The Executive Magazine - February 2012

THEEXECUTIVEMAGAZINEPromotingIndividual

AchievementFebruary 2012 | Vol. 5 Issue 2

Interoffice Relationships | Online Dating | DeskUP

Join us for the First Annual Charity Gala at

St. Clair Centre for the ArtsFriday, March 9that 6:30 pm

Supporting Windsor Regional Hospital’sPaediatric Servicesand the Trillium Chefs Canadaon their journey to the2012 International Culinary Olympics

Featuring an exquisite five coursedinner prepared by theAward-WinningTrillium Chefs Canada.

TICKETS $125 per person2 tickets for $200 ora table of 10 for $1000

FOR INFORMATION AND TORESERVE YOUR TICKETS CALL

519-985-2656 or

519-966-2960

DESSERTS PREPARED LIVE BY MASTER PASTRY CHEF • LIVE VIDEO FEED FROM KITCHEN • LIVE CHEF’S INTERACTIVE COOKING CHALLENGE • SILENT AUCTION • WINE TASTING

Ode to Spring“Quest for Gold Gala”

Inside This Issue

February 2012 | 3

Join us for the First Annual Charity Gala at

St. Clair Centre for the ArtsFriday, March 9that 6:30 pm

Supporting Windsor Regional Hospital’sPaediatric Servicesand the Trillium Chefs Canadaon their journey to the2012 International Culinary Olympics

Featuring an exquisite five coursedinner prepared by theAward-WinningTrillium Chefs Canada.

TICKETS $125 per person2 tickets for $200 ora table of 10 for $1000

FOR INFORMATION AND TORESERVE YOUR TICKETS CALL

519-985-2656 or

519-966-2960

DESSERTS PREPARED LIVE BY MASTER PASTRY CHEF • LIVE VIDEO FEED FROM KITCHEN • LIVE CHEF’S INTERACTIVE COOKING CHALLENGE • SILENT AUCTION • WINE TASTING

Ode to Spring“Quest for Gold Gala”

Letter From The Editor | p.4

Smooching Your Boss |p.6Cover Story

By Chris GenovesiA look into the pitfalls and dangers surrounding inter-office relationships, and the taboo subject of dating your boss.

DeskUP For Startups |p.11Featured Article

By Irek Kusmierczyk How a program offered by the Downtown Windsor Accelerator helped recent graduate Shally Lakshminarayan realize her entrepreneurial ambitions.

Bringing Back Success |p.14Stories From SIFE

By Zack HammWith the assistance from SIFE Windsor, a local favorite, the Walkerville Brewery, will soon be fully operational again.

Editorial

Lest We Forget “V-Day” | p.16

Business Odities | p.17By Jason Rankin

Electronic Lovers |p.18e-Culture

By Bradley CazaA look into the business strategies behind the worlds top dating sites.

By Nicole Leclair

Connect With Us

[email protected]@theExecMagwww.sifewindsor.com/executive

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THEEXECUTIVEMAGAZINE February 2012 | 4

Letter from the Editor

Dear Reader,Thank you for your interest in our magazine!

Love is no longer merely just an emotion or feeling in our society; though there are still star crossed lovers in our modern world. Love can also be construed as a product, marketing tool, and or managerial topic. Whether or not our current cir-cumstances are an opportunity or a detriment to our society is a matter of debate.

The magazine welcomes contributions from all community members. I would like to thank Irek Kusmierczyk from We-Tech Alliance for his contribution and for bring to light the potential opportunity that exists in the Windsor-Essex commu-nity.

If you are interested in contributing to The Executive Magazine please contact us as [email protected]. If you have a comment on how to improve the magazine please leave your feedback at www.sifewindsor.com/executive. The translations for the magazine can be viewed via the same link.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey WayowEditor-in-Chief

THEEXECUTIVEMAGAZINE2012 Publication Staff

Editor-In-ChiefJeffery Wayow

EditorsGillian CottJaclyn KlapowichJessica KnappRebecca Taylor

WritersBradley CazaZackary HammChris GenovesiIrek KusmierczykJason RankinNicole Leclair

Graphic DesignersBrooke LeeBenjamin Iannetta

TranslatorsDavid DurocherThomas RinshedQin Tu

The Executive Magaizine is a venture put forth by SIFE Windsor to help promote individual achievement through entrepreneurship.

