Pitch Draft

Life is Elsewhere 

A Foundation for the Promotion of Efficiency of Educational Systems All around the World

Mission

Our mission is to close the educational gap between countries and classes and form a two-way bridge for young people to explore and experience the world more comprehensively. 

Passion

I have always believed that education and social networks are two of the most important factors that contribute to one’s success based on my personal experience. I am not saying that I am successful right now, but I cannot deny that being born in a middle-class family in China, attending the best private schools in my city, and attending an elite private university like USC certainly enlarge my possibility to be successful in the future. I value my life abroad here and learn about the importance of seeing the world from a broader perspective in person. So, I want to take my first step to better the world by improving the flexibility of education systems all around the world, making the best of both the poor and the wealthy.

Uniqueness

In order to ameliorate the efficiency problem, I was inspired by a traditional Chinese system of pair studying, though its purpose was not to narrow the gap between the wealthy and the poor. In our organization, we will create a mechanism that pairs a child from a poor family in a country or culture with a child from a wealthy family in another country or culture. We will provide the pairs with safe, high-quality, and open education in both countries, which allows young people to learn about different cultures and know about the gap in different educational systems. Unlike other foundations supporting education, our organization takes a fluid and floating forms which give young people more choices to get education. 

Why us?

Our organization will have far more meaningful effects globally, not limited to education. When young people taking our programs learn more knowledge and understand the world in a more comprehensive way, they will more likely to dedicate themselves to promoting social equality later in their life. At that time, more people will join our foundation, which might help to expand our domain into other aspects such as global health. 

The Weekend Before Finals -- Extra Credit

As the title indicates, there should be nothing special during this weekend, and I was not supposed to go anywhere because of the final exams. When I am writing this post, I just have finished my “brunchner,” which is the combination of my breakfast, lunch, and dinner, at 5 pm. 

This is my last week to stay at my current apartment at Icon Plaza, right across the street to JFF. I chose my favorite The Beast Pizza at the Pizza Studio downstairs for my brunchner as usual, because I am a meat lover. I am sure I will miss the convenience here when I move out next week. Also, Tapingo is the best APP in my life, ever. 

    

A World We Dare to Imagine Part I

To be frank, before taking this class and reading books about globalization and social issues, the question I thought of most was to become “a person I dare to imagine” myself to fit into the world because I did not know what was happening on the dark side of the world. But now, after seeing the seriousness of the social issues such as poverty, gender inequality, and global warming, I really concur that being a better self has even more influential benefits if we see the big picture from a global and future perspective. I can say that creating “a world we dare to imagine” becomes the No. 1 reason why I must become “a person I dare to imagine.”

In my imagination, the world should be full of opportunities that most people can get access to. I didn’t say it is a “fair world,” because the word “fair” is so hard to define. Given the current situation that there is a huge gap between the wealthy and the poor, I’m not smart enough to define how a fair world should look like, but I believe that “access to opportunities” “for most people” must be better than our current status. An organization works to help the poor to gain opportunities to do what they want to do would become the first step I can do the better our world, no matter whether it is participating into an existing organization or creating one by myself. 

Also, I have always highly valued efficiency in every aspect of society, since, to a larger extent, low efficiency is the most primary reason why there are so many issues. For example, poverty exists since the wealthy take the efficiency from the poor by monopolizing high-quality education and excluding them from beneficial social networks. The quality of education decides the efficiency of people learning knowledge, and the network boundaries prevent the poor with good ideas to have larger social influence. In order to ameliorate the efficiency problem, I was inspired by a traditional Chinese system of pair studying, though its purpose was not to narrow the gap between the wealthy and the poor. In my imaginary organization, I will create a mechanism that pairs a child from a poor family in a country or culture with a child from a wealthy family in another country or culture. They grow up together, getting the same education, living the same life standard, and learning from each other’s culture and country throughout time. When they grow up, they don’t have to stick together, but because of their similar experiences, they both would be more likely to have a better life and a better understanding of the existence of the social gap, which will lead to a further development of the organization to pass from generation to generation. Both of the children would learn to pay back to society in both countries as well. 

Overall, education and social networks are two of the most important factors that contribute to one’s success, so I will take my first step to better the world by improving education systems around the world, making the best of both the poor and the wealthy.

