COMBINING A BRICKS & MORTAR STORE WITH E-COMMERCE - MBE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

EDITOR'S LETTER

Dear Readers,

May is here with the 89th edition of MBE Business Magazine.

April was a rather blah month weather-wise in the city. We had one phenomenal week of weather in mid-April with temperatures reaching into the high 20’s with sunny skies. We figured we would skip spring altogether and go right to summer. Well, our dreams were just that – dreams! Since the taste of summer, the skies have been grey with rain and cool temperatures.

As we turn the calendar to May, there are some significant days in May but not many. The obvious ones are Mother’s Day and Victoria Day weekend. I will elaborate on those two and some others as well.

Monday May 8th is Victory in Europe Day, also known as VE Day, which celebrates the surrender of Nazi Forces to the Allies during World War II, May 8, 1945

Mother’s Day falls on the 2nd Sunday in May, corresponding to the 14th of May this year. Although not an official holiday, for Mother around the world, it’s a day to relax and be pampered. Be it breakfast in bed, flowers, cards or even gifts, no gift is too small. Husbands and kids are supposed to cater to the household's mother all day long.

Thursday, May 18th, Ascension Day, also known as the Feast of the Ascension, is a Christian observance that takes place on the fortieth day of Easter, a Thursday. It celebrates Jesus's ascension into heaven.

Monday May 22nd, Victoria Day is a public Canada-only holiday celebrated every year on the Monday before May 25th, giving Canadians a long May weekend. Some Canadians refer to it as the May Two-Four weekend.

The meaning of Victoria Day is to celebrate our British heritage and the life of Queen Victoria who ruled the British Empire between 1837 and 1901. It's also a great opportunity to celebrate being Canadian with events and activities across the country. The day in Québec is known as Fête de Dollard or National Patriots Day.

Shavuot, also known as the Feast of Weeks, is falling on May 25’s sunset is a major Jewish holiday observed every year fifty days after the Passover Seder. Shavuot encompasses two celebrations, the wheat harvest in Israel and God's giving of the Torah to the people of Israel on Mount Sinai.

In this issue, you will find contributing articles from the management team of MBE - Mr. Mansoor Naqvi, Mr. Mahmood Naqvi and Mr. Alamdar Hussain

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Publisher MB Enterprises

Editor-in-chief Aurora Zabala

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Peter Z. Vaisey

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Thank you, Aurora Zabala, Editor

THE HIGHEST-PAID PROFESSIONS: HOW TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN LIFE?

SYED MANSOOR NAQVI PRESIDENT MBE

Like everyone else, when you're in the middle of your studies, you may aim for the highest-paid profession to earn good or decent money. You want to earn money to allow yourself and your family towards a better future, which means better living standards and the lifestyle you have always dreamt of. The question that most people ask is; which is the best profession to choose in life? Before you chose your profession, you want to ensure that your life comes to a point where most people will remember you in their good books for your whole life.

Before we dive into the topic, remember that only those who achieve success, plan for their life in advance and aim for the best. Also, those who think they will be remembered even in their absence need to ensure that they won't be a topic of discussion for the wrong reasons among people who know them well.

To reach that level of success in a profession, you need to be skillful and expand your vision. The more you expand your vision, the better it will be for you, your family, and your future. Life is all about hurdles.

TO SUCCEED IN LIFE, YOU NEED TO FIGHT THE STRUGGLES:

As we have discussed earlier, life is full of hurdles and challenges that keep coming your way. Only those who face and overcome these challenges eventually achieve success. Hence, rectifying yourself after figuring out your life challenges is important.

Always remember that not every step in life is the same. However, every step you make is an important one. So, you should strive to improve both your present and future.

NEVER LOSE HOPE AND ALWAYS STAY OPTIMISTIC:

I tell everyone directly or indirectly linked to me, including my colleagues, friends, business partners, relatives, and immediate family, that the most important thing to find success in life is never to lose hope. This means showing a random act of kindness or doing well to get better returns.

People often ask me whether they should pursue starting a business or finding a job, and even young students seek my advice on which subjects to choose for their future. I always tell them, "Whatever you do, never ask WHAT from anyone. Just do what your heart says, i.e., something you like."

You have chosen to become an accountant. You dream of having a dream job like everyone else. You want a good job and a rich lifestyle, but you are not ready to struggle. The biggest blunder is removing the struggle from your life. Without struggle, nothing is possible in life.

NEVER LOSE YOUR STRUGGLE:

Regardless of your profession, whether it's the highest-paid profession or not, never lose when faced with a struggle. Accountants are different in terms of growth, as their thinking is different. However, you must work hard to take the pressure.

Until you plan a journey, every job is found to be risky. The best way to tackle such a scenario is never be afraid to take a chance. Everyone who loves to take a chance will surely advance in life.

There are three things you should keep in mind during your struggles:

• Whatever you decide, you must implement it.

• Never think that whatever you do is categorized as big or small.

• When you meet someone along the way in your struggles, never think about somebody's level. If you think like that for anyone or any individual, you will surely start losing the learning curve.

DEDICATION IS THE ONLY WAY TO ACHIEVE

If you approach your work with dedication, you can succeed in sales and operations. Keep thinking about how to move forward, and strive to be someone else's favourite. If you can do that, people will salute the dedication of this highly successful person.

In conclusion, success in life is not just about choosing the highest-paid profession. It's about finding something you enjoy and being dedicated to it. Life is full of struggles and challenges, but those who are willing to fight through them and never lose hope can achieve great things. Remember always to follow your heart and implement your decisions, no matter how big or small they may seem. And most importantly, always remember the value of hard work and dedication.

PUT YOURSELF IN OTHER’S SHOES BEFORE JUDGING SOMEONE

SYED MAHMOOD NAQVI Vice President | MB Enterprises

There's a judgmental mindset these days because everybody holds an opinion. What needs to be realized is whether you need to be judgmental about something. Why do you need to be judgmental? Most people are judgmental for no good reason or for things outside their jurisdiction. Many hold an opinion regarding their country's political system but don't have any link to politics or law.

In one-to-one relationships, such as a friend being judgmental of another friend or colleague, you need to take very specific steps. Before making a

judgment, be careful and put yourself in the shoes of others.

HOW TO PUT YOURSELF IN THE SHOES OF OTHERS?

A smile doesn't cost a penny. It increases your face value. Just give a smile before you make a judgment on someone. Think first-hand what you would do if you were in their position. If you are making a judgment about somebody, analyze their situation as if you were in their shoes. What would your reaction be if something like this happened to you? Someone you think is guilty might not be that guilty, or

their level of guilt might be less than you originally thought.

Make it a common practice so your habit of thinking negatively about someone is reduced over time.

THINK POSITIVELY:

Thinking positively will change your overall thinking paradigm. As the first nature of your personality, you will put yourself in the shoes of others. Your positive judgments will protect you from negative thinking. Passing judgment is an ironic thing and is easy to do. However, you need to take the tougher route to success. That can

happen when you put yourself in their place.

NEVER PASS JUDGMENT UNLESS YOU ARE 100% SURE:

Just be a good sport and play like professionals. Only judge someone's character, role, or authority if you are 100% sure and in a position to pass judgment.

Like in cricket, the umpire might raise his finger when the ball hits the pad. However, the batter still has the chance to ask the third umpire for an instant review. When they see a review, the batter is found safe as the ball has hit the bat first. Apply the same thing in real-life scenarios. Don't raise your finger straightaway before making a judgment. Look closely at the scenario before pointing the wrong finger. An unlikely scenario is always something that needs pondering in the long run. However, an unlikely scenario should always be given the "benefit of the doubt." Applying the same business formula and your approach will always yield the most positive results.

HAVING AN OPINION IS HEALTHY:

Having an opinion on something is healthy, as the opinion can be either good or bad. Being over-judgmental is never healthy. It needs to be balanced to make you think critically while making opinions and judgments for individuals.

Healthy opinions always count for the success of both parties. That is, one is opinion-oriented, and one is someone who receives feedback.

At the same time, while having a healthy opinion, put yourself in the shoes of others. You don't want to make a mistake while making a judgement that can be false or based on certain false assumptions. Some-

thing which is, in most cases, i.e. 30%-40% true & also found commonly in the corporate & business world. It is certainly a world filled with false assumptions & what counts is how you need to minimize the external factors while making judgements.