THEEXECUTIVEMAGAZINE

Cover Story

February 2012 | 7

Cover Story

Smooching Your BossThe dangers and entaglements of inter-office relationships.

Written By Chris GenovesiHaving to work, this inescapable duty eventually finds all of us. Wherever we end up working, it’s usually a place where we give up a third of our day, and half of our waking life. Indeed, you may even hear some people claim that they see their colleagues more often than their own family. In this respect, the workplace serves as a common point of intersection between colleagues: People share many intimate things with one another; we learn each other’s habits, share hobbies, and exchange jokes. It seems inevitable that, given the amount of time you spend at work, workplace relationships—friendly or romantic—will manifest.

A friendly relationship between our bosses, subordinates, and our co-workers usually yields positive results by making work more enjoyable—not to say that such relationships can’t go sour. It seems that people are more productive, creative, and efficient


Cover Storywhen they’re in the company of others whom they enjoy being around. As such, we don’t often take theserelationships to be questionable, or objectionable. On the other hand, there is a fair amount of discussion concerning whether people should be permitted to engage in romantic relationships in the workplace, and still more concerning whether there should be a policy in place.

Romantic relationships occupy a grey area in the sphere of ethical conduct. What I mean by this is that our normative behaviour—what we ought to do— in the workplace is usually clear-cut. Following common sense, we (usually) develop highly complex ethical codes that seek to preserve and enhance our conceptions of normative behaviour. For instance, if you have a grievance about a colleague at work, our common sense views of ethical behaviour—the basicdo’s and don’ts we’ve learned from childhood—seem to call to mind a few ways in which you should deal with the problem, like approaching your colleague politely, or seeking guidance from a superior. If you’re not sure what you should do, then consult a particu-lar person or policy that will outline the appropriate ways to handle the situation. However, things become a little more opaque when we enter into the realm of romantic relationships; we are no longer offered the same aid from these practical tools, and hence, we are in a grey area. Questions like “should we be doing this?”, and “how will people react if they find out?” are all commonplace questions to ask yourself and your partner. The climate of the office may often times make such questions hard to answer, and although it is not the scope of the article to address them in par-ticular, I think we can still discuss a general, common sense approach to dealing with these and such issues.

Tips For Workplace RelationshipsTo be sure, we’re talking about true romance here. What we’re not talking about are relationships where people are using one another to ‘get ahead’ or satisfy personal needs. These usually take the shape of utili-tarian relationships, where partners merely exchange ‘favours’ in order to fulfill and satisfy their personal, and/or practical ends—like climbing up the company

ladder. I’m not condemning pragmatics, but deter-mining whether such actions are ethical is not within the scope of this article.

According to the statistics pulled from the Society for Human Resource Management, only a very small number of companies have reported to have written up a policy concerning workplace romance—pre-cisely 13 percent. In the same capacity, a few others have indicated they have an ‘unwritten code of con-duct’ while the majority of companies surveyed seem to be silent altogether. Happily, it turns out (accord-ing to the same survey) that just over half of the officeromances reported result in marriage. It seems that when deciding upon what constitutes responsible, professional ethical conduct is wholly up to us, em-ployees.

It seems that popular opinion and practice holds that love prevails, and that it does so because it is not girdled too tightly by our policies. Admittedly, I’m in complete agreement. You can’t choose who you fall in love with, and I don’t think anything—person, policy, or entity—has any right to claim otherwise. Besides, like the friendships we have with others in our workspace, such romances may also result in higher morale, creativity, and productivity. Howev-er, at the same time, we must be careful in how we express ourselves to our partner. Remember, we are talking about a professional environment; we should not sacrifice social decorum at the expense of wanton behaviour. This is precisely where I think couples can be held culpable for their actions. What I’m saying is that although explicit policies are not put in place and upheld in the majority of cases, it’s nevertheless our responsibility not to let our relationship impede ourresponsibility to do our job. And doing your job comes with its own list of do’s and don’ts—that is something inescapable.