Random Post II

Recently, an email from Marshall Career Source accidentally shocked me because of its opening title – “Dear Marshall Seniors.” I must admit that I have always been aware that I am a rising senior right now, and there is only one semester left for me to stay at USC, but being called as a “Marshall Senior” really makes me feel sad and nostalgic. I cannot believe that three years have gone so fast like this. 

When I first came to USC, everything was strange. I often got lost on campus even though the two buildings were just two blocks away from each other. I was not comfortable when talking in class, so I always thought about the words I wanted to say for many times before I raised my hand. I did not quite understand American culture and jokes, so I had a hard time making friends with others. But in these three years, I learned how to think and work independently but still be open-minded. I thought about myself and the world and chose what I should believe. I knew how to collaborate with other people and make friends with different backgrounds. I was clear about what career I want to pursue after graduation and had had several internships and jobs already. The most important thing is that I knew what kind of person I want to be in the future and where I should improve to become that person. 

When looking back at my life here at USC, the only thing I am regret was that I did not spend enough time exploring the place I have lived in for three years. So, I am going to unlock the places I have never been to around LA, and I would like to invite all of you to explore this magical place with me.

AMDP Investment Proposal

MEMORANDUM

TO:                 Clark Hansen, CEO, AMDP

FROM:           Shan Lu, Research & Development Analyst, AMDP

DATE:            July 11, 2018

SUBJECT:      An Exceptional Investment Opportunity in Heritage Auction, Inc. 

After extensive research, I, as a research & development analyst at AMDP, highly recommend Heritage Auctions, Inc. as an exceptional investment opportunity. As the world’s largest collectibles auctioneers, Heritage Auctions not only shows a strong financial performance in the past five years but also undertakes many social responsibilities. It enhances environmental sustainability by shifting most of its business online to reduce the energy consumption along with its geographical expansion. Below I will present a comprehensive analysis of Heritage Auctions and show how its practices align with our Investment Standards. 

AMDP Investment Standards

Triple Bottom Line

A triple bottom line measures a company’s degree of social responsibility, environmental impact, and economic value. The following three P’s represent the three measurements respectively: 

People: a measurement focuses on the fair treatment of employees and off-site labor, as well as enacting favorable practices in the communities where companies conduct their businesses (“Triple”).

Planet: a measurement concentrates on companies’ implementation of sustainable practices and their reduction of negative environmental impact (“Triple”).

Profits: a measurement shows companies’ profitability (“Triple”).

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility is a self-regulating business model that helps a company be socially accountable – to itself, its stakeholders, and the public (“Corporate”). By taking corporate social responsibility, companies can be conscious of the impact they are having on all aspects of society including economic, social, and environmental (“Corporate”). 

Social Enterprise

A social enterprise is an organization that is directly involved in the sale of goods and services to a market, but it also has specific social objectives that serve as its primary purpose. Social enterprises are not volunteer organizations, and they can be registered as for-profit or non-profit. Profits are principally used to fund social programs (“Social”). 

Carbon Footprint

A carbon footprint is an estimate of the climate change impact of all human activities (Clark). It is typically calculated as the total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (Rohrer). Carbon dioxide (CO2), along with other greenhouse gases such as methane and ozone, is the main cause of global warming (Rohrer). If we want to contribute to stopping global warming, it’s essential for us to check and reduce our carbon footprint.   

Company Overview

Heritage Auctions, Inc. operates an auction house for antiques and collectibles in the United States (Heritage S&P). It specializes in art, antiques, collectibles, and estate auctions (Lifschutz). It also offers appraisal services, charity services, museum and institutional services, and corporate art services (Heritage S&P). The company was founded in 1976 and is based in Dallas, Texas with an additional office in London, United Kingdom (Heritage S&P). 

Heritage Auction, Inc. is the largest collectibles auctioneer and third largest auction house in the world, as well as the largest auction house founded in the U.S. (Heritage). It is the undisputed internet leader with more than 500 experts who offer a variety of services to individual and institutional clients worldwide (Heritage). In September 2016, Heritage Auctions reached an online milestone of one million online bidder members and continued to grow at a rate of about 5,000 new members per month (Cohen). The members stem from the United States and 185 other countries worldwide with an increasing number of members from fast-growing areas in Europe, Asia, and Latin America (Cohen). 

