Selected from applicants across the United States and Canada, the 2021 grantees were awarded funding based on the innovation and impact of their projects in addressing the evolving food challenges that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Each of the five teams receive $30,000 USD in grant funds to develop and execute their community-based projects that will benefit distinct communities in the U.S. and Canada.

The Larson-Parsons project merges supply chain, sustainability and nutrition perspectives to study the food distribution system during and after the pandemic. The purpose is to facilitate urgent movement toward more sustainable food logistics – supply chains that provide nutritionally balanced and culturally appropriate food while working to reduce carbon footprints, along with costs of food distribution.

“We are drilling down with special reference to nutrition. It is one thing to provide folks with sufficient calories, but we also want to look at the nutritional content of that food. We are lucky to have Marjorie and Maria on our team,” said Professor Larson. “In addition to nutrition, we are looking at the carbon footprint embedded in the food and at the cost, because these are non-profits and of course they have a limited budget. Our vision is: to play a small role in making the whole food-banking distribution proposition of higher nutritional quality, lower carbon footprint, and lower cost. That is the dream.”

In addition to the $30,000 in grant funding, the selected teams will participate in a week-long training session in Boulder, Colorado and workshops with Danone Institute North America leaders and partners over the next two years to support the development and implementation of their projects.

Larson and Parsons have also been awarded a $22,850 Partnership Engage Grants (PEG) COVID-19 Special Initiative grant from SSHRC for a complementary project, in partnership with Harvest Manitoba. For more details about these projects, contact Paul Larson by e-mail at paul [dot] larson [at] umanitoba [dot] ca.

A transcription of the audio interview is included below:

—

Hal Anderson: Right now joining us on the phone is Fang Wan – a marketing prof at the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba. Fang, good afternoon.

Fang Wan: Good afternoon!

Hal Anderson: Hi, thank you so much for doing this! I’m sure you like everybody – we’ve all been following along with the COVID-19 numbers in Manitoba and the messaging and health orders from the province of Manitoba’s top doctor Dr. Brent Roussin. Recently there’s been some confusion from what was said Tuesday to what is in the order today, and I wanted to talk to you because you’re a marketing professor and in marketing, (because it’s one of my interests) messaging is everything. As you have been watching this, how has the messaging been? Has it been confusing for you?

Fang Wan: So I think this confusion is an outcome. I think that the reason for this confusion or people not having a clear understanding is actually attributed to a number of factors. First of all, I think there are two sides to this. One is: “what kind of message is put out there?” and two, “how do people get their information?” I think the challenge here is that this is the first pandemic to occur during the age of social media. So, our problem now is that the confusion may not be that the government or public health officials are not giving clear information – it’s that we are bombarded in the age of social media with misinformation (erroneous conclusion) and disinformation (fake news). So, there are two kinds of information here and it’s so stressful because we’re bombarded and flooded with all of it. Furthermore, when this happens, everything becomes diluted – and we don’t know what is really important and what is true. So I think, let’s not forget about the challenges of communicating here. I think that confusion is partly because of this challenge in the social media era, which is the first point I want to make. The second is about the kind of message you put out there. For example, yesterday we said “okay today our test positivity rate is 10.8%.” But how do you translate the number? People may look at that number and not be sensitive to it. But if you say, “you know what, our advice and message here is, you should stay home, only one person per household should go grocery shopping no more than twice a week…” or whatever you need to say but just state it in a very specific and consistent way it would help. So overall, I think there are two folds of this: there’s an issue with comprehensive clarity and also with how people select the source of their information.

Hal Anderson: Yes absolutely. I was just going to say that I’m hearing from many people by text and email right now; half of them are saying “It’s not confusing. What are you talking about? Stay at home, it’s simple,” and other people are saying, “Well it is confusing because he said one thing on Tuesday, now it says something else in the order, and some social media misinformation doesn’t help.” I think you’re right, it is really about personalities – some people want rules and they follow the rules and other people see rules and try and work around them.

Fang Wan: I love what you said about these personalities. In marketing terms, we call this segmentation. People are different, and so we segment them. Some are in a certain profile, have certain attitudes, are a certain age (like young people for example,) and live in certain locations. There is so much information out there about social class and how your educational background can affect how you perceive the severity of the virus and how vulnerable and susceptible you feel. These factors are really important, because they reflect that people are in different segments and that everyone will react to messages very differently. So this is really the challenge of public health – that maybe when we talk about big data and marketing, it is really about how we customize messages to different kinds of people. I think you’re right, for people who really know the nature of this virus they understand that it is about human contact. It’s really scary but our right mental model is that right now, we have 400 cases almost every day, and everybody – every human you see is a potential carrier. When you go out of your household, you are at war with that invisible enemy. Although that mentality is very scary, I think that it is the right mentality we need to have in order to cut off the spread of the virus. But the question is; “how comfortable are people?” and “do they want to do that?” After eight months, you know, the first lockdown for Manitoba was in March – people are so drained. It’s almost like some are reaching this “I don’t care anymore I’m exhausted.” So you’re right when you are talking about risk taking and less risk taking occurring by more precautious people. These messages should be tailored to different kinds of people. For example, for those young people who want to take risks themselves, we need to use moral messaging. We need to make them aware that there is a sense of guilt and responsibility associated with going out and being irresponsible, because the older and more vulnerable groups can really die. So overall, I think this is why it is so important. You’re right about this idea of customization to different segments.