THE BEST THING IS TO TAKE SOME TIME:

Taking time before judging is an essential practice in any aspect of life, whether personal or professional. Rushing to a conclusion can often lead to misunderstanding, conflict, and strained relationships. It is crucial to take a step back, analyze the situation, and empathize with the other person's perspective.

One of the most significant benefits of taking time before making a judgement, is that it allows you to consider all the pros and cons of the situation. By doing this, you can make a more informed decision based on facts rather than assumptions. It's easy to jump to conclusions and make snap judgements, but our information is often incomplete, and our perception is limited. You can gather all the necessary information to make an informed and accurate decision by taking time.

In addition to analyzing the situation, taking time allows you to consider the circumstances and situations the other person might have encountered. Putting yourself in someone else's shoes can be challenging, especially if you haven't experienced what they have. By taking time, you can take a step back, see things from their perspective, and develop empathy towards them. This helps you better understand their actions and make more informed judgements.

It's also essential to consider that everyone has different personalities

and calibres. It is easy to pass judgment on someone without considering their background, culture, or life experiences. Taking time before making a judgement allows you to assess the situation holistically and judge based on facts rather than biases or preconceived notions.

Asking yourself how you would react to a similar situation is another way to put yourself in someone else's shoes. It helps you develop empathy and better understand the other person's perspective. By doing this, you can make a more informed judgement that considers the other person's feelings and emotions.

In conclusion, taking time before judging is crucial in today's fast-paced world. Rushing to conclusions can often lead to misunderstandings, conflict, and strained relationships. By taking a step back, analyzing the situation, and empathizing with the other person, you can make more informed and accurate decisions considering all aspects of the situation. So next time, before judging, remember to take time, analyze the situation, and consider the other person's perspective.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND ITS VITAL IMPORTANCE FOR A COMPANY’S VISION

Employee engagement is a vital aspect of a company's vision, as it serves as a catalyst for creating a more productive and efficient work environment. When employees feel engaged and invested in their work, they are likelier to perform at their best and contribute to the company's overall success.

One way to foster employee engagement is through effective communication. Regularly sharing information about the company's vision, goals, and progress makes employees

more likely to feel connected to the organization and understand how their work fits into the bigger picture. This can help create a sense of purpose and meaning for employees, leading to higher levels of job satisfaction and motivation.

Another important aspect of employee engagement is recognition and appreciation. Employees who feel valued and appreciated for their contributions are more likely to feel motivated and engaged in their work. This can be achieved through

various methods, such as offering incentives and rewards, providing opportunities for professional development, or simply expressing gratitude for a job well done.

Employee engagement has become a key factor in achieving success and growth in today's competitive business landscape. Companies prioritizing employee engagement are more likely to attract and retain top talent, foster a positive workplace culture, and ultimately achieve their goals and vision. Therefore,

SYED ALAMDAR HUSSAIN Country Head - MB Enterprises

investing in employee engagement should be a top priority for any company looking to achieve long-term success.

MOTIVATING EMPLOYEES:

The key to employee engagement is motivation. Employee engagement plays a valuable role in motivating employees and creating a culture of self-motivation. This change is necessary for the company's development. Employee engagement and ownership create a sense of success within the organization, as both are crucial for growth and vision.

MAKING EMPLOYEES FEEL PART OF THE COMPANY’S AGENDA:

Employee engagement is a crucial element that helps employees feel more connected to the company's growth agenda. Employees must increase their engagement to feel part of the company's vision. Sharing the journey to success is critical to the company's overall vision.

HELPING EMPLOYEES REALIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUST:

Employee engagement and ownership act as a catalyst to help employees realize the importance of trust. Improving the trust factor automatically makes employees more eager for mutual results. The vision and growth of the company depend heavily on the factor of trust.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT GIVES THE RIGHT ENERGY AND ATTITUDE:

Employee engagement is a beacon of light, giving the right energy and attitude to move forward. In times of distress and need, employee engagement is a candle of light in the darkness. Its value and importance are key because it merges motivation with self-authority, control, and shared responsibilities. This realization helps employees understand their roles and responsibilities better than ever.

HELPING CREATE USEFUL STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS:

Employee engagement helps create useful strategies for success. When employees think about the company's vision and goals, they are helping themselves make useful strategies for its success. Useful strategies mean fast development aligned with the company's goals and agendas. Success is critical for the company and holds primary values for the firm's vision.

ENGAGING EMPLOYEES HELPS UTILIZE THEIR BRAINPOWER:

Employee engagement for utilizing the employees' brainpower is one of the top growth strategies. Employees are

gifted with knowledge, thoughts, and experience levels. However, brain utilization is still lacking in many industries, including pharmaceutical. Employee engagement helps extract good results by nurturing the employees' thoughts and ideas. Trusting employees during key times in the company's growth is crucial to engagement strategies.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT IS KEY:

For any company, future development is key. Employee engagement is not just a verbal setting; it's a practical and reliable one that helps achieve future development and company goals. Employee engagement sets the tone for success, not just in a single way, but in multiple ways. It helps tune the minds of the most important employees for future development with a vision for the next five to ten years.

Entrepreneurs with new or established businesses should consider employee engagement and ownership as it adds the right flavour of success and increases boundaries.

Spring Market Update

By Amit Puri, CPA, CA, BBA

We make no formal opinion on the state of affairs, instead strive to provide you our insight into key metrics and market drivers, to help you with your financial decisions for the future.

Bank of Canada (BoC) is expected to keep rates stable for the remainder of the year. There is possibility that the BoC could have a 25 bps (0.25%) increase if global macro economic changes arise that are outside the risk parameters of the BoC, but financial pundits predict rate rever-

sals for the second half of the year. Let’s have the Variable vs. Fixed is the debate to have, and here it is: Fixed Mortgages have the benefits of a fixed-rate mortgage include, guaranteed monthly payment, with no decrease or increases in payments. Disadvantages of a fixed, the penalty is usually ten times higher than a variable rate mortgage, so if the penalty for a $1MM fixed mortgage can be upwards of $40,000, causing the mortgagee to be stuck with the lender and lack options.

\Variable Mortgages expected rate decreases by the BoC, payments will reduce in the coming year. Benefits of a variable-rate mortgage include 3-month penalty option so for a $1MM mortgage, penalty is approximately around $5,500. Reduction in rate leads to lower payments, and you are priced with the market.

Disadvantages, change in monthly payment and interest/principle split changes with rate rises causing trigger rates.

Other factors to consider with the banks. 70% of the banks profits from branch activities come from mortgage penalties. 60% of mortgages are broken prior to term. Variable rates have outperformed fixed rates on a 5-year weighted average in the last 73 out of 75 years (note that rates have had a steady decline for the past 30 years). Even with the current variable mortgage at a high, the expectation is a drop in rates, leading to lower payments in the near future. Variable rates will drop over the next 9-12 months, as inflation begins to recess in Q4 2023.

What is inflation, the rate of rise in prices, of goods and services, so things that you buy, cost more today.

Think of inflation like this, last year in December 2021, a salad was $12. In December 2022, the same salad is $18. In 8 months from now in December 2023, the salad will be $18.25, which means inflation year over year, is within the 2% limit (50 cents increase on $18 represents a 1.38%)

Inflation hit 5.2% in February 2023, down from 5.9% in January 2023, and overall, down from a high of 8.1% in June 2022.

Markets have changed, with home Sale listings for March 2023 are up 44.9%, with sellers returning to the market for this upcoming season. Q4 2022 had 148,835 mortgage deals, vs 279,683 in Q4 2021. Interest rates are expected to drop, which is directly tied with home buying and selling in Canada, which means the end to the slum in real estate is near. Rent prices are up 10%, with home ownership in jeopardy, hence the demand for the rental market will rise, causing more demand on properties in major areas like GTA, GVA, and Montreal. With an increase of interest rates of almost 300%, a recession has not officially started, showcasing the resilience of the market and reduced corporate profits and layoffs in 2023 are expected to trigger a recession in the coming quarters.

