Indigenous entrepreneurship is expanding in Canada, with an increasing number of funding and training opportunities becoming available to foster the growth of Indigenous businesses. According to the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business, in 2022, there were roughly 60,000 Indigenous businesses in the country.

In this episode we’ll discuss the rapid growth of Indigenous business, what the impacts are on the economy and what the future of Indigenous entrepreneurship looks like within Canada.

Michael Mihalicz, Indigenous Advisor with the Office of the Dean at the Ted Rogers School of Management and Assistant Professor in the Entrepreneurship & Strategy Department, to shares his expertise in decision making, Indigenous entrepreneurship, and investments in training and education.

The housing market has transformed dramatically in the last few years, especially due to factors like inflation, immigration levels, the cost of living and capacity constraints. It’s a topic being discussed everywhere and at every level of impact– housing is expensive and there’s only so much regulation that can be implemented to soften the blow of a harsh market. So, what can we do about it? What should we expect to see from the government? And is building more homes really the answer? Today, we’ll explore these questions.

Listen to Murtaza Haider, a professor of Real Estate Management and Associate Dean, Graduate Programs at the Ted Rogers School of Management, provide his expertise on the topic. Murtaza is also the research director of the Urban Analytics Institute and has published research on issues ranging from public transportation, to building cities, to urbanization and infrastructure in Canada.

Workplace wellness has become a hot topic following the pandemic. Employees are valuing work-life balance in a way they never have before, spending less time commuting and more time with their loved ones. Employers are learning to navigate the space between work-from-home and a return-to-office, balancing the needs of a physical office space with the benefits of a virtual one. 

Research from Ipsos on behalf of Global News in July 2022 showed that “(74%) of Canadian workers have returned to their pre-pandemic working conditions: 13% are working from home, as they did prior to the pandemic, 4% remain in their pre-pandemic hybrid model (partially working from home, partially at the workplace), while 57% are back at their place of work.”

What does this mean for employees? What about employers? How should employees advocate for their needs and how can employers support them? What does a healthy return-to-office plan look like?

To answer these questions enters Dr. Ellen Choi, an organizational psychologist with training in the fields of Social Psychology and Organizational Behaviour and is an assistant professor at the Ted Rogers School of Management. She has expertise in mindfulness, resilience, emotion regulation, authenticity, and leadership. Joining her is PhD student, Steven Kavaratzis, who is currently working on a manuscript titled "How well do we know wellness?"

Online shopping, as a habit, has carried over into the present day, leaving in-store shopping to catch up and close that gap. Extravagant in-store experiences are what some businesses are turning to as incentive to bring in consumers. Examples like the Canada Goose freezer change rooms to test out winter jackets and the Apple Store, where customers have access to the newest technology as soon as they walk through the door, as well as individual user-training sessions. These engaging customer experiences encourage people to make the trip to their local mall, and potentially even make the jump with a purchase. 

So how should businesses be approaching this landscape? Is it more important to invest resources into online experiences, or in-store ones? Where should businesses be meeting their consumers– in an online space, while they’re in the comfort of their own homes, or in a store, where they can have a face-to-face conversation? Is it possible to invest in both of these areas of retail and have it be successful for brands and businesses?

Joe Aversa, an Assistant Professor in Retail Management, has experience in retail planning and big data analytics. He explains where the retail landscape currently sits, and what businesses are going to have to do in order to keep pace with the demands of online and in-store retail spaces. Dr. Joanne McNeish from Marketing Management shares her thoughts on what the customers may be thinking and what this type of marketing accomplishes for companies.

In March of this year, over a 1,000 technology leaders and researchers signed an open letter, urging artificial intelligence labs and researchers to pause their efforts in training AI systems stronger than ChatGPT. Included in signing the letter were Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, Tesla & Twitter; Steve Wozniak, a co-founder of Apple; and Rachel Bronson, the president of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which sets the Doomsday Clock. 

The suggested pause is in an effort to create safety protocols for AI systems as the technology progresses into new territories. Experts worry that without a pause, the systems in place could be mishandled, resulting in a spread of disinformation at a speed that has never been possible before. 

