​under​ ​the​ ​Band​ ​Office. You​ ​can’t​ ​just​ ​go​ ​and​ ​sign​ ​a​ ​lease​ ​for​ ​an​ ​apartment.”

“My​ ​own​ ​studio​ ​space​ ​is​ ​what​ ​I’m​ ​saving​ ​up​ ​for,” she said. “​That’s​ ​what​ ​I’m​ ​aiming​ ​for.”​

For more information about Saige​ ​Mukash, visit her Facebook page or website.

Photos courtesy of Saige Mukash

Categories
Sports

Illegal streaming biggest problem for broadcasters

Rogers Sportsnet president Scott Moore wants to crack down on illegal sports streaming. Photo by Nicholas Di Giovanni.

Sportsnet president Scott Moore and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly say issue needs to be stopped

At the John Molson Sports Business conference on Nov. 2, Scott Moore, president of Rogers Sportsnet, asked how many people in attendance use cable TV to watch hockey. About 30 per cent of the crowd reluctantly raised their hands.

“That’s not good for [Rogers Sportsnet], because we’re firstly a cable TV company,” Moore said.

Next, he asked how many people use Rogers Sportsnet’s streaming service to watch National Hockey League (NHL) games. At least 50 per cent of the crowd raised their hand, and this time with more pride than the people who said they watch cable TV.

Lastly, Moore asked how many people have illegally streamed a hockey game in the past. Almost everybody in the room had their hand up.

“Look at the person to your right and left,” he told the crowd. “That person to the right of you won’t have a job. That person to the left of you won’t have a job. And you’ll be unemployed.”

Moore said illegal streaming of NHL games severely affects his business, and “it’s the biggest challenge facing professional sports.” In 2013, Rogers Communications signed a 12-year, $5.2-billion deal to become the exclusive broadcaster of NHL games in Canada from the 2014-15 season through 2025-26. So Moore wants to make sure customers are paying for his company’s service, and not illegally streaming it online.

The opening panel at the John Molson Sports Business conference featured Bill Daly, Scott Moore and Stephen Brunt. Photo by Nicholas Di Giovanni.

“We invest heavily in this content, and we want to make sure [customers] value this content,” Moore said in an exclusive interview with The Concordian after he spoke at the conference. “So we’re working heavily with [other] leagues and content-providers to find ways to shut down the stealing of content, because that’s what it is—it’s stealing.”

Rogers’s streaming service, Rogers NHL Live, broadcasts almost every NHL game, including playoffs, and is available across multiple devices. An annual membership for Rogers NHL Live is $200, while a monthly membership is $30.

However, most streams can be found by simply going to reddit. The Concordian asked reddit users why they would rather stream games than pay Rogers’s subscription fee. The response was overwhelmingly because of blackouts. A broadcast blackout on Rogers NHL Live happens when a fan tries to watch a team in their local market—i.e. a Canadiens fan in Montreal. Moore said blackouts happen to protect local cable TV. But reddit users said they would prefer streaming games than paying for cable.

“I live in New Jersey, so all Rangers, Islanders, Devils and some Flyers games would be blocked out for me locally and all nationally televised games,” wrote Beth S. “So if I want to cut the cord from cable, then I’d need to pursue a less than legal option.”

Bill Daly, the NHL deputy commissioner, took part in a panel with Moore and Sportsnet reporter Stephen Brunt at the conference. Daly said the NHL also needs help to shut down illegal streams.

“That’s a Rogers problem, not the NHL’s,” Daly said jokingly before adding: “But no, that’s an NHL problem because, if our product isn’t profitable, nobody wants to deal with us.”

“[Broadcasting rights] are a property right,” Daly said. “Just like any other property right, it could be possessed and sold, but it shouldn’t be stolen.”

Moore added that his company wants to provide a win-win situation for customers, but he said it isn’t a win-win if fans stream games illegally.