The Outlook for 2023, is that a recession watch has started and is one of the more googled terms these days but will be path dependent and will require two consecutive quarters with decreased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to hit the definition thereof. We’ll see what the latest quantitative tightening by the BoC brings, recession or not. Stagflation is persistent high inflation combined with high unemployment and stagnant demand in a country's economy. Vancouver had a drop for 55% in home sales volumes for January 2023 and a 42.5% drop in March 2023, but home prices are linear and stable, and in some pockets of the city have risen 5% The Canadian Housing Bubble could burst (along with those experienced it other worldwide major cities), with 76% of homeowners concerned about rising interest rates. RBC is

predicting a mild recession in mid 2023 and TD Bank is the most shorted bank stock in Canada. Mortgage rates have been revised upward to reflect the major shift in monetary policy and financial conditions over the last 12 months, with private mortgage origination is up 72% YoY, signalling a change in the market. Canada also saw a 10x job creation in January, from the expected 15,000, the result was 150,000 new jobs showing the economy holding strong.

Rates have changed also and the Bank of Canada (BoC) and Federal Reserve, for now, is alive and well, so far central banks have coordinated to bail out Credit Suisse's equity, the depositors on Silicon Valley Bank and SBNY, the real question is, how much pain will they allow, before they step in and bail out more entities. There has been limited pain in the Canadian housing market for now, but the time lag associated with rate hikes and impact on the ground can be 6-15 months, so we haven't seen nothing yet.

Investors have a new new tax-free home savings account began on April 1st for first time home buyers, allowing home buyers to save up to $40,000 tax free towards their home purchase. Ontario Government has increased rental increases to 2.5% (from the current 1.2%), meaning landlords can increase rent by 2.5% for 2023. CMHC states we need 3.5 MM new homes by 2030 to bring affordability back to Canada, and we are on track for 2.3 MM having a 1.2 MM shortfall.

A LESS SUNNY MOOD FOR TECH FIRMS

NAVNEET ALANG

If you were looking for a bright spot during those dark, early days of COVID in 2020, it was tech that was the shining light.

With tens of millions working from home, Zoom-ing into work, spending evenings on Netflix, digital companies could do no wrong. They hired at a blistering pace, posted enormous profits and promised a world in which the digital was the good.

Tech’s fortunes were so good in the work from home era that Microsoft’s

beleaguered Windows posted huge gains.

Now, ask anyone who works in tech what the mood is like and they might reference a sword of Damocles dangling above everyone’s head.

Tech companies both large and small have slashed jobs; some companies like Amazon have cut as many as 18,000 people. Meanwhile, novelty or innovation are, at least for the time being, hard to spot. Suddenly, the mood in tech is altogether less sunny.

What happened? In short, whether or not the pandemic is in fact “over,” its effects on tech are. A fitting symbol of this fact; Zoom laid off 1,300 employees last month, as the idea that everything from meetings to university classes would all take place over Zoom has clearly fizzled. And in place of the wild optimism – that we would all be working and learning virtually, and that a grand new future on its way – instead there is a new, altogether more quotidian focus in tech: making a profit.

That can sound like an odd assertion, given how much profit tech companies continue to make. Microsoft made $16.4 billion (U.S.) in net income last quarter, while Meta made $4.7 billion. Whatever is happening in tech, it’s not that the bigger firms are losing money.

But it’s useful to take a look back and think about the larger context. Since 2008 and until very recently, interest rates were at, or near, record lows. Capital was cheap and investment firm’s poured money into tech. Ideas of all kinds got funded and companies coasted on the promise of future profitability for years.

This is how, for example, Uber lost billions year after year, how co-working firm WeWork continued to get funded despite having almost no real

ming, adopting a scattershot, throwing anything at the wall approach that has since diluted its catalogue and allowed rivals like Disney to rapidly catch up. Microsoft invested in virtual and augmented reality, only to realize the business case for it just wasn’t there yet. Meta continued to pour billions into its metaverse idea; recently, its net income, while high by some standards, has cratered in comparison to the year before.

Now look at how things have changed. Netflix has created an ad-supported tier to continue to grow revenue, while also cracking down on password sharing. Microsoft has turned its attention to A1 – yes, because it’s the hot new thing in tech, but also because it’s trying to gain market share in search, a category that has margins simply not seen elsewhere. Apple is reportedly pulling back and delaying its own virtual reality headset, while Amazon has cut back significantly in its money losing Alexa division.

The point is that the runway of cheap money is gone, even for companies with healthy balance sheets. The focus is on profit and leanness.

There is a very reasonable critique to be made about how and why that leanness is being enforced the way it is. You don’t need to be a doctrinaire Marxist to have qualms with the share of profit going into labour versus that going to stock buybacks or executive compensation.

flurry of activity and investment followed by contraction and reorientation.

But perhaps this latest refocusing also helps explain why tech has so eagerly embraced artificial intelligence. While its effects remain to be seen – its impact on misinformation, social prejudice and jobs could be both significant and detrimental - the one thing it promises to do is automate an array of things.

From basic computational tasks to producing images or short pieces of writing. AI may well be able to replace an array of jobs.

Put yourself in the shoes of a bean counter at a tech firm, and the appeal isn’t hard to understand. Even in this new age of more financially diligent industry, the old rule – that is payroll that is a company’s largest expense - seems to be driving both the present and future of tech.

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Human and/or Animal: The Morals, Ethics and Responsibilities of the Highly Intelligent Part One of Three

DAVID RALPH MACKERETH dmackereth@canimac.com

PREFACE

Does Humanity revere the Economic System as a replacement to Religion?

“How could you, a mathematician, believe that extraterrestrials were sending you messages?” the visitor from Harvard asked the West Virginian […] “Because the ideas I had about supernatural beings came to me the same way my mathematical ideas did,” came his answer. “So I took them seriously.” Sylvia Nasar, A Beautiful Mind: The Life of Mathematical Genius and Nobel Laureate [Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences] John Nash (1998)

“Everything we think of as great has come to us from neurotics. It is they and they alone who found religions and create great works of art.” Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time, The Guermantes Way (1920)

“[M]en of genius are often subject to violent emotions and irrational passions. […] genius is the ability to leave entirely out of sight our own interest, our willing, and our aims, and consequently to discard entirely our own personality for a time, in order to remain pure knowing subject, […]” Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

“Over a time span of 100,000 years we are all Africans. And over a time span of 300 million years we are all amphibians. […] Since animals evidently have feelings and emotions similar to ours, why do they not have legal rights and moral standing similar to ours?” Freeman Dyson, The Scientist As Rebel (2006)

“The world is now dominated by an animal that doesn’t think it’s an animal. And the future is being imagined by an animal that doesn’t want to be an animal. […] Many of our most common beliefs spring from an underlying refusal to accept that we are organic beings. […] It is nonsense that our gifts have made us something that isn’t animal.” Melanie Challenger, How to Be Animal: A New History of What It Means to Be Human (2021)

“Our duties towards animals are merely indirect duties towards humanity. Animal nature has analogies to human nature, and by doing our duties to animals in respect of manifestations of human nature, we indirectly do our duty to humanity.” Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785)

To recap Part One, I put forward five questions:

1 – Did you ask to be born? Yes / No

2 – Did you request the skills, traits and attributes you were born with? Yes / No

3 – Did you choose your birthdate? Yes / No

4 – Did you stipulate the location of your birth? Yes / No

5 – Did you organize the education/training for your formative years? Yes / No

And suggested we should contemplate whom/what should benefit from individual innate human characteristics: himself/herself or all of Humanity and/or all the Biosphere. These five questions apply equally to the animal kingdom! This essay – the first of two parts on Economic issues –identifies areas where modifications could significantly benefit Mankind and the Biosphere.

“Those who are morally well-adjusted look after those who are not; those who are talented look after those who are not.” Mencius, Chinese Confucian philosopher (372-289 BCE)

“I find it valid to understand man as an animal before I am prepared to know him as a man.” John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr., 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature

“Man is a rope tied between the animal and the Superman –a rope over an abyss.” Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883-1885)

“For the study of political economy, you need no special knowledge, no extensive library, no costly laboratory. You do not even need textbooks nor teachers, if you will but think for yourselves.” Henry George (1839-1897), sparked several reform movements of the Progressive Era (1896-1917)

“The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.” Joan Violet Robinson, Marx, Marshall and Keynes (1955)

“95 per cent of economics is common sense made complicated, and even for the remaining 5 per cent, the essential reasoning, if not at all the technical details, can be explained in plain terms.” Ha-Joon Chang (South Korean Institutional Economist), 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism (2010)

Q.E.D.: Humans can earnestly comprehend Economics when needless complexity is removed.