When we are truly in love with someone I believe that the dubious and sometimes harmful side effects are resultant of when people fall victim to, what we may conveniently call, the “Romeo and Juliet” Syndrome (RJS). It can be identified and diagnosed by any third party observer as excessive affection towards one’s


partner, and blatant disregard for professionalism, and the public eye at large. We must not be too naïve. The sort of star-crossed, adolescent-like expression of love is what can get you in to trouble with your peers, subordinates, and the company more generally. Yes, this means putting a stop to the clandestine smooch-es, meetings in the janitorial closet, cellphone exhibi-tionism, and other chancy behaviour at work. I say to those of you looking to satisfy your need for adven-ture to keep it separate from your business—there’s always a parking lot, library, or mall bathroom that you could use to get your thrills. Be creative, and doit on your own time!

Needless to say, relationships can go sour quickly. RJS can often lead to battles between couples who have spent too much time together. This could result in our wanting to retaliate on our partner, and in extreme cases, it could potentially lead to charges of harassment (under scrutiny of company policy). Using discretion at work, during all periods of the relationship, is perhaps the safest and most respon-sible way to keep it from affecting you.

A relationship becomes even more susceptible to criticism when it involves an employer and their subordinate. This could be even more damaging to the parties involved. You don’t need to sift through the tabloids too long before you come across some article about a scandalous relationship between a senior executive involved with a junior employee. It usually ends in the same way: resignation on the part of the executive, and humiliation for both involved.

You see, when evaluating the legitimacy of a work-place relationship, courts focus in on consent; they’re asking whether the employee has genuinely consid-ered the proposal from their superior, or if they’re worried about their job security, and hence a dispro-portionate power dynamic. The romantic crossing of supervisory roles is problematic in any and all cases. In the eyes of the law, the onus is on those in a leadership position to safeguard themselves from romantic interactions with subordinates.

In crude sense, ethical theories concerning our

behaviour usually hold that people freely bind themselves to contracts—here, understood loosely as agreements you make, and subject to certain respon-sibilities. It is our task to uphold our end of the bar-gain, and to rationally integrate any and all further commitments into a compatibly structured whole. For instance, when you’re hired aboard a team, there are certain limitations that you willingly commit yourself to. So, knowing that you are the boss and that you wield a certain degree of command over your subordinates should be enough (if you are truly a principled person) to remind you that any sort of relationship you have with your employees will inevitably be filtered through this power structure. Similarly, if you and a peer begin a relationship in the workplace, be sure not to overstep bounds of professionalism. These standards go hand in hand with your choice to enter into such a contract when applying for the job in the first place, and it’s impor-tant that you don’t start behaving in a way that is incompatible with such standards.

The common sense approach does not discourage anyone from loving someone else. Love transcends boundaries of class, culture, and gender; nobody can tell you whom you can love. Conversely, nobody can take it away. However, in the workplace you have the responsibility to carry out your duties whilst keeping up professionalism. Thus, we should exercise discre-tion (duh!). Being circumspect of potential harms is one way you may keep yourself from violating either implicit or explicit ethical norms. However, I think it is more resolute to balance duties to lover and insti-tution by fitting them neatly into a consistent ethical structure by explicitly recognizing the importance of what each responsibility entails. It’s important that we take responsibility for our own actions as op-posed to having the company prescribe them for us.Besides, what right does a company have in the em-ployee’s bedroom?


Featured Article

February 2012 | 11

Featured Article

DeskUP For StartupsRecent Graduate Receives Assistance in Achieving Her Startup Ambitions.

When Shally Lakshminarayan graduated from Wayne State University she left academia with more than just a Master of Social Work degree and a BA in Psychology from the Univer-sity of Windsor.

The 26-year-old had a business plan and the drive to see her company come to life, but was short on two essential items common to young entrepreneurs starting out in Windsor: mentorship and money.

One day, while looking for affordable office space at the Downtown Accelerator—a business incubator where various small businesses and organizations share office space and col-laborate— Shally struck gold.

Written By Irek Kusmierczyk

She learned about WEtech Alliance, a non-profit orga-nization at the accelerator that supports tech-centric and innovative businesses in Windsor and Essex.

WEtech recently launched a DeskUP program, funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, which provides subsidized office space, mentorship and professional training for recent graduates of university or college who have an innovative tech-based business.