Heritage Auctions dominates both online antiques and collectibles sales industry and online art sales industry with market shares of 16.7% and 25.0% respectively (Cohen; Lifschutz). In 2016, it reported $850.0 million in total revenue (Cohen). The company is expected to generate over $900.0 million in total revenue in 2018, and its revenue in online antiques and collectibles sales is estimated to increase at an annualized rate of 0.7% over the five years to 2018 to reach $378.0 million (Lifschutz). As a large segment of 40% of the company’s revenue, Heritage’s online art sales are expected to generate $99.7 million in industry-relevant revenue, which represents an annualized growth rate of 102.9% over the five years to 2017 (Cohen).

Inside Review

Mission & Values

Heritage Auctions, Inc. aims to be the world’s most trusted and efficient marketplace and information resource for owners of fine art, jewels, rare collectibles and other precious objects (Heritage). They believe deep, unbiased information can and should be available to all parties, transactions made more transparent, trading friction reduced, and the learning curve made less steep and less expensive for new collectors and sellers (Heritage). They highly value integrity, transparency, expertise, efficiency, innovation, and long-term perspective (Heritage). 

Social Responsibility

The employees of Heritage Auctions and HA.com contribute to many local and national charities in mainly three ways: 

Community Services: They provide community services for 21 organizations such as Dance for the Planet, Century Bike Ride, and Titus (Heritage). 

Fundraising Auctions: They conduct fundraising auctions for 12 selected charities such as Michael J. Fox Foundation, Dallas CASA, and Texas Scottish Rite Hospital (Heritage). 

Auctioneers for Charity Auctions: They provide auctioneers Mike Sadler and Kathleen Guzman for charity auctions held by 19 organizations such as Dallas Opera, NY Choral Society, and Housing Works (Heritage). 

Outside Recognitions

Environmental Impact

Founded in 1976, Heritage Auctions operates auction houses in various places all around the world, which requires a very high level of capital intensity. In the early 2000s, the company established the HA.com online platform for e-transaction, which significantly reduced its capital requirements. For every dollar spent on labor, it spends only $0.18 on capital, which shows the low costs and the low energy consumption involved with developing and maintaining an e-commerce website, as opposed to traditional brick-and-mortar operations (Cohen). 

Fairness Opinion

Heritage Auctions, Inc. is also constantly involved in social events by providing fairness opinions or public appraisals for many popular objects. In 2016, Heritage Auctions valued the personal collection of Shirley Temple Black (Clarke). In 2018, specialists for Heritage Auctions, Margaret Barrett and Carolyn Mani, evaluated Zsa Zsa Gabor’s estate in Los Angeles (Clarke). The company’s social involvement as a third-party evaluator effectively proves its mission to promote art literacy, trading transparency, and social justice.

Industrial Trend

Since the company makes online auctions possible through HA.com, many auction rooms are sparsely attended these days (Grant). As a dominant player in the industry, Heritage Auctions would profit in an even larger scale because of its technological development aiming to promote the convenience and safety for online users.

Final Recommendations

Overall, Heritage Auctions, Inc. is a great company to invest in for AMDP. 

¨    For social responsibility, the company participates in multiple community services and charities to pay back society. 

¨    For environmental impact, Heritage Auctions strategically shifts its business online to reduce its high capital investment and negative impact on the environment. 

¨    For profitability, Heritage Auctions is a dominant player with the largest market share within the industry, and the prosperous external environment of the industry also indicates a huge growth potential in the future. 

If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to contact me. 

Best regards,

Shan Lu

Shan Lu

AMDP Research & Development Analyst

Work Cited

“Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).” Investopedia. Web. Accessed 29 Jun. 2018.

“Social Enterprise.” Investopedia. Web. Accessed 29 Jun. 2018.

“Triple Bottom Line (TBL).” Investopedia. Web. Accessed 29 Jun. 2018.

Clark, Duncan. “What’s a carbon footprint and how is it worked out?” The Guardians US., 4 Apr. 2012. Web. Accessed 29 Jun. 2018. 