“It’s no different than going in and stealing something from the local store,” Moore said. “It is illegal.”

Main photo by Nicholas Di Giovanni

Categories
Sports

A look at the business aspect of sports

Chris Moynes has his own asset management firm for athletes. Photos by Ana Hernandez.

Three speakers in the sports business industry shared their knowledge at the JMSM speaker series conference

Around 40 JMSB students packed into the Sheraton Hotel on René Lévesque Boulevard for the John Molson Sports Marketing speaker series conference on March 24.

The event was organized by JMSB students and featured three speakers, including Rob Campana, Jonathan Mailhot and Chris Moynes. Each spoke for about an hour, with Campana and Mailhot presenting students with a case study where students had to come up with ideas to fix a problem that affected the speaker’s business. Moynes was the keynote speaker.

At around 1 p.m., Campana, who is the founder of Flag Plus Football league in Montreal, spoke to students about starting his sports league and the challenges that came with it. A graduate of JMSB, Campana started Flag Plus Football when he was 19, in 2005.

“I started the league because the leagues that did exist seemed to not want my friends and I,” Campana said. “It’s like we weren’t part of their friend group so I felt like I needed to make something for my friends.”

There were only 18 teams when the league started in 2005, but now there are over 300. Since then, league has become a luxury brand for recreational flag football in Montreal.

As a former student, Campana was happy to speak at the conference and share his knowledge with the eager crowd.

“It’s interesting to stay connected with the John Molson community as an alumni,” Campana said. “Sports marketing has always been a passion of mine, and I was honoured that they wanted to have me.”

After giving his talk, Campana presented the students with a case study related to his own company. Flag Plus Football grows about 10 to 15 per cent each year, according to Campana. However, low profit margins make it hard to expand the business.

Campana looked to students for solutions to his problem. After 30 minutes, the students came back with ideas, which Campana listened to and gave feedback on.

“John Molson students are very smart,” Campana said. “I’m always curious and interested in what they come up with.”

Some students thought that one route Campana could go, is license his league’s services to other recreational leagues for a royalty fee.

Jonathan Mailhot is in charge of advertising, media planning and innovation for the Montreal Canadiens.

The next speaker was Mailhot, who is the head of advertising, media planning and innovation for the Montreal Canadiens. Mailhot spoke to the group about his role with the Canadiens, as well as how he got there, having started out as a student in JMSB.

In his role with the Habs, Mailhot helps develop advertising campaigns, as well as create promotional videos for the team’s various events and media platforms. For instance, Mailhot is in charge of the season launch campaign, which lets fans know the Habs are back.

Mailhot said he remembers being a student and attending these conferences.

“I think the biggest thing is I was in those chairs not so long ago,” Mailhot said. “Presenters don’t even notice how much impact they have on someone’s life, so I always like to think of what I would have liked to learn and then bring that information to these types of conferences.”

For Mailhot’s case study, he asked students to figure out how the Montreal Canadiens could make their Bell Centre tour more enticing to people. He also wanted to see if students could tie the tour into a social cause that would help the organization give back to the community.

He said despite students only having 30 minutes, he was impressed with the ideas the students came up with.

“I was curious to see what people came up with. It was a real challenge that we have at the Montreal Canadiens, so it was interesting,” Mailhot said. “What came out today was a bit of what we’ve worked on already, but to hear it from a group of students may have confirmed some of those projects.”

The third and final speaker was Moynes, who is the creator of One Sports Entertainment Group. The firm helps professional athletes manage their assets and make the right investments so they don’t go bankrupt.

Moynes talked about his early years as an employee at his father’s company which also dealt with asset management. There, he would help manage the assets of some of hockey’s biggest names. He then went on to work at RBC and later started his own company.

Each student got to go home with two of his books, The Pro’s Process and After the Game, which discuss how athletes can avoid financial instability later in their careers and after retirement.

While speaking about his career path, Moynes left students with some motivational words.