“As wealth and the wealthy are valued more in a city, so goodness and the good are valued less […] what is valued at any particular time becomes the common practice, what is not valued is neglected.” Plato, Republic (c.375 BCE)

“A merchant may, perhaps, be a man of an enlarged mind, but there is nothing in trade connected with an enlarged mind.” James Boswell (1773), Scottish Biographer, Diarist, Lawyer

“What is a man if he is not a thief who openly charges as much as he can for goods that he sells?” Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948)

“No one can be a great thinker who does not recognize, that as a thinker it is his first duty to follow his intellect to whatever conclusions it may lead.” John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (1859) “Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.” Edward Abbey, The Journey Home (1977) Including unreasonable economic growth!

This Economic essay (Part A) scrutinizes the following: Corporate Taxation, Understanding Profit, Paying Income Taxes, Redefining GDP, Zero-Based Budgeting, Stock Market, Self-Organizing Markets, Derivatives, Too Big Too Fail, Debts, and Interest Rates.

The U.S. economy will be referenced throughout; distinctly the world’s largest GDP at U.S $25 trillion. China at approximately U.S. $18 trillion GDP follows; however, it is difficult to obtain the necessary information to have a meaningful discussion. With the Chinese population 4.5 times larger than the U.S., and the nearest GDPs of Japan and Germany at approximately U.S. $4 trillion: positions the U.S. in a league of its own (per current GDP theory). All GDPs were estimates provided by the IMF for 2022.

New approach to Tax on Corporate Profits to benefit all Stakeholders

How did we end having the most productive corporations paying more than their fair share of Public Expenditures? Should we penalize the most profitable corporations or encourage them to concentrate on what they do best: provide

goods and services and necessary employment for those wishing to work in the private sector and earning profits for shareholders.

“Virtually all the real national income upon which the standard and quality of life depend is generated by industrial corporations. […] Only human beings can bear the burden of taxation, so what are the ultimate impacts of taxation on business profits.”

Frank S. Capon, Profit: The Nature, Size and Role of Profit in a Technological Society (1984)

“Believing as I do that taxation should be levied for revenue only, and that other fiscal objectives are illusory, wasteful, and vicious.” Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965)

A Tax on Revenue approach results in the Corporate Taxpayer paying fair market value for its use of roads, education, healthcare, public safety, financial markets, exports/imports services etc. As Profits do not reflect the extent Corporations make use of Public Services.

Applying a modest percentage to a corporation’s top line revenue (to calculate its contribution to Public Services) would both simply the Corporate Tax Process and enhance the Public’s desire to better understand their particular Income Tax System. Allowing accountants and lawyers assisting Corporations to reduce (ideally eliminate) their Income Tax payments to apply their talents to better serve Humanity and the Biosphere. Some would classify the conduct of these income tax experts as treasonous.

“A large portion of our gain did not come from anything we accomplished at Berkshire, adding that about $29 billion of that $65.3 billion gain came from changes to the tax law.” Warren Buffet, CNN Money, February 24, 2018

Q.E.D.: Some U.S. Corporations significantly benefited from the 2017 Trump Income Tax Reduction Program, adopting little effort!

The government with input from citizens should determine the total Revenue to be received from Corporations. This amount would be divided by the estimated GDP for the coming year to arrive at the Corporation Tax Rate on Revenue. In 2021 U.S. Corporations paid approximately U.S. $375 billion in Income Taxes: dividing that by the GDP of U.S. $25 trillion results in a Corporation Revenue Tax of 1.5 %. More likely the U.S. $375 billion should be higher to adequately cover the Corporations use of infrastructure, education, security, and all the other services provided by the U.S. Government; requires further discussion. If a Corporation cannot afford to pay 1.5 % of revenues towards its use of Public Services, it may not have the right to be in business!

This approach has Corporations operating in a Capitalist Democracy with the ability to apply their Net Profits as they see fit; however, paying their fair share of the Public Services consumed, and deferential to applicable laws and regulations.

The Corporations earning the highest Profits would not be subsidizing less profitable ones. And without a Tax on Income, there should be less reason for a Corporation to send funds offshore!

We find at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy an April 2021 article by Matthew Gardner and Steve Wamhoff: “At least 55 of the largest corporations in America paid no federal corporate income taxes in their most recent fiscal year despite enjoying pretax profits in the United States.”

Q.E.D.: U.S. Corporate Income Tax is a Shell Game, and participating professionals/experts should be held accountable for this Legalized Theft!

Profit: a simpler calculation than Quality

Compared to a Government servicing the countless needs of their citizens, a Corporation’s primary function in providing its goods and services is to earn ROI (Return on Investment).

“All sectors need to agree on a single formula measure profit –whether from a social, economic, or accounting viewpoint.” Frank S. Capon, Profit: The Nature, Size and Role of Profit in a Technological Society (1984)

“For the engine which drives Enterprise is not Thrift, but profit, […] Were the Seven Wonders of the World built by thrift? I doubt it.” Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965)

“This is the project for the next generation of economists: To calculate and internalize all the costs of our way of doing business, and then to create a global marketplace in which the price of every product tells the ecological truth.” Adbusters 141 (Jan/Feb 2019), Anti-Capitalist (Advertising Free) Canadian Magazine

Q.E.D.: All costs (including social and environmental) incurred by a product or service must be calculated to arrive at a legitimate Corporate Profit.

“The dilemma is that this value creation is currently hidden in, indeed excluded from, our economic assumptions and measurements, largely because growth and progress are measured in money, and money does not give us information about the health of ecological or social systems.” Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams, Macrowikinomics: New Solutions for a Connected Plant (2012)

If modern-day Humanity wishes to have as many people as is possible enjoying acceptable living conditions; then Corporations need to ‘Thrive’ and be ‘Profitable’. However, based on a definition of Profit that is agreed to and meaningful to all Stakeholders on Planet Earth (including those representing the Biosphere).

Paying taxes: an honourable exercise

“The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of

the state.” Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776)

Theoretically, one would think a citizen who has paid to his/her Government all of the costs of services received should feel rather pleased with themselves, especially in a keen economic environment. And even better to have additionally contributed towards the needs of others who have not been able to pay their fair share. However, ask a hundred U.S. taxpaying citizens today if they are pleased with the amount of taxes paid, and most likely all hundred believe they overpaid. Effort is needed to reverse this thinking: the paying of adequate Taxes may be the most important obligation for a citizen of the modern world. And changing the terminology from ‘Income Taxes’ to just ‘Taxes’ may assist the dialogue. As most of the U.S. Government Revenues (approximately 85 %) derives from Employee Earnings and Payroll Taxes, which do not relate to ‘Income’ associated with Corporations.

Q.E.D.: U.S. individual citizens are the financial foundation of the U.S. Government/Country.

“Having signed the law awarding $1.4 trillion of tax relief to the country’s richest individuals, he’d [President George W. Bush] reimbursed the people who had paid his ticket to the White House, but the smiling pose of “compassionate conservatism” was becoming hard to hold amidst the gradual recognition of both its fraudulence and rigidity.” Lewis H. Lapham, Age of Folly: America Abandons its Democracy (2016)

Q.E.D.: Political contributions can be recoverable!

Redefining GDP to account for Gross Dominant Position countries

“Mr. Hoover was an engineer. He knew that water trickles down. Put it uphill and let it to the people at the bottom and the people at the top will have it before night, anyhow. But it will at least have passed through the poor fellow’s hands.” William Penn Adair Rogers (1879-1935) American humorous social commentator.

Simon Kuznets, the man who invented GDP, “warned in his first report to the U.S. Congress in 1937 that the welfare of a nation can […] scarcely be inferred from a measurement of national income.” Wikipedia (Gross Domestic Product)

How To Set Smart Goals In Business: What They Are & How To Use Them?

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The business world is all about competition & being competitive to get over your competitor’s strategy. The dynamic world of business demands success via strategy-making & being vigilant regarding SMART goals.

‘SMART’ is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic & Time-bound. It is the demands of the industry that the business world sticks to goals that make them take the edge for the sake of healthy competition & competition that is according to the

standards that demand business sense and business ethics.

The goals need to be defined precisely regarding the level of specific actions needed to proceed with the goals. They need to be measurable regarding the many parameters set for the goals. Further, the goals need to be achievable in terms of the realistic nature of the goals, i.e., the targets. Also, in terms of the achievement levels that are desired with the goals.

The goals need to be highly realistic as planned. This simply means the demands need to be based on realistic demands that are expected from the goals. Lastly, time-bound is when the goal is expected to finish. The time factor in the completion of targets makes it more accomplished in terms of the SMART goals.