Shally’s company, Psychotherapy of Windsor, certainly qualified since it provides an innovative service which offers telephone and online counselling (i.e. through Skype) for depression, anxiety and stress management as a flexible alternative to office visits.

Shally submitted her application for her company and within days she had her own business desk at the Downtown Accelerator, an iMac computer, a reception-ist, a business mailbox, printing privileges and access to all the business amenities such as the conference room and client meeting rooms for $175 per month.

More importantly, through her new partnership with WEtech Alliance, Shally immediately took advantage of the opportunity to walk across the hall and into the office of WEtech’s two in-house-entrepreneurs—Rob Whent and Deborah Liveneh—who are eager to share their invaluable business experience having brought their ideas to market, building and selling highlyprofitable companies.

“The atmosphere is so positive,” says Shally.

“Having a positive and supportive work environment is very important, even more so when you’re self-em-ployed”.

In addition to mentoring, DeskUP entrepreneurs like Shally receive free access to professional training semi-nars and workshops that are valued at hundreds of dol-lars apiece. In her first week, Shally attended a two-day Entrepreneurs Toolkit workshop on the Fundamentals of Business Strategy.

“The workshop provided great knowledge, tools and

strategies that I will be using in my business”.

DeskUP entrepreneurs are also encouraged to take part in peer-to-peer networks and social events such as the monthly Start-Up Drinks gathering where fellow en-trepreneurs can talk shop and network in an informal, relaxed environment.

Equally important, Shally and Psychotherapy of Wind-sor, now find themselves in the middle of the region’s incubator of ideas, a collaborative environment of like-minded entrepreneurs eager to exchange resources, best practices and encouragement.

“Psychotherapy of Windsor is benefiting greatly just by being in the Accelerator and being around other new up and coming businesses,” she says.

“With the help of WEtech and their DeskUP program, I have access to affordable office space, mentoring, and a great work atmosphere”.

“I just feel that I’m in one of the most visually appealing and modern office spaces in the city”.

Welcome home, Shally.


Featured Article

If you would like to learn more about WEtech’s DeskUP program, please visit www.wetech-alliance.com or contact Irek Kusmierczyk at 519-997-2863 or [email protected]

Irek Kusmierczyk received his PhD in Political Science from Vanderbilt Uni-versity

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Whatever you want to be, we can help you get there.

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Stories From SIFE

Chris Ryan (above) along with Mike Brkovich will form a new venture to reopen the once closed Walkerville Brewery

Bringing Back SuccessThe Revitalization of the Walkerville BreweryWritten By Zack Hamm

Since the bankruptcy of the Walkerville brewery at 525 Argyle Rd. in 2007 under its previous ownership, locals have been dismayed at the inactivity of the site and the unavailability of its products. A longstanding brewery site founded by Hiram Walker in 1885, the original brewery lasted until 1956. Over the course of more than a century, the brewery has become a much-appreciated cultural landmark of Walkerville. The building and its operations have contributed to the traditional character of the area – its tradition was continued by Karen Bethune and Michael Plunkett in their opening of their microbrewery in one of Walk-er’s warehouses nearby. Locals were enthusiastic to see and support Walkerville-produced beer on the market again; why, then, the brewery’s closure five years ago? These were the kinds of thoughts student volunteers at

SIFE were entertaining when the new managers of the brewery approached them for assistance.

There are obvious economic challenges to Windsor-area businesses that have arisen over the last decade. However, the new operators of the microbrewery, Chris Ryan and Mike Brkovich, are clearly not the types to fall victim to these commercial barriers. On the contrary, their passion for the cultural tradition of the area and the brewery, as well as their confidence in the local niche market, has lead them to invest serious resources in the revitalization of the site. Their pru-dent enlistment of SIFE volunteers Foad Karimian, David Tlok, and Aaron Hyslop, starting in early Janu-ary, has provided the project with the kind of organi-zational assistance that something of this magnitude


requires. Foad and David have been working on com-petitive market analyses and helping with general busi-ness planning, while Aaron is in the process of design-ing and launching a website for the brewery.