Hal Anderson: So I’ll give you the final minute or so here to comment on this. Here’s why I think it was important for Dr. Roussin to say what was going to be in the order on Tuesday. On Tuesday, it was like “you stay at home and only your home and that’s it.” But now, the order says gatherings up to five are allowed, and Dr. Roussin is now saying “well, we have to account for people that live alone and may need help.” I think he should have made this very clear on Tuesday. I’ll make a comparison here back to the marketing world where you live. Let’s say you’re buying a car and you hear a commercial on CJOB. You get all the details, and then you get to the dealership to buy that car and they go “oh and by the way we didn’t tell you this, this, or this.” That’s a big problem and that’s why I think Dr. Roussin needed to be more clear on Tuesday. Not to blame the guy though, because I do understand the stress he must be under and what he’s going through. Nonetheless, I think he should have done that on Tuesday to avoid this confusion now. Your thoughts?

Fang Wan: I think this goes back to the fact that we keep saying, “Keep distancing! Keep social distancing!” and not considering “well what does this mean?” It means that you stay home, you don’t go out, and you don’t see anyone other than your immediate family members in your little bubble. We’re talking about two different levels of specificity – the difference of specific information and action oriented information. So I think this is why maybe the justification is very important when you say that “you need to stay home and not go out” but then following it by saying “if you need to get out you can have a crowd around you if there is no more than five people.” This information will play out differently depending on whether or not you give it context. I think you’re right when you say that if you play two different pieces of information and they’re not contradicting each other, there is no need to bring context into the picture. But with this, I think people are very stressed and this ambiguity and lack of context can be hard. Overall, I think this is a very challenging time for public health officials to exercise the right strategy to ensure high levels of efficacy when providing information.

Hal Anderson: Fang wan thank you very much for your time today.

Fang Wan: Thank you Hal for having me.

The audio interview can be retrieved from the following link: https://lnkd.in/eE_yhZb

This experiential course is supported by the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship and will provide qualifying businesses, including non-profits, access to pro bono consultation, while giving students hands-on consulting experience.

“Organizations are now facing economic and practical challenges they have never encountered before. As a business school, we should be training our students to solve such novel business problems that they are unlikely to find discussed in textbooks,” says Dr. Subbu Sivaramakrishnan, Associate Dean of Undergraduate and International Programs. “This course gives the Asper School the opportunity to help some Manitoba organizations get back on their feet while teaching students the importance of being nimble and adaptive in the business world.”

Twenty local businesses have agreed to participate in the course and will receive access to pro bono business consulting by senior business students guided by a professor. Fourth-year Asper business students will get hands-on experience in helping a local small business overcome the current COVID-19 economic crisis and will offer a significant experiential learning experience.

Kendra Magnus-Johnston is co-owner of Fools & Horses, a local coffee shop located in downtown Winnipeg. She mentioned her company has experienced recent challenges and had to devise a way to shift their operations online.

“Having the support and insights from an advanced student enrolled in the Asper Applied Small Business course means that we will have the deliberate and concerted focus to audit our processes, our production model, and uncover efficiency gains at a time when we couldn’t need it more,” says Magnus-Johnston.

“It means that at a time where we’ve been given lemons, we can make lemonade, and grow our business into something even more sustainable and enduring. I can’t imagine a better moment for local businesses to embrace an opportunity like this.”

Students will gain insight into the idiosyncrasies of a small business, and their unique constraints and challenges. The course will give students the opportunity to come up with innovative and affordable solutions to problems faced by businesses that may not have the same resources that larger organizations have access to.

“For years, Asper School of Business students have benefited from the strong support provided to the School by the Manitoba business community,” says Dr. Gady Jacoby, Dean of the Asper School of Business. “This is an excellent opportunity for our School to give back to local businesses when it’s most needed.”

Upon completion of the course in early January, each business will have practical recommendations on how to overcome specific challenges that may have been caused by COVID-19. The projects will be unique to each organization and could focus on any aspect of the organization including business problem identification, strategic planning, marketing, technology, human resources, supply chain management, or financial analysis.

He noted: 

“One of the real challenges that everybody is facing is the uncertainty. Manitoba is starting to open its economy a little but how do these businesses plan? What measures do you have to put in place? What if there is a rebound and everything shuts down again?”

As for whether we will face a recession, Dr. Benarroch said, bluntly:

“A recession is unavoidable. There was already a downturn in the first quarter and there will be very deep negative economic growth in the second. And while a bounce back is predicted for the third quarter… we will not bounce back all the way.”

Dr. Benarroch’s view is that the provincial government will have to go into debt to support the economy so that the recovery is not pushed further into the future. Otherwise, if the government imposes austerity measures, it will deepen the recession.

Regarding getting us all back on track, he suggested asking people:

“Would you be willing to pay slightly higher taxes in the future to pay it back and delay when you have to pay it back until the economy is recovering? I think you would get most Canadians saying they would buy into that type of approach.”