The business owners use SMART goals to achieve business sustainability, goodwill in the long run & thriving

for higher levels of profitability in a dedicated time, for example, three to five years. The five acts like a fist to attain higher levels of success in the dynamic & most competitive business world. It can even be regarded as a benchmark for future success & sustainability.

SMART goals are defined more clearly ahead of;

SPECIFIC:

Just keep one thing in mind you are setting SMART goals to attain a specific objective- not a broad one. You are not looking for just an initiative for the sake of success; however, you are looking for a specific project to succeed. For that, whatever you need to do must be precisely & specifically defined.

The specific attitude is evident from mentioning the amount or the exact time frame. Hence, rather than being speculative & being close to the original. For example, instead of creating a goal to raise more money. Alternatively, being more specific, you might create a goal to raise $25K by the end of the year.

MEASURABLE:

In the SMART goals, the next letter in the acronym ‘SMART’ is M which stands for ‘MEASUREABLE.’ It helps you evaluate the success or failure of your project. This is a measurement in terms of the rating or the level achieved.

Your goals should have some sort of objective way to measure them. It can be a deadline, a number, a percentage change & finally, some other measurable element. A good example of doing this is by setting the benchmarks.

ACHIEVABLE:

Next on the list is ‘Achievable,’ which makes goals SMART. As a perfect businessman or someone planning one, you don’t want your goals to be easy to achieve. Ironically, things that are easy to achieve mean you have made easy targets for yourself instead of hard targets. At the same time, you also want to ensure that you are setting goals you could conceivably hit.

Whatever a human mind can think & conceive, it can achieve. However, to make it achievable, you need to be very planned & prepared to increase the achievable levels.

Before making a goal, you must ask yourself, ‘Is the goal within Your Project Scope?’ If it’s not, it’s not achievable.

REALISTIC:

Now comes the ‘Realistic’ attribute, which shows that the ‘A’ & the ‘R’ of SMART are closely linked. Whatever seems to be achievable, is it realistic as well?

This is surely a unique link as if you ask the same question the other way around. That is, Whatever Seems Realistic is Achievable as well? The answer to the second question is more affirmative than the one preceding it. For obvious reasons, what seems realistic surely falls in the domain of being achievable.

Making Realistic goals from the start of your business journey will make you more practical than otherwise. The sooner you realize in your journey that your goals need to be realistic. Obviously, the better it is for your company’s better & bigger future.

TIME-BOUND:

Your SMART goals should have an end date. Without a set time limit in your mind, your project could drag on. However, with a set end date or a time in your mind, you will be more planned of your goal & how to proceed in the journey.

According to many business gurus who have landed in the business world with high-profile success. They think deadlines provide a sense of urgency, with priority so that short-term tasks don’t drag into long-term goals unnecessarily. Your project management according to the time KPI makes you highly time-bound & changes your strategy to be more time specific.

The benefits of SMART goals can’t be determined in a short span. However, they are seen more clearly & practically in long run. It gives very clear communication & alignment & clarity towards project success. Clears the roadmap & the finish line & finally the trackable metrics.

COMBINING A BRICKS & MORTAR STORE WITH E-COMMERCE, HOW?

It's the combination of the bricks & mortar store with e-commerce that really works well these days. It starts slowly to perfect the details & later expands via the use of affordable & dependable technology. Is it the ideal combination, that's the question? Whether it's Canada, the USA, the U.K. or the Middle East, the combination is turning well into an ideal one, depending on the number of people, i.e. the customers interested in the combination.

E-Commerce is growing fast in Canada as well as around the world. However, the predictions of a slow death for the bricks & mortar retailing haven't come to pass.

As well all know, online sales, i.e. internet-based sales rose to higher levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. It reached recorded levels and reached $55.2 billion in 2020 alone. This is according to the statistics Canada. An organization or a body responsible for research, i.e. customer based & online. The stats presented in 2020 regarding internet-based sales. Retail e-commerce still represented just about 8.2% of the total retail sales in the country. Well, truly, the dependency is there. However, it is not as high as it could have been. The figures in 2022, i.e. just a couple of years after that, truly show a different picture. A picture which is different from 2020 in terms of online selling activity, i.e. internet-based sales.

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Getting to the root of the cause is the change in trends in Canada despite a high-level store presence that is concentrated all over the country, which is vast. Also, a number of advantages in terms of online discounts & offers.

AIMING FOR A UNIFIED CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE:

The aim of providing a combination of bricks & mortar store & e-commerce is to aim for a unified customer experience. The consumer must enjoy the product & the brand, whether it's online or in-store. You might be aware of omnichannel marketing. Here, the idea is to communicate with the customers through one voice. That is, whether it's in-store, online, i.e. the website or digital media, i.e. Social media. Otherwise, through traditional advertising, i.e. T.V. & other forms of advertising mediums. Obviously, it's never an easy thing; however, it can be very powerful, provided that you get it right.

The powerful term is seen vitally in the form of the power of the brand or the brand image. Just make a fresh start while analyzing & targeting the needs of the customers. Furthermore, their desires as well at the same time.

On top of this, you can even work on consistent branding, messaging & service standards across your digital & physical properties. Also, make dead sure that your marketing is aligned.

THINK ABOUT BEING MOBILE FIRST:

As a retailer, you need to think about being mobile as a first-level priority. The main reason for this is you are the center of attraction for the customers who are constantly looking for you on the internet. This is via their mobiles, i.e., smartphones, which means whether they are in a library, a coffee shop, a restaurant or a cinema. Ironically, what they are looking for is your retail presence & how to make a difference that is worthwhile enough for themselves.

On top of this, smart customers are even making use of their geek image while exploring on their smartphones w.r.t. price comparisons & customer reviews regards to your products & offers. Therefore, as a high-level priority, you need to make sure that your website not only looks fab. On top of this, it is also fully mobile responsive. The mobile-responsiveness is partially linked up with digital competitiveness. Therefore, we are assuming things are highly digitally friendly country-wide.

DO EXPLORE THE IN-STORE PICKUPS:

Part & parcel of the combination of brick & mortar stores with the e-commerce & online environment are the in-store pickups. Make sure you make use of these options at your

retail outlet so that customer satisfaction levels are guaranteed. Keep exploring different offers, i.e. in-store pickups as compared to home delivery options.

Allowing your customers to pick up in-store is really an attractive idea. Once the customers are in, obviously, it's your retail marketing strategies that will hold them inside. You might also have an outside chance of selling them other merchandise. Also, keep asking yourselves what happens when your customers don't show up to pick up their parcels. It can be a logistics issue which you need to work on far more carefully. Pickups are preferable & easier options for the customers, especially if they live nearby the store location.

The combination is unique but is a modern one that is getting far more worthwhile for both. That is the retailer & the consumers, i.e. the customers. It's your responsiveness, as obviously, you are aiming for a unified customer experience. Customer reviews regards to deliveries & in-store pickups always will make a huge difference in your ultimate decision-making. It can even help in categorizing the customer types, for example, the lazy customers versus the ones who love to pop into the store. Keep experimenting with the combinations at different levels, just like changing your unique Pin ID for your Atm Card. A practice that will help you in future.

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Retail Marketing Challenges That Are Seen Globally In The Retail Sector

While we discuss the retail marketing challenges, we must very carefully evaluate & know what exactly retail marketing is. The modern retail industry demands marketing & retail marketing concerns with the term marketing in the retail sector. It’s indeed challenging & demanding as retail marketing needs a different environment than other marketing environments. Initially, we need to make an identification of the right challenges that are being faced in retail marketing. Nothing is practically possible without the correct strategy in action.

Communication medium, i.e. language, is key while formulating a retail marketing strategy. In contrast, we say that the regional language & the international language, i.e. English, are used commonly while you, as a retailer, move ahead with the most accurate retail marketing strategy. To achieve the best results, you have to assume that only some hold the literacy level regard to the more international language, i.e. English.

Retail marketing includes merchandising, which is used via displaying products accurately & it is something

that grasps immediate customer attention. Merchandising is used with good effect to get the best results in Retail marketing. It can even be a challenge that needs strong attention. Data capturing & gathering of data is a challenge in retail marketing. Also, yet another challenge regards understanding the customer or consumer’s behaviour. Building trust between the consumers & the brand is indeed a retail marketing challenge. Also, it’s the distinguished art of establishing customer loyalty with retail marketing & finally finding your technology solution.