The business partners also plan on capitalizing on the cultural value of their investment and the history sur-rounding the site. There are plans to include a retail store, displays of local history, tour reception, product tasting opportunities, and space for local functions, turning the site into a sort of community centre.

The student-volunteers are excited to see their work contribute to the successful launch of the brewery, spring 2012. As Foad said in an interview,

“We [at SIFE] just want to help the brewery get back in the game. The success of local businesses is important.”

The coming reintroduction of the Walkerville brewery into the business world carries with it more than the goal of commercial success; the revitalization of the site will contribute to the relabeling of the Windsor region and the stimulation of the surrounding community. In a city that’s infamous for its failed auto-industry and lack of employment opportunity, what better way to initiate the reenergizing of small businesses than to bring back the success of a local brewery with a strong heritage background? Taking these factors into ac-count, it’s easy to see why SIFE Windsor would want to get behind this initiative – focusing on local com-munity stimulation through positive business is one of their core mandates. The brewery, it seems, will likely employ between thirty and forty workers upon a suc-cessful launch, a much-needed respite for some of the unemployed in Windsor and area.

Given the growing enthusiasm for locally produced wines, spirits, and beers and the increasing awareness fermenting around the importance of supporting localbusiness, now is as good a time as ever to embark on the relabeling of the Windsor area and the revival of the community. The success of the brewery under its newleadership will become a symbol for entrepreneurial innovation, encouraging ingenuity amongst start-ups, and contributing to the affluent cultural ambience ofWalkerville.

Editorial

Lest We Forget “V-Day”Looking past the commericalization of Valentines’s Day


Written by Jason Rankin

It’s getting late and you rush to the nearest store. Choc-olates and fancy heart shaped things dot the walls in shades of red and pink. You run through the prices, gauging how light your pockets are and how much love costs. You have to get your sweetie something, after all. Sound familiar? It’s Valentine’s Day.

This day has marked a time where we go out of the way to get a special someone expensive gifts, and perhaps take them on a fantastic date, just to show them how much we care. Others don’t have someone special to spend it with, and they’re nagged by the media to still go out and do something.

Many label the day as being a ‘Hallmark Holiday’: a holiday existing for the sole purpose of encouraging people to spend. Contrary to what some sceptics be-lieve, Valentine’s Day has been around for a long time, and has marked a special day to show someone that you care about them.

It goes back to the Middle Ages. In 1382, Geoffry Chau-cer wrote, “For this was on seynt Volantynys day /Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.” This was to honour the first anniversary between King Richard II of England and Anne of Bohemia. It may not sound very romantic, but it’s the association behind the day and the union that counts.

By the nineteenth century, paper valentines were popu-lar to the point that they were assembled in factories. Hand written notes were also popular. This is where the tradition of handing out valentines came from.

Come mid 1900s, gift giving became popular. Then came the flood of Valentine’s Day advertising and the need to buy gifts for loved ones.In 1969, the Roman Calendar of Saints removed the feast day of Saint Valentine. The reason being that there was nothing known about him other than his burial site.


Should the holiday still exist then?

Despite the average person spending over $100, there are some plus sides. Think back to elementary school. Remember getting those little valentines? You leapt at joy when you realize someone thinks of you—or rel-ished in the mystery of figuring out a secret admirer. If we didn’t have the holiday, that wouldn’t exist.

What about that feeling you get from spending time with a special someone on the day? Sure, it’s just anoth-er day where the Earth rotates for 24 hours, but there’s something else—something to remember on that spe-cial occasion.

Maybe you didn’t have a special someone. On the plus side, you aren’t tempted to buy anything. But, you don’t have to spend it alone. Hang with friends or family, do something creative like play board games, watch mov-ies, or have dinner together. You can even throw in some candlelight.