Clarke, Katherine. (2014, Feb 1). “In the Market for Nostalgia.” Wall Street Journal (Online). Retrieved 29 Jun. 2018, from ProQuest database. 

Cohen, Anya. “IBISWorld Industry Report OD5070: Online Art Sales in the US.” IBISWorld. Sept. 2017. Web. Accessed 10 Jun. 2018. 

Grant, Daniel. (2014, Jun 15). “Why auction rooms seem empty these days; bidders aren’t lacking, they just phone it in or go online.” Wall Street Journal (Online). Retrieved 30 Jun. 2018, from ProQuest database. 

Heritage Auction. S&P Capital IQ, n.d. Standard & Poor’s NetAdvantage. Web. Accessed 28 Jun. 2018. 

Heritage Auctions.“About Heritage Auctions.” Web. Accessed 29 Jun. 2018. 

Lifschutz, Marisa. “IBISWorld Industry Report OD 5071: Online Antiques & Collectibles Sales in the US.” IBISWorld. Jan. 2018. Web. Accessed 30 Jun. 2018. 

Rohrer, Jürg. ABC of Awareness: Personal development as the meaning of life.Niederurnen: UTD Media, 2007. 

Born on Third Base Part II

From Chapter Ten to the end of the book Born on Third Base, the author Chuck Collins talks more about specific methods for people to promote social equality, ameliorate environmental destruction, and regulate transnational business practices. Below I am going to express some of my thoughts about Collins’s ideas and provide several possible ways for us to take actions upon the issues. 

First, the concept of the Resilience Circle in Collins’s description interests me a lot, and it seems like the easiest way for people to get connected to their communities and give and receive help. Among the different organizations under the Resilience Circle, my favorite one is the Time Exchange program, which is a well-known practice I’ve heard of when I was in China years ago. People can exchange different services in the program without any monetary expenses, which not only helps low-income people save money but also allows them to use their services to benefit others. People calculate their service hours as the medium of exchange, which is the reason why the program is called the Time Exchange. In fact, this concept contradicts my intuition in the first place, because I have always been taught to value time, both my own time and others’. It is uncomfortable for me to make time/hour as a unit of exchange, since life is precious, and everybody only gets only one for only one time. However, after seeing the results of the exchange that people generate more connections within the communities and become more interdependent rather than indifferent, I finally find a way to navigate through the process and get a better understanding of the meaning of “community.” 

Second, the charity through museums and auctions attracts me as always because of my interest in art. I know that art sometimes works as a vehicle of charity for the wealthy, but Collins provides us with a totally different scenario that art, in fact, is a dirty way to escape tax responsibilities for the 1 percent to a larger extent. If I didn’t read this book, I might not feel so disappointed because I tended to accept the world as it was. But after knowing about the disadvantages of social inequality and possible ways to make a change, I really see the urgency in tax reform, closing up the loopholes in tax laws which especially benefit the wealthy and enlarge the gap between the wealthy and the poor. 

Third, I find the stories of the wealthy in the later part of the book very thought-provoking. As I mentioned in my last post, I am in the middle of the wealthy and the poor, so I insist in making money and earning a decent life independently for years because of my education. Thus, it is very interesting for me to learn the stories about how the successful people made money in their early lives and why they gave away their money to society later. Their hardworking is worthy of respect, and their dedication to society is admirable. According to my current status, it is ridiculous to say that I am going to give away the wealth to promote social inequality because I own nothing right now, but the book indeed gives me a new way of thinking about money. It also encourages me to view the world more well-rounded from different perspectives.

AMDP Investment Proposal Draft

MEMORANDUM

TO:                 Clark Hansen, CEO, AMDP

FROM:           Shan Lu, Research & Development Analyst, AMDP

DATE:            July 11, 2018

SUBJECT:      An Exceptional Investing Opportunity in Heritage Auction, Inc. 

After extensive research, I, as a research & development analyst at AMDP, highly recommend the auction house Heritage Auctions, Inc. as an exceptional investing opportunity. As the world’s largest collectibles auctioneers, Heritage Auctions not only demonstrates a strong financial performance but also undertakes many social responsibilities. The company also enhances environmental sustainability by shifting most of its business online to reduce the energy consumption along with its geographical expansion. Below I will present a comprehensive analysis of the company and prove how Heritage Auctions, Inc. aligns with our four AMDP Investment Standards. 