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Retail marketing also needs the added ingredient of creativity & this can be achieved via branding & merchandising.

The following are some of the retail marketing challenges we need to discuss;

UNDERSTANDING THE CUSTOMER BEHAVIOUR:

A big retail marketing challenge is a deep understanding of customer/consumer behaviour. Just as the customer steps into a retail store, know from observations as a retailer the probability of the customers going to the help desk. These are the ones who want to lodge a complaint or gather some key information.

A customer may be in a store & see a new pair of shoes they are looking to buy, due to the long line at the cashier counter, they surely pull out their mobile & add the shoes to their cart. This is the customer behaviour that must be kept in mind by the Retailer regards to the activity of the customers. According to research, a bit more than 50% of customer behaviour can’t be predicted as the possibility of making a definite prediction regards to customer/consumer behaviour is difficult.

Make an understanding of the customer behaviour & know well in advance, in most cases, what the customers are looking for.

BUILDING A LEVEL OF TRUST BETWEEN THE CONSUMERS & THE BRAND:

This is regarded as the most important & the most creative part, i.e. building a trust level right between the consumers & the brand. It is similar to a father-child relationship as a brand is a child while the consumers are regarded as a father. The relationship needs a level of trust which is missing. Similarly, in reality, something is lacking between a father & a son, which is hurting the relationship.

What needs to be done by the Retailer? Trust is regarded as the bedrock of any online relationship. What retailers need to do in this regard is to make sure that the consumer’s data is being collected transparently & respectfully.

Yet another thing that retailers need to do is regards to building trust. Obviously, they need to give the customers their confidence levels back. Specifically, & most importantly, with the brand. Holds levels of brand loyalty incorporated within the psychology of customers.

ESTABLISHING THE CUSTOMER LOYALTY VIA THE USE OF RETAIL MARKETING:

One of the retail marketing challenges is establishing customer loyalty via retail marketing. An environment needs to be focused on here which deeply surrounds customer preferenc-

es. That is their likes & their dislikes. Customer needs their desired attention & the much-needed spotlight. If, as a retailer, you are providing that, then surely you will get success via effectively using retail marketing as a marketing tool.

Retailers can even gain customer loyalty from the customers by providing them with a far more personalized & relevant experience, helping to establish loyalty. Loyalty in retail marketing as part of strategy building is a bit similar to brand loyalty.

FINDING YOUR RIGHT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTION:

The use of technology & the right technology solution is the need of retailers. They need the right integration of technology in order to make all their data actionable & also use it to streamline the customer experience.

Whether the retailers are actually exploring the industry & the industry potential, alternatively, they are getting ready for the sake of making a massive investment in the right tech partner. Whatever the scenario, it is highly important for retailers to make sure that they are evaluating the potential partners equally & with consistency.

GOOGLE PROVES IT’S TOO POWERFUL

How do you know when a company has become too powerful?

If you were a policy wonk, you might look for signs of a monopoly. An economist could look at market share, or perhaps runaway profits. But if you were just a regular Canadian, you might instead simply note that you are being toyed with – or even intimidated.

For example; What if a company whose purpose is to make information available was in fact blocking news from the web?

That unfortunately, is what Google is doing currently. About 4% of Canadian users are having what news they see through Google’s search engine limited. The company is purportedly “briefly testing potential product responses” to Bill C-18, The Online News Act. It is a piece of legislation that would enact law to essentially push online tech giants like Google and Facebook into paying news organizations for their content. Google is not alone in its objections or heavy handed tactics. Facebook, too, threatened to cut off access to

NAVNEET ALANG

news if the bill passes – and in fact had done so in other countries like Australia.

Like all new laws, there is good reason to debate the bill, or probe it for weaknesses.

But regardless of what you think about the proposed changes, the mere fact that two American companies can make it significantly harder for Canadians to find news - and brandish their power to do so as a threat – makes it clear that Canada is on the right path in choosing to regulate big tech.

Google throwing its weight around only helps to shed light on this unavoidable fact.

For years, the idea of regulating the internet seemed unthinkable, in no small part because it was changing so fast. But times have changed. Facebook and Google totally dominate the ad market, controlling more than 80% of digital ads. Meanwhile, the news business is on the ropes, and has been for nearly two decades. Those two things are cause and effect, respectively.

Meanwhile, the idea that the web is some open utopia that is best left alone is long dead. Just look at the proliferation of misinformation and

conspiracy theorists. Even something as innocuous as the “15 minute city” – an urbanist concept that you should be able to meet your daily needs in a 15 minute radius of your home – can turn into a wild, entirely concocted theory about government control.

Two things are thus clear: first, the idea of regulating big tech is perfectly reasonable: and second, a robust news ecosystem is a necessity for a functioning healthy democracy. That’s not to say Bill C-18 is the perfect vehicle to address those needs. But it is a start.

What it specifically propose is that the CRTC, the body that regulates communications in the country will be able to force tech companies to enter into arbitration to negotiate deals for news organizations’ content.

It’s based on the idea that Facebook and Google make money by becoming sites that aggregate news and links. It’s true that news organizations gain an audience through social media. But when you look at the massive disparity in ad revenue between the people making content and the people linking to it, it’s clear that this relationship is less a virtuous circle, than something closer to exploitation.

Bill C-18 follows a model implemented in Australia in 2021, which similarly encourages tech and news companies to arrive at licensing agreements – and at least according to a recent government report there, it appears to be working. Nonetheless, there is good reason to critique Bill C-18. For one, it may help entrench the power of established players on both sides. After all, a scrappy upstart news organization isn’t going to be negotiating a deal with Google right out of

the gate, meaning it won’t get the same access to resources larger players might.

It is also true that, when one looks at the sorry financial state of news, part of the blame clearly belongs to news organizations themselves. Our slow, often ham fisted reactions to the digital shift did us no favours.

Yet the point here is to focus on the bigger picture. The status quo in which foreign companies own the key revenue driver in media, while Canada’s news and information ecosystems falters, is untenable. Intervening in such an unbalanced situation is the right and proper place of government, even if we must be very careful about unintended effects or flawed legislation.

The simple fact is that an information economy functions better when it is more open, more accessible, and is bettered by competition and challenge. Perhaps Bill C-18, will bring us closer to those ideals or perhaps it will not.

But Google and Facebook’s posturing is a sign that they know any attempts to bring them to heel will lessen their power. And as goals go, that is exactly what we want.

STRATEGIES TO ATTRACT MORE FOREIGN VISITORS TOWARDS YOUR TOURISM BUSINESS

Attracting foreign visitors if you have a tourism agency or business is difficult to achieve in this competitive world. A world where tourism is indeed easy, cost-effective & the concentration of tourism groups & companies are found richly than it used to be before. That is when the era lacked the digital edge it has in these modern times. It’s a universal fact that one single strategy won’t

work best as a combination of online & offline tactics will help draw more international visitors.

This is the modern era of Tourism marketing, which is highly technical for the best results. However, if Tourism marketing is used effectively, it can be used for the best results. The use of digital media, i.e. social networking platforms like Facebook &

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MB Enterprises

Twitter, has made things relatively easy for tourism business owners. However, they still need to find the right formula, i.e. best approach to finding the best solutions in Tourism Marketing.

Canada is a country that surely ranks at the top of the list, if not the top precisely, in the list of nations that are edging in popularity with international

travellers. A key part of Tourism marketing, especially for international tourists, is regarded as eco-friendly travelling, which is found commonly. Many travellers & tourists prefer being eco-friendly as part of their CSR travelling activities. This is a common preference amongst business class travellers who love to travel but are under the shade of eco-friendly travel. A website holds many important things which, as a business owner, one must be aware of fully. So, here are the strategies that your tourism business can consider to bolster your appeal overseas.

GIVE YOUR BUSINESS WEBSITE A GLOBAL OUTREACH:

Your tourism business website should have the desired global outreach. An outreach that will make your tourism business more effective for International Tourism. Just ask yourself what you are showing your audiences or customers that others need to improve.

As a business owner, you can customize your website to cater to the needs of your target market. Equip it with simple visual aids such as country flags.

Always be price-wise & show your prices in local currency. It can help you connect with international visitors & can even increase their price comparison ability. You want to increase the user's confidence & comfort.