As for you students cursing the day because your bud-get’s tight and you want to show how much you care to

your other half, remember this, material goods don’t carry feelings. They’re inanimate, lifeless, and emotion-less. The only emotion carried between you and some-one else, is between you two. So, don’t place your love in a gift. Place your love in a person. If your love is just buying and exchanging gifts, that’s all you get back. As Paul MaCartney said in The End, “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”

Illustration by Brooke Lee

Business Odities Written By Nicole Leclair

Tokyo, JapanA hotel in Tokyo caters to a very exclusive market—your dead relatives. This hotel is designed to hold bodies dur-ing the time that family members need to make funerary arrangements. Known as the “business hotel for the dead,” their rates average 7350 yen, about $98 CDN a night, or 3675 yen, $49 CDN, for 12 hours. The LISS Center Shin-Kiba can hold up to 37 bodies for storage at a time. Rooms designed to assist their living clientele in making the necessary ar-rangements are also offered. (http://www.whatsonningbo.com/tag-LISS%20Center%20Shin-Kiba.html)

London, CanadaAn ancient practice is helping modern day businesses fight the bird epidemic. No, not that epidemic, just general bird behaviour (nesting, defecating, eating) in and around factories and farms. Predator Bird Services Inc. uses trained falcons and hawks to communicate to the nearby starlings, pigeons, even gulls and crows, that a threat is in the area, causing the unwanted birds to move on. The staff of the London-based business travel all over Ontario with their birds to clients in industrial, agricultural, commercial and landfill settings. Their environmentally friendly approach is designed to “provide an economical, ecological solution

to industrial bird and bird disease problems.” (http://www.predatorbirdservices.com/index.html)

Toronto, CanadaDoes your little one have some “little ones” of their own? A company called Lice Squad Canada has offices all over the country to help frustrated parents beat the bug. The business operates on a pesticide free policy and offers home visits from one of their Lice Ladies™ and their patented LouseBuster™, which uses a special combination of air tem-perature and speed rather than harsh chemicals. The busi-ness is also available to franchise. (http://www.licesquad.com)

Long Island, USAIf you’re a bad gift giver or a genuine lover of suspense and mystery, The Something Store is the place for you. The online website offers customers a gift of $10 value or more, without telling them what it is until it arrives. The standard $10 purchase price gives shoppers all the fun of Christmas morning without the bad sweaters. As the website states, “your something may be anything.” The business has been offering “somethings” that surprise and delight since 2006. (http://www.somethingstore.com)

Editorial



Electronic LoversA Look at the Business Model Behind Internet Dating Sites

e-Culture

February 2012 | 19

Written By Bradley Caza

Remember your first date? When you were thirteen years old, you went with your mom or dad to pick up your date, who dropped you both off at the movies. Now, we pick our dates up ourselves and go out for dinner and a movie. Today, there are still awkward conversations, or uneasy silence, when you’re trying to figure out what to talk about.

However, now there is a service that can help us fig-ure out what the other person likes or what their activities are: online dating is the key to ending the awkward silences. Sites, such as eHarmony, help busy people by setting up a profile online, so that they can view other peoples’ profiles in order to dis-cover what that person likes and dislikes, as well as

what activities and interests he or she has, before go-ing on the first date. This service helps adults find someone, even when they have full-time jobs, kids, or other day-to-day activities.

But how does a company like that stay in business? They charge a fee for maintaining aprofile and for helping individuals find others with shared inter-ests or activities. Just like the cell phone bills we pay, eHarmony and other dating sites apply their charges the same way.

Companies are always looking for ways to increase their sales from year to year. They may use market-ing teams to inform the public about their services.

February 2012 | 20

They may offer special deals if you sign up on a certain date. A company can offer a trial period to potential customers so that they can have a taste of their product. How do they make money if they are giving their ser-vice out for free? If the customer likes the service that the company is providing, then the companywill sign them in for a committed term. They can do this because they know that if they can get customers to sign up for a long term contract, they will receive their revenue in the future years. Think of our cell phones; we get our phones for a cheaper price, or even for free, if we sign up for a two or three year contract term. Com-panies like TELUS and Bell know that they will collect our monthly bills for the next three years. Thus, they can afford to give us the phone at a discounted rate. Online dating companies have the same philosophy.

Online dating is an increasing industry and is help-ful in finding someone with the same interests as you. They act like an unofficial, preliminary round of dat-ing, which can eliminate the dreadfully awkward first date. Online dating can help simplify our busy lives and take off the pressure to meet new people on our own time. We are always on Facebook and Twitter posting statuses and talking to our friends. Dating sites help us use this time spent online to meet the men and women of our dreams.


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The Executive Magazine - February 2012