On this episode of Like Nobody’s Business, we’ll answer questions like: When looking at ChatGPT and AI technology through a business lens– what ethics are necessary to consider? How can they get ahead of situations with the potential for misuse of the technology? What should businesses keep in mind when applying this technology to systems and processes, and what touchpoints should they be relying on to ensure it’s been executed ethically?

We’ll speak with Dr. Chris MacDonald, an associate professor at TRSM, Director of the MBA program and speaker and consultant on ethics. He explains what aspects of ChatGPT and AI technology businesses should be aware of and taking into consideration.

In August of 2022, a UK based sustainability marketing agency published flight analysis data, outlining how celebrity private jets contributed to emissions in the atmosphere, with Drake and Taylor Swift’s planes being at the top of the list. This sparked conversations across social media about celebrity responsibility in environmentalism and what decisions like these could mean for the planet.

On this episode of Like Nobody’s Business, we discuss what sustainable travel means, ways travelers can make decisions that positively impact the environment and how to hold travel companies and institutions accountable for their actions when it comes to tourism. 

Professor Rachel Dodds, from the Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, discusses why traveling sustainability is impactful and where to access sustainable travel tips. 

In recent years, there have been efforts from the NHL and all of its 32 teams to increase diversity across the league. The NHL’s 2022 Diversity and Inclusion report mentioned that recent hire, Mike Grier, became the League's first Black general manager when the San Jose Sharks hired him in July. The report also showed that the league’s full-time workforce is 3.7% Black, 4.2% Asian, 3.7% Hispanic, and less than 1% Indigenous.

On this episode of Like Nobody’s Business, we discuss how hockey can work to be more inclusive, what that inclusivity looks like, how it will impact young hockey players and the future changes to come in the sport.

Bernice Carneigie, the Co-Chair of the Carnegie Initiative and Dr. Richard Norman, a postdoctoral fellow at Toronto Metropolitan University, working with the Future of Sport Lab at Ted Rogers School of Management, discuss the power of inclusivity in hockey and what makes sport transformative to the society around it.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to create challenges for the hospitality and tourism sector. The majority of travel has been halted, lockdowns have restricted the operations of restaurants and bars, and businesses are waiting to see if they'll even make it out of the pandemic.

On this episode of Like Nobody's Business, Professor Frederic Dimanche, director of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, talks about how the industry is managing through the tribulations of the COVID-19 pandemic. We speak about how drastically the sector has been hit, the innovative ways companies have tried to bounce back and how education is changing to meet the needs of a new chapter in the hospitality and tourism industry.

As the global pandemic continues, more people than ever are turning to all forms of digital media for their news. The reliability of that information, especially in the wake of a health crisis, has many top officials and doctors worried. Canada's chief public health officer, Theresa Tam, has even said that misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading faster than the virus itself.

In this episode Professor Anatoliy Gruzd discusses the prevalence of misinformation in 2020 and the best ways to inoculate ourselves against it. Gruzd is the director of the Social Media Lab at the Ted Rogers School of Management and is also the Canada Research Chair in Privacy Preserving Digital Technologies. He touches on the ways misinformation has impacted the U.S. Presidential election, the rise of "home grown" misinformation groups and his expectations for when the COVID-19 vaccine is rolled out.

Visit the Social Media Lab's COVID-19 Misinformation portal for resources on how to track and be aware of misinformation online and visit the Ted Rogers School of Management to view the graph Professor Gruzd references in this episode. 

The sports world was one of the earliest industries to be impacted by COVID-19. Within days, major sporting events were postponed, leagues had to suspend seasons and those working in sport business had to make rapid decisions in a way never seen before.

On this episode of Like Nobody's Business, we feature a panel discussion between sport business executives and Cheri Bradish, professor of marketing management at the Ted Rogers School of Management.

The panelists discuss how they had to change their strategies for fan engagement, how their brands had to pivot to a digital focus and the lessons they’re taking away from this experience.

Panelists:

Brian Cooper - Chairman, MKTG Canada