There are many other ways these days for the sake of customizing websites to suit foreign visitors. Content marketing aimed

at specific countries can even drive more visits to your website. Be very careful with website content & use catchy words & taglines that straightaway clicks the customers. Also, you would love to tailor your SEO or Search Engine Optimization strategy & online marketing campaigns to local markets.

USE ECO-TOURISM & ADVENTURE TRAVEL AS OPTIONS FOR TOURISTS:

Adventure travelling & Eco-Tourism are the two key areas that business owners must use as options for the Int. Tourists. Canada is full of adventure travelling & there are places in Canada known for adventure travelling & scintillating outdoor experiences. Apart from this, the destination is an emerging global destination for eco-tourism & adventure travel.

The country Canada which is the second largest in the world w.r.t. its vast area, has a reputation as an uncrowned holiday destination with diversity richly found in abundance towards the wildlife. Ironically, the natural environment in Canada appeals to visitors seeking activities such as windsurfing, white water kayaking, skiing & even rock climbing. All of them fall in the category of adventure travelling. As a business owner, while thinking about creativity at its peak. It would help if you made useful considerations of how well you can simply take advantage of the eco-tourism & adventure travel opportunities in your area.

TRY TO MAKE YOUR BUSINESS AS MULTI-SEASONAL:

Make your business uniform in terms of profit-making options

for all the twelve months of the year. That is all the four seasons which includes summer, winter, autumn & spring.

Making your business multi-seasonal is not easy in a country like Canada, which is very cold in the winters, especially for the tourists coming from hotter regions. For this thing to work well, the most vital step is to assess the potential year-round activities in your area.

This includes music festivals, the seasonal festivals, winter activities, summer activities & other seasonal outdoor activities all the year-round. ‘Seasons for all the right reasons’, which certainly means what suits the customers should be the option widely open for them. However, the level of business activities all year-round must stay uniform both for the customers & business owners.

BE MORE CONSISTENT IN MONITORING & RESPONDING TO ONLINE REVIEWS:

Be far more consistent in the monitoring & giving response to the online customer reviews. This is the best way to judge customer responses regards to your tourism business. Also,

will help you in judging best what your customer demands are.

While promoting Int. Tourism the consistency in monitoring reviews surely means that your level of interest for sake of international tourism promotions is highly regarded in your own eyes. The rating on sites such as Trip Advisor, Yelp & Google are often the best source for decision-making.

All these are strategies that will surely help in attracting more foreign visitors towards your tourism business. Travel & Tourism is a technical field these days & taking the edge needs making use of the right & most productive strategies. Finally, its strategy into action that gives best results for a sustainable business growth.

WE ARE HIRING! RESORT MANAGER

Career Overview

As a resort manager, your job will include managing all aspects of a resort, including lodging, food and beverage management, human resources, housekeeping, attractions, and guest services. You'll be in charge of employees, finances, customer service, promotions, and quality control. Resort managers often have to work nights and weekends, putting in long hours to ensure the success of their establishment.

Job Description

Includes duties in three major areas: Daily Operations - Finances and Marketing; Customer Service and Human Resources

Daily Operations, Financial, and Marketing Duties

Resort managers oversee product stocking, accounting, and marketing efforts at the resort. As a resort manager, you'll hire contractors to perform services, such as painting or plumbing. You'll ensure that all supplies, from housekeeping materials to furniture, are in good condition and in stock. You'll monitor payroll, customer billing, and expense accounts.

Customer Service

Resort managers ensure positive customer experiences by maintaining high-quality facilities and remedying problems. At the resort, you'll conduct room, kitchen, and grounds inspections to make sure that they are all up to code. You'll greet guests at arrival, create standards surveys, and find acceptable solutions to problems that may arise.

Human Resources Responsibilities

As a resort manager, you'll be in charge of hiring, training, and scheduling new staff members. You'll set goals for employees and help your staff achieve these goals. You might also have assistant managers who you'll work with to manage departments, such as housekeeping, dining, security, and desk personnel.

Contact:

4382 HWY # 60, RR#1 DWIGHT, ONTARIO, P0A 1H0, CANADA 1-800-387-2244 stay@algonquininn.com

SKILLS: Maintain

WORK INFO: Room & Board Provided

HOW TO APPLY

Email: gm@senatorhoteltimmins.ca

Phone: ( 416)-918-1356 (12:00 PM to 05:00 PM)

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The Significance Of Work-life Balance For The Employees

Work-life balance holds key values of success for the employees working in a company 9-5, Monday to Friday. Sometimes, the employees are even sacrificing extra hours, i.e. working late nights & leaving the office late for the sake of finishing their deadlines & pending tasks. It’s an environment that obviously needs ‘the balancing act,’ an act that is a high-level necessity for the employees to groom their attitudes. Also, to sustain in the long run for a better lifestyle.

Here, the significance is a key priority for the people for whom the balancing act is a massive consideration for the health of employees. Also, for the sake of managing tasks, projects & corporate assignments that value constant workings.

Why do the employees need to balance their daily routines? A

question that is asked by researchers time & again. Obviously, it’s a massive upbringing in the career management aspects of employees & how well they can improve their work-life balance. This is something that dynamically is linked with the psychologies of the employees regards to their levels of productivity & their overall output.

Managing a 9-5 routine life needs something extra & obviously, as it’s your source of earning and it’s a key priority for the employees. However, as an employee, the time that needs to be given at home, i.e. family time, is indeed a vital thing regards to the work-life balance of employees. The gate to success is always open once you can prioritize your work & work patterns. Obviously, you can’t delay your key corporate projects & your assignments to destroy your sleep

patterns. Your next day can ironically be a tough day for you at work.

IT INCREASES THE LEVELS OF PRODUCTIVITY OF THE EMPLOYEES:

The levels of productivity of employees are dependent, if not highly dependent, on the work-life balance. Work is not just your responsibility. However, the attitude at work is also a high-level responsibility that employees should take care of. While they take good care of work-life balance, the employees can also be more conscious of what they need to do to increase their productivity levels. These are levels that nourish the employees with regard to their career management aspects.

WORK-LIFE BALANCE IS AN ATTITUDE:

It’s not just about your professional

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‘THE BALANCING ACT’

life. In fact, it’s about being professional & being amongst the professionals at the workplace. It is an attitude that stands tall between the employees & the employer & makes the employer aware of the needs of the employees.

An attitude that demands success always as work-life balance means you know when to balance your work patterns so that you don’t get stressed out or you don’t get burn-out. Especially when you are new at work, you as an employee need to handle many pressure-cooker situations just before you calm the nerves & get used to it.

INDEED A NECESSITY OF THE MODERN WORK ENVIRONMENTS:

It’s a high-level necessity of modern work environments so that they balance the attitude of their employees. A necessity that is matched via regular breaks from work & dividing the time with regards to relaxation & taking things easy.

Taking regular breaks from work in the form of a holiday means a lot while contributing to work-life balance attitudes. An agile & attitude full of energy is more important at the workplace rather than being dull & having a bad hair day. Obviously, something that ruins the day for you while making useful contributions in a corporate work environment.

IMPROVES THE MENTAL HEALTH A GREAT DEAL:

Work-life balance improves the employee’s mental health a great deal as it’s a significant factor in employee work development strategies. You are working 9-5. However, what’s more, important is how well you are working after 5. That is, are you giving proper time to the regular walk in the park or

the jogging? Are you mentally upset, & dealing with the situation with regular meditations & yoga? To improve your smart thinking, Are you giving enough time to your systematic study? Last but not least, are you giving proper time to your family every day & friends at least once a week?

For better mental health, you need to balance your lifestyle with bits & pieces of everything & also maintain your social life, i.e. your social circle. A key factor that needs to be maintained with priority while dealing with work-life balance issues.

Reduces the levels of stress & acts as a balancing act at the workplace as well as at your home. Improving the attitude at work holds profound importance; however, the deepest of importance is associated with the levels of consistency that need maintaining.

Work-life balance is indeed something that makes an employee well-equipped to take on daily work challenges. It keeps you with a good chance always as you know key aspects regards to the ‘balancing act.’ Just relax, & take things easy with a calm down attitude which is the need of the hour at the professional level. Keep telling yourself, ‘I am a Professional’ & as a professional, you know when the real magic can happen for you. What companies, especially MNCs, are doing these days is more than enough to maintain the work-life balance in modern work cultures. A need of the hour.