AMDP Investment Standards

First, I want to describe the four AMDP investment standards as a supplement to my research:  

Triple Bottom Line

Triple bottom line (TBL) is a concept that measures a company’s degree of social responsibility and environmental impact in addition to its economic value (Investopedia). The following three P’srepresent the three measurements respectively: 

People: a measurement focuses on the fair treatment of employees and off-site labor, as well as enacting favorable practices in communities where companies conduct business (Investopedia). 

Planet: a measurement concentrates on the implementation of sustainable practices and the reduction of negative eco-friendly impact (Investopedia). 

Profits: a measurement values the monetary benefits and fiscal earnings of the companies with specific numbers and data (Investopedia). 

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a self-regulating business model that helps a company be socially accountable – to itself, its stakeholders, and the public (Investopedia). By practicing corporate social responsibility companies can be conscious of the kind of impact that they are having on all aspects of society including economic, social, and environmental (Investopedia). 

Social Enterprise

A social enterprise is an organization that is directly involved in the sale of goods and services to a market, but that also has specific social objectives that serve as its primary purpose (Investopedia). Social enterprises are not volunteer organizations in that they operate as an enterprise by selling in a market and can be registered as for-profit or non-profit (Investopedia). Profits are principally used to fund social programs (Investopedia). 

Carbon Footprint

A carbon footprint is an estimate of the climate change impact of activities such as making a product, living a lifestyle, or running a company (Clark). It is typically calculated as the total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (Rohrer). Carbon dioxide (CO2), along with other greenhouse gases such as methane and ozone, is the main cause of global warming, so the carbon footprint is a very powerful tool to understand the impact of human behavior on global warming (Rohrer). If we want to contribute to stop global warming, it is essential for us to monitor and reduce our carbon footprint.   

Company Overview

Heritage Auctions, Inc. operates an auction house for antiques and collectibles in the United States (Heritage S&P). It specializes in art, antiques, collectibles, and estate auctions (Lifschutz). It also offers appraisal services, charity services, museum and institutional services, and corporate art services (Heritage S&P). The company was founded in 1976 and is based in Dallas, Texas with an additional office in London, United Kingdom (Heritage S&P). 

Heritage Auction, Inc. is the largest collectibles auctioneer and third largest auction house in the world, as well as the largest auction house founded in the U.S. (Heritage). It is also the undisputed internet leader with more than 500 people who provide a variety of services to individual and institutional clients worldwide (Heritage). In September 2016, Heritage Auctions reached an online milestone of one million online bidder members and continued to grow at a rate of about 5,000 new members per month (Cohen). The members stem from the United States and 185 other countries worldwide with an increasing number of members from fast-growing areas in Europe, Asia, and Latin America (Cohen). 

Heritage Auctions concentrates the most market share in both online antiques and collectibles sales industry and online art sales industry with market shares of 16.7% 25.0% respectively (Cohen & Lifschutz). In 2016, the company reported $850.0 million in total company sales (Cohen). The company is expected to generate over $900.0 million in total revenue in 2018, and its industry-relevant revenue for the company is estimated to increase at an annualized rate of 0.7% over the five years to 2018 to reach $378.0 million (Lifschutz).  As a large segment of 40% of the company’s sales, Heritage’s online art sales are expected to generate $99.7 million in industry-relevant revenue (Cohen). This represents an annualized growth rate of 102.9% over the five years to 2017 (Cohen). Prior to the beginning of the period, the company acquired Greg Martin Auctions, one of the United Stats’ top auction houses specializing in antiques and historic memorabilia, contributing to growth in industry-level revenue (Lifschutz). 

                

Inside Reviews

Missions:Heritage Auctions, Inc. aims to be the world’s most trusted and efficient marketplace and information resource for owners of fine art, jewels, rare collectibles and other precious (Heritage). They believe deep, unbiased information can and should be available to all parties, transactions made more transparent, trading friction reduced, and the learning curve made less steep and less expensive for new collectors and sellers (Heritage). They highly value integrity, transparency, expertise, efficiency, innovation, and long-term perspective as their company culture (Heritage). 