“In life, you never know where you’re going to end up,” Moynes said. “But with hard work and determination, you’re going to go down the path you want to go.”

After his talk, a networking cocktail was held for students to formally meet each of the three speakers.

Categories
Student Life

How charity work and business come together

Photo by Ana Hernandez

Concordia hosts a panel where social entrepreneurs discuss their experiences in business

Six panelists spoke about their experiences as social entrepreneurs- people who start up businesses with the aim to solve or improve certain social problems- at a talk at Concordia on Nov. 16.

The six speakers included Kim Fuller, the founder and creative director of Phil Communications; Sydney Swaine-Simon, the co-founder and international director of NeuroTechX; Thérèse Regenstreif, the program manager of Mining Shared Value; André Boisvert, the general manager of ZAP; Jessica Newfield, the chief communications officer of Grey-Box; and Jason Dominique, the executive director of Testicular Cancer Canada.

Photo by Ana Hernandez

The panelists offered in-depth insight and information regarding their views on the business model of self-sustainability through donations, and working for a cause rather than primarily for profit.

The social entrepreneurship model practiced by these six individuals is a sort of middle ground between charity work and for-profit business. On the one hand, these entrepreneurs want their businesses to prosper and make a profit. On the other hand, they want to achieve that profit in a moral way, as they contribute to causes and issues they care about.

“I quickly realized after volunteering for [nonprofit] organizations… that there were cycles of dependency [on money] and I realized that the nonprofit sector, even though it is well intentioned… [isn’t] the most effective in actually bringing about community change,” said Newfield. Newfield is currently working on Grey-Box, a small, portable computer that can be solar-powered and connected to Wi-Fi networks.

The social entrepreneurs spoke about how they see their profession as a more pragmatic version of charity. They explained the challenges social entrepreneurs face are similar to those for-profit businesses and charities face.

“We’re still not perceived really as a legitimate business… It really ticks me off that, when I talk to people about the kind of work I do, they’re like ‘aw, it’s so sweet. Look at you, you’re such a do-gooder.’ No, it’s a business—I’m in the business of helping people who help people. That’s a lot of responsibility. There’s nothing ‘cute’ about finding out that your client, who runs a women’s shelter, has to close on Saturdays and Sundays because of budgeting cuts,” said Fuller.

While all of these entrepreneurs acknowledged that the path they’ve chosen is difficult, Regenstreif summed up why they all continue with their work.

“If you guys choose a certain path because you think it’s a safe path or it’s a guaranteed path that’s going to bring you ‘x’ amount of money, there are no guarantees,” she said.

“So just do what you want to do, because you’re likely going to fail a few times, and I’d much prefer myself to fall down when I’m doing something that I enjoy versus something that I’ve been told to do by someone else.”

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Student Life

Feel like family at NDG’s Kokkino Café

Photo by Gabrielle Vendette

The relaxed, family-run spot serves up café classics, with a side of charm

John Zampetoulakis, co-owner of Kokkino Café, calls on a customer by name. “Sarah, you want a grilled cheese?” She shakes her head no and he nods. He proceeds to butter her freshly popped toast and walk out from behind the counter to set her bowl of soup and toast in front of her. At Kokkino Café, table service is on the house.

Zampetoulakis and his wife, Angela Reichman, opened Kokkino Café over eight years ago. “I worked in a lot of restaurants, I made a lot of money and I said, you know what, no more. I want to do this for myself, for my kids, for my community,” said Zampetoulakis.

Photo by Gabrielle Vendette

The spot is a family-run business- even Zampetoulakis and Reichman’s four kids participate in the action.

The concept of the café is a little different than the average grab-and-go coffee joint. At Kokkino, the customer places their order at the counter, takes a seat and the food is brought to them.