TOP COMPANIES IN THE ATM MARKET

‘A Competitive World of Finance’

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Several companies rule over the ATM industry & they can be categorized as the financial world. The global ATM market size reached US$ 24 billion in the year 2022. It is a growing business in North America, especially in USA & Canada. ATMs, also known as Automated Teller machines, are used not only for cash withdrawals but also for balance enquiry, payments transfer, requesting mini-statements & change of pin for an ATM card, also known in the West as ID. Undoubtedly, the world of ATMs is more diverse & dynamic than it used to be in the era of the very early Citi bank ATMs in the

USA, the country where it all originated from.

There is a good-enough pool of companies or a whirlpool striving every day for the best results in the ATM market. All these companies aim to increase the extra-security layer of technologically advanced ATMs. Thus, integrating the ATMs with advanced security features and mechanisms, including biometric authentication, fingerprint sensor, and OTP or One-Time password services, to prevent fraudulent activities.

Part of the modern world phenomenon in the ATM sector is intelligent talking ATMs for users with special requirements. Also, using contactless ATM kiosks to avoid touching is a key requirement during the recent coronavirus pandemic. Also known technically or medically as COVID-19. There are many other features that companies are coming up with every day as part of the innovations introduced in the ATM sector. Ironically, all this adds up to the enhancements in usability & safety & security of the transactions.

Here are some of the prominent ATM manufacturers & companies in the world;

DIEBOLD NIXDORF INC.:

Diebold Nixdorf Inc. is a company from the United States of America which was established in 1859. The headquarters of the company is in Ohio, USA. The company falls under the FI’s or Financial Institutions category & is a global leader in banking solutions and retail tech systems. These systems help banks, credit unions & retailers meet the requirements & needs of the connected customers.

As a vital part of the specialized services, the company excels in manufacturing, selling, installing and servicing financial & retail self-service solutions.

The company amazingly falls on the list of being a multinational brand with a presence in almost 130 countries & 25,000 employees working under the banner of Diebold Nixdorf Inc. The company enjoys a major presence in the US, Germany, Australia, Canada, Brazil, France, Hong Kong, China, India, Italy, the UK, Mexico, Spain, Poland, and UAE & South Africa. Also includes Thailand as being a country of major presence.

NCR CORPORATION:

The company NCR, known fully as NCR Corp., is also a global brand which is very popular, although it comes after Diebold Nixdorf Inc. The popularity levels are there in Asia & Europe more than other continents as a highly worthwhile multinational. It was established in the year 1884, and the HQ of the company is in Georgia, United States.

NCR serves mainly in the financial, retail & hospitality industries and offers diversified financial services & operations, including ATM services. The company has around 35K employees in almost 150-160 countries, more than Diebold Nixdorf Inc.

The key financial services offered under the banner of NCR Corp. include POS Software & solutions, multi-vendor ATM software, self-service ATMs, self-service Kiosks, back office solutions, and advisory, deployment, implementation, maintenance & managed services. The brand image of NCR is much higher than any other in the ATM sector.

TRITON:

The Triton Systems of Delaware LLC is a company known in short as Triton. The company is young. However, it’s just 44 years old and an established ATM brand. The HQs of the company has been in Mississippi since it was formed in 1979.

The company is a leading manufacturer and provider of off-premise ATMs & ATM Management Software in North America.

According to the stats, there are approximately around 210,000 installments in almost 26 countries. A benchmark that many companies couldn’t make in such a quick time, i.e. coming in the good books in such a fast time. It also holds the title of the world’s leading retail ATM supplier.

FUJITSU:

The company Fujitsu is a Japanese company & that was established pre-World War II, i.e. in 1935. The Headquarters of the Multinational Company is in the capital city of Tokyo, Japan. It’s a global information & communications technology company offering a wide range of tech products, solutions & services. Serves the financial services, automotive, retail manufacturing, the public sector, energy and utilities and transport markets.

Apart from providing hybrid IT services, ATMs, POS systems, electronic devices, electronics, Data center services, integrated systems, network switches & storage solutions.

The company has a global network of Research & development, also known as R&D activities, apart from diversified support operations. These are support operations covering the continent & regions across North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa & Oceania. In short, it’s the whole world.

All these companies have a presence which is very old while two of them are pre-World War I & just one of them being almost 44 years old. The tech innovations and R&D is a constant process in these MNC’s apart from constantly improving the security & safety aspects in ATM & POS technologies. In the ATM sector alone, key developments in the last few decades have made all these companies as major benchmarks in the ATM industry since the industry was born.

TRENDS IN THE TRUCKING SECTOR IN CANADA IN THE YEAR 2023

Canada's trucking industry, especially commercial trucking, has been found to be an integral part of Canada's growing economy since the early 1940s. Canada is a massive country & the role of the transportation sector has contributed to a great deal in Canada's massive growth in many sectors. It has also been a contributor to laying the foundation for its national highway system.

Similar to the many industries in Canada that have faced disruptions due to technological advancement, legislative changes and many other societal factors. The trucking industry in Canada has saved similar disruptions in the past & most of these have been disruptions that have taken place during the period of COVID-19. The pandemic has been the cause of many disruptions & losses that are dedicated to the economy of the world as well as the economy of Canada. The trucking industry of Canada is a multi-million dollar industry while staying ahead of the latest trends within Canada's unique trucking landscape. It's a landscape that is not only responsi-

ble for the bread & butter of many people. However, it is also an important way to ensure sustainable growth over the many years to come.

Below are the top three trends to watch for fleet drivers & managers in the trucking sector;

A GROWING DEMAND FOR THE DRIVERS:

The year 2023 will see a growing demand for drivers as part of the upcoming trends in Canada's trucking & transportation sector. According to a very recent trucking survey in Canada that revealed very comprehensively that a majority of the respondents, i.e. approximately around 62% were the ones considering the expansion of their operations in new markets. Therefore, the growing demand for drivers is a vital aspect that they need to consider. As the fleets begin hiring for this massive industry expansion, the industry will naturally buck against an already very significant driver shortage issue.

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The demand is met by the supply & the industry in the past has seen shortages regarding the same. Therefore, now the balance has switched in favour of the drivers in the trucking sector. The shortages shall be met by better salaries, better perks & selecting criteria that are strict but obviously for the growing sector & the career management aspects of the truck drivers in the trucking industry in Canada. A very merry way that the organizations are looking to combat these demands is through expanding into new driver demographics. Also, looking towards women & immigrant populations to meet their needs.

Regardless of anything, the change in the industry is happening at a fast pace, i.e. faster than it usually would have. Now, it is up to the various trucking companies they make alliances & partnerships with new drivers to stay ahead of the industry's evolving needs. Furthermore, tap the right resources for the sake of ensuring success.

THE INDUSTRY EFFORTS TO CURB EMISSIONS:

The mission of Canada in 2023 is very clear regarding fighting the environmental impacts that are being presented due to the transportation sector. The country, along with the United States, has been a global voice in reducing the environmental impact. The trucking industry in the transportation sector is doing its part along with AMTA, also known as Alberta Motor Transport Association. They are testing two heavy-duty hydrogen-power freight vehicles as part of the efforts. The mission will eventually be a cause of massive success as it will help eliminate 13.5 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year.

The industry's efforts in curbing emissions apart from these will also include the use of electric vehicles which shall take some time, but soon will be part of Canada's global mission regarding environmental sustainability.

THE CHANGING REGULATIONS & THE COMPLIANCE:

The changing regulations & the compliance are part of the trends in the trucking sector in Canada in the year 2023. It's a sector that has introduced some new regulations & ordinances due to the many significant changes that the industry has been an integral part of. One of the many significant changes in the trucking & transportation sector in Canada is the implementation of ELD also known as Canadian Electronic Logging Device which shall be effective soon. It will help in the fleet management of the vehicles, especially in the monitoring of critical pieces of information, for example, the road-time spend by the drivers on the roads while making their journeys. This is something that organizations shall need to equip the fleets with for the sake of avoiding fines & penalties.

The regulations & the compliances are for the sake of comfort of the drivers, the supply chain companies involved & the retail companies. Also, a number of other key stakeholders that are playing their role most vitally for the growth of the trucking sector. Ironically, it's a sector that has improved in Canada, but there is always a room for improvement.

Trends in the trucking sector in Canada keeps changing according to the demands of the trucking industry. However it's an industry where demands are growing and being met at a considerable pace. The selection criteria is strict, but obviously adheres strictly with the safety laws that the trucking sector is bounded by.

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