Social Responsibility:the employees of Heritage Auctions and HA.com contribute to many local and national charities in mainly three ways: 

Community Services: they provide community services for 21 organizations such as Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, Century Bike Ride, and Phoenix House (Heritage). 

Fundraising Auctions: They conduct fundraising auctions for 12 selected charities such as Team Cul De Sac Charity Auction benefitting the Michael J. Fox Foundation, Parade of Playhouses Auction benefitting Dallas CASA, and Doodles for Hunger Auction benefitting St. Francis Food Pantries & Shelters (Heritage). 

Auctioneers for Charity Auctions: they provide auctioneers Mike Sadler and Kathleen Guzman for charity auctions held by 19 organizations such as Dallas Museum of Art, TX, Goodspeed Opera House, Haddam, CT, and Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter, NY (Heritage). 

Outside Recognitions

Environmental Impact: founded in 1976, Heritage Auctions operated auction house in various places all around the world, which requires a very high level of capital intensity. In the early 2000s, the company took advantage of online sales business by establishing the ha.com online platform for e-transaction, which significantly reduces its capital requirements. For every dollar spent on labor, IBISWorld estimates that the average industry operator spends $0.18 on capital, which shows the relatively low costs and low energy consumption involved with developing and maintaining an e-commerce website, as opposed to traditional brick-and-mortar operations (Cohen). This business shift reduces Heritage Auctions’ use of electricity and emission of greenhouse gases.

Fairness Opinion: Heritage Auctions, Inc. is also constantly involved in social events by providing fairness opinions or appraisals for many different popular objects. In January 2018, Margaret Barrett and her colleague Carolyn Mani, specialists for Heritage Auctions, evaluated the estate in Los Angeles of Zsa Zsa Gabor, the Hungarian actress who died in 2016 (Clarke). They also inspected her glassware, jewelry, antique furniture and a collection of purses including Hermès and Louis Vuitton bags (Clarke). Involvement like this demonstrates Heritage Auctions’ value of promoting art literacy and transparency in society.

Industrial Trend: Since Heritage Auctions make online auctions possible through HA.com, many auctions rooms are sparsely attended these days despite widespread interest in the items being sold, with most bids coming in online (Grant). There are indeed some drawbacks for collectors, but none has stemmed the trend toward absentee bidding (Grant). Also, as the dominant player in the industry, the further technological development aiming at promoting convenience and safety would make the profitability of Heritage Auctions even higher. 

Recommendation: 

Overall, Heritage Auctions, Inc. is a great company to invest in for AMDP. For social responsibility, the company participates in multiple community services and charities to pay back society. For environmental impact, it shifts its business from physical auction houses to online auction platform to reduce its high capital investment and negative impact on the environment. For profitability, Heritage Auction has gained the major market share within the industry it is operating, and the prosperous industrial environment also adds the weight of its existing advantages in expansion. 

Work Cited

Clark, Duncan. “What’s a carbon footprint and how is it worked out?” The Guardians US., 4 Apr. 2012. Web. Accessed 29 Jun. 2018. 

Clarke, Katherine. (2014, Feb 1). “In the Market for Nostalgia.” Wall Street Journal (Online). Retrieved 29 Jun. 2018, from ProQuest database. 

Cohen, Anya. “IBISWorld Industry Report OD5070: Online Art Sales in the US.” IBISWorld. Sept. 2017. Web. Accessed 10 Jun. 2018. 

Grant, Daniel. (2014, Jun 15). “Why auction rooms seem empty these days; bidders aren’t lacking, they just phone it in or go online.” Wall Street Journal (Online). Retrieved 30 Jun. 2018, from ProQuest database. 

Heritage Auction. S&P Capital IQ, n.d. Standard & Poor’s NetAdvantage. Accessed Web. 28 Jun. 2018. 

Heritage Auctions.“About Heritage Auctions.” Web. Accessed 29 Jun. 2018. 

Lifschutz, Marisa. “IBISWorld Industry Report OD 5071: Online Antiques & Collectibles Sales in the US.” IBISWorld. Jan. 2018. Web. Accessed 30 Jun. 2018. 

Rohrer, Jürg. ABC of Awareness: Personal development as the meaning of life.Niederurnen: UTD Media, 2007.