Zampetoulakis said he decided to serve his customers this way because “it’s nice and it’s relaxed—it feels like home.” Similarly, customers only pay the bill when they’re ready to leave. “They pay me before they go, that way they have time to digest their food,” he said. “When you’re done, whenever you’re done, you’ve had your experience and then you pay me.”  “Relaxed” is a great way to describe the experience at Kokkino.

Photo by Gabrielle Vendette

The café’s food is freshly made every morning by the two owners and inspired by Zampetoulakis’ Greek origins. The variety of the menu is impressive for an operation run mainly by one couple.

Kokkino offers soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps and desserts. There is a wide selection of teas, and of course, an abundance of coffee. The spot also has a variety of vegan options.

At Kokkino, accommodation is the rule, not the exception. It’s not uncommon for someone to walk in and grab an order they texted Zampetoulakis that morning.

“I know everybody that comes in here. I know what they like, I know how they like it,” said Zampetoulakis. He also custom-makes sandwiches ordered at his counter. There is an attention to detail in his work. Every interaction Zampetoulakis has with a customer is genuine and shows his compassion.

Photo by Gabrielle Vendette

The owner’s vision for the café is focused on creating a calm atmosphere for people to enjoy their coffee and meal. He said he wanted to “create a place where people just feel they can relax.”

Customers who walks into Kokkino are greeted with a warm hello from Zampetoulakis. Dogs are also allowed inside, because, according to him, “it’s just chill. That’s what I want.”

When you go to Kokkino, prepare to be treated like family.  Just don’t forget to bring your dishes to the counter before you leave.

The cafe is located at 5673 Sherbrooke Street West. The spot opens at 9 a.m. every day, and closes at 7 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays, 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, 10 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, 6:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 6 p.m. on Sundays.

Categories
News

Students demand BTM200 be economically friendly

Petition creater Samuel Miriello fights for lowered fees for him and fellow classmates in BTM200 course. Photo by Savanna Craig.

JMSB student creates petition in protest of high fees for mandatory BTM 200 course

In light of discovering a required fee of over $200 for the mandatory John Molson School of Business (JMSB) course, “Business Technology Management,” BTM 200, some first-year JMSB students are signing a petition to protest against what they consider costly fees.

Samuel Miriello, creator of the petition and first-year human resource management student, said he was not aware of these fees until he received an email from his professor mid-September prompting him to pay more than $200 for the class.

“Online classes are amazing and they give us access to tools that make learning easier, but it doesn’t warrant the school making us pay tuition and not giving us class sessions,” said Miriello. He said with his other online classes, there is a virtual classroom and the class meets once a week. However, this is not the case in BTM 200.“The professor never hosts sessions that we can attend where he does any live teaching,” he said.

Miriello said the different components of BTM 200 are distributed across three websites, each with their own fees—$90 to access the eConcordia website, $20.70 for LearningLab—a software providing grades and due dates, and $104.95 for Skills Assessment Manager Cengage (SAM)—a website which teaches students how to use Excel and Access.

“Every website has it’s own quizzes, it’s own material, it’s own modules and you kind of have to jump between them,” Miriello said.

Raafat George Saadé, an associate professor of supply chain and business technology management, and the creator and coordinator of BTM 200, said LearningLab has a low cost and helps to guide students through the 12 activities within the course.

Students express frustration over paying more than $200 for BTM200. Graphic by Florence Yee.

Saadé said LearningLab allowed him to consolidate all of the students performances into one location and to sequence their activities. He said the LearningLab provides reminders of the due dates for students and provides a report for Saadé on how much students achieved on each of their learning goals.

On eConcordia, only three per cent of the student’s grade is evaluated, said Miriello.

However, Saadé explained the three per cent accounts only for the quizzes on eConcordia—however, the final exam, worth 60 per cent, is based on the eBook available through eConcordia. Saadé said SAM makes up 20 per cent of the final grade. The activities on LearningLab are worth 17 per cent.

“When we take BTM, no one ever tells you that you’re going to have to pay so much money,” said international business student Saloné Prigent. “At least I’d like a warning that we’d have to pay this to take BTM, especially because BTM is a mandatory course.” She added, with three websites to keep up with, it’s hard to keep track of when assignments are due.

Sepideh Zangeneh, an international student from Mexico studying international business, said Miriello’s idea of making a petition was great, and though she may have financial support to pay the BTM 200 fees, not all students have this privilege. “There are people [who] are on their own in university—they don’t have the money to pay that,” said Zangeneh. “More than for me, I want this for people who really can’t afford stuff like this.”

Saadé said, after paying the required fee for SAM, it can be accessed until graduation and is officially used in two to three courses within JMSB. He said he is trying to make these fees valuable for students by implementing more courses where Excel and Access can be used, requiring students to use SAM.

“This is not new,” said Saadé, towards students complaining of the high fees required when taking BTM 200. Saadé said he has tried switching website hosts various times, but this is the lowest price he can get. “When I started, I looked at all the different softwares and at companies like Microsoft and other publishers,” said Saadé. He said all publishers range in price from $60 to $180. “Over the years I’ve experienced each one—one by one,” said Saadé.

Miriello said the website is still not up to par with his expectations considering the cost. ”It’s just ironic that our intro to business technology management is taught in such an uninspired, expensive and cluttered way. The complete opposite of what BTM should be,” he said.

Saadé said he has 1,500 students and asks them at the end of every class if the book was good, if they learned anything from the quiz, if there should be any improvements and what their opinions are on using SAM. “Over 90 per cent of the students, they say they see the value,” he said.

Saadé said in certain circumstances he has waived students either from taking the course or paying the cost of it. He said, in the past, he has contacted the program provider and they suspended the cost for SAM or LearningLab. Alternatively, if a student can demonstrate they know the material, they do not have to take BTM 200, he said. “If they really have financial problems, I can personally try to figure out ways to help” said Saadé. He said some semesters he is not approached, however others he may receive up to five students requesting financial help.

Saadé said many students in co-op, who gain job experience through paid work-terms, have told him that they felt they had not learned enough in Excel and Access. “They come back and say, ‘We need to learn more—we took BTM 200 and it’s not enough. Can we learn more advanced stuff?’” said Saadé.

The winter semester version of the course will have a brand new website, feature more activities and be more interactive, said Saadé. “Because of the nature of the course also, every two years I have to update the content,” he said, adding that SAM updates itself as well. Saadé is also in the process of creating a follow-up course to BTM 200 that will hopefully be released this year.

Categories
Sports

It’s not just about making money

It’s not even a competition; America is just better at college athletics

Last Monday, on Jan. 12, the Oregon Ducks and the Ohio State Buckeyes squared off in the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship. If you happened to be flipping through the channels and stumbled across it, you wouldn’t think it was a bunch of 18 to 21 year-olds. The presentation, the pageantry and the international attention that these student-athletes receive are incomparable to anything we have here in Canada. While there has been scrutiny of these big universities for the financial benefits that they get out of their unpaid athletes, the hype around college sports doesn’t depend solely on money.

If you did happen to catch the Buckeyes dismantle the Ducks 42-20, you weren’t alone. According to ESPN, over 33 million people tuned into the championship tilt. If that seems like an overwhelming amount, it’s because it is.

Last year’s Stanley Cup Game 5, where the Los Angeles Kings defeated the New York Rangers to hoist the cup, brought in approximately six million viewers according to Sports Media Watch. The National Championship even squashed the 27.8 million viewers who saw the San Francisco Giants’ final out in the 2014 World Series, according to Forbes magazine. And, for the sake of comparing apples to apples, 320,000 people watched this year’s Vanier Cup on Sportsnet between the Montreal Carabins and the McMaster Marauders, reported Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS).

Although baseball is traditionally known as America’s pastime, football has become an entirely different beast within the past two decades. On American campuses, Saturdays are known as gameday. Whether you are a sports fan or not, students pack their stadiums to bask in their school spirit. It’s not so much a game, but a social event. Most students who attend American universities are only there for four years and it seems that they sure know how to make the most of it. Signs are made, faces are painted and the marching bands are rowdy; it’s a party that every student is invited to.

It’s unfair to compare Canada’s football passion to America’s, but hockey is supposed to be our game. Yet, when it comes to supporting our varsity teams, the enthusiasm just isn’t there. According to CIS, the average attendance for the past three home games of Concordia’s men’s hockey team was 53 spectators.

Canadian universities will never draw the same attraction towards athletics as the juggernaut American institutions. Their funding and population are too vast, but the passion that their student body brings is something that can be admired. We may not have the television deals or national coverage, but a little more support for the maroon and gold could go a long way.

Categories
News

JMSB hosts International Case Competition

Singapore’s Nanyang Business School wins first place

Through rain and snow, John Molson has played host to the International Case Competition (ICC) for 34 years. This year’s event was no different in persistence, but it was bigger, and it was better.

“In the MBA circuit competitions, it is the oldest, the biggest, and the most interesting in the world. It is one of the most cherished events of Concordia, at least on the international forum.” said Marketing and Sponsorship organizer/volunteer and JMSB student Roberto Blanc.

“Most importantly it allows us to develop our soft skills that don’t necessarily come in class: our public presentation skills, our speaking skills.”

“It provides an out-of-class experience,” he said, explaining how he along with his team were put in charge of organizing everything from the ground up: the funding, logistics, cost management, and scheduling. It was an immense competition with hundreds of participants and onlookers. The amount of planning involved means that arrangements for this competition started pretty much after the last one ended. Advisors helped and gave strategic support and vision, acting as executives would for an actual company. A board of governors that has stayed constant throughout the years essentially acted as a BoG of a corporation. Blanc said their mentoring gave organizers the motivation and confidence to deal with the immense amounts of pressure riding on their shoulders.

The ICC’s main leverage in terms of recovering some of their costs came from the chance for sponsors to observe the huge pool of talent showcased—talent that companies at home and abroad were very keen on assessing and courting.

“They [the international schools] consider this the Olympics of international case competitions.” For a full week, teams drilled or competed day and night in round robins, which winnowed out the participants and pushed onward the best, while banquets and cocktails gave them the platform to network.

“For the past few days, my email accounts and my Facebook and my LinkedIn have been boiling,” said Blanc.

This year’s theme was sustainability and all the case competitions dealt with it in one way or another. Blanc’s team took the message to heart. Every single decision the organizers took was built on it: from picking up the delegations in zero-emission cars and using biodegradable printer ink, to organizing banquets made exclusively of organic and local food sourced whenever possible from co-ops. They hope the efforts will push the ICC to a level four sustainability certificate from the Quebec government.

“We wanted to show that sustainability was more than a word, more than something that is in fashion,” said Blanc.

The event has also given him insight into the different approaches to business taken by different cultures. Asian teams, more often than not, emphasized teamwork and low-key comportment—though Singapore stood out in that regard, being more individualistic and heterogeneous as befitting an entrepreneurial and multicultural nation-state (Singapore went undefeated in every case competition and ended up winning the ICC). Germans were generally over-prepared, with larger support teams, while Finns cared as much about the social aspect as the competition. Then there were delegations like South Africa and the Netherlands which managed to stay happy and joyful throughout.

“To me, it was one of the best, if not the best, experiences I got from my MBA,” said Blanc.

1st place: Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore – $10,000 prize

2nd place: Porto School of Business, University of Porto, Portugal – $7,000 prize

3rd place: Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina, United States – $5,000 prize

Richard Outcault Team Spirit Award for enthusiasm and involvement: Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town, South Africa

JMSB made it to the semifinals but ultimately lost to the Porto School of Business.

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