Read the entire Winnipeg Free Press article by Martin Cash here.

Dr. John McCallum, who teaches finance in the UM Asper School of Business, told Global news that the first phase of the province’s re-opening is a “sensible first step.”

He said: 

“It’s going to take a bit to get the consumer to get started themselves and to get comfortable with going to the mall, or whatever it is.”

McCallum noted that some changes we’ve seen lately might stick around.

“A lot of people are finding they can work from home.”

But economist Dr. Fletcher Baragar thinks our economy may never return to what was considered ‘normal’ before the pandemic hit.

“The demand for some products and some activities are going to be virtually non-existent,” he said.

Baragar said some of the challenges businesses will face include figuring out how to restructure their workplaces, how to monitor the flow of people in and out, how to keep staff safe… and even getting some workers back on the job.

Read the entire Global news story here.

Au, whose research focuses on the impact of intangibles such as corporate culture, innovation, and ethics on corporate outcomes, explains that the Manitoba government should “break the vicious cycle of reduced spending and income by leaning into the wind and spending more in times of crisis.”

He advises that the Pallister government should put in place protective and supportive measures that would help the homeless, youth, single parent families and others in socio-economic difficulty:

“The province’s existing programs could be enhanced temporarily to expand employment and income assistance, the Manitoba child benefit, rent assist, and 55 Plus, etc., to a larger group of individuals. Further, the province could replicate some of the better programs from other provinces, such as emergency loans to small businesses or reducing payroll taxes. These temporary enhancements would help Manitoba weather this crisis and avoid a long-lasting recession or even a depression.”

Au says that Manitoba is in a good position to increase its debt during this time and then decrease spending and eliminate the debt during the next several years. This would help Manitobans and maintain a relatively stable economy.

Read Dr. Au’s entire editorial here.

As more Canadians are staying home and practicing social distancing, the economy is taking a hit.

University of Manitoba marketing professor Fang Wan says business owners in Manitoba and abroad will have to adapt or die.

“You look at all the cities, we call them ghost towns, ghost malls, ghost stores. Nobody’s going to restaurants,” she told CBC News.

Wan says retail stores and restaurants that haven’t taken the steps to open online shops, offer delivery options or allow customers to avoid too much person-to-person contact should do so immediately.

“Those people who don’t have an online presence, who don’t have an online system, who don’t have these communication mechanisms with customers, they will have zero business,” she said.

In terms of empty shelves of canned goods and toilet paper, Wan says prices could go up because of the demand, but that could hurt businesses after the pandemic slows down.

“Yes, the demand is more than the supply, and beefing up the price is a commerce and business principle, but that is under the test of moral judgment and morality when a crisis like this arises,” she said.

She thinks Manitoba is well situated because a lot of the items sold in the province are sourced locally. Items that come from big cities that have been hit hard by the pandemic could be much more difficult to access in the next couple of weeks.

Wan is generally optimistic about the future of commerce, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is convinced that a shift in business models will enable many businesses to survive, and perhaps even thrive.

“Crisis brings opportunity in my experience,” she says. “This will be most apparent in the clothing and food service industry, where right now, we have a customer-rich shopping experience, with large physical spaces and many employees. How long can they hang on? The virus outbreak in China forced many retailers and restaurants to go bankrupt in a month or two.”

Wan says both customers and retailers have to make a shift towards a more virtual business model. “If business owners haven’t yet done it, they have to soon embrace online ordering and delivery.”

The good news is that in the new online and delivery model, more employees will be needed. Wan says: “Imagine if all restaurants began offering delivery or encouraging third parties like Skip the Dishes to service their customers – they would need many staff to accommodate the demand.”

But this model has its critics. Some health care professionals point out that businesses such as take-out and delivery restaurants can place their employees and the public at risk by requiring social distancing instead of staying at home.

“In China, restaurants got around this problem by constant checking of employees’ health throughout the preparation and delivery chain,” Wan notes. “At both the societal level and the employer level, taking strong measures to protect the workforce is a viable way to combat virus concerns. Taking employees’ body temperature and minimizing contact allow businesses to label their products as ‘certified virus free’ to give customers assurance. Businesses were even releasing employees’ health status online, and trying to be 100 per cent transparent.”

Nevertheless, some customers refuse to accept delivery from online companies, and that is to be expected. In North America, adaptation to an online business model could take some time. However, time is not on our side.

“This change in business model is happening very, very fast,” Wan explains, “but we cannot delay disaster, we can only adapt. Traditional business owners are generally not good at fast responses to a changing retail environment. Those that aren’t will find themselves struggling – big time.”

Wan also points out that we already have many companies that have gone contact-free. Most grocery chains already have online ordering, payment and delivery, and most gas stations allow drive-up service to get your gas pumped and paid for without contact with gas jockeys at all.

“So it’s something we are already seeing on a small scale that simply needs speedy expansion,” she says. “And during the COVID-19 crisis, this is definitely the time when adversity should foster innovation.”

Wan concludes: “Crisis is a true test of the character of a person and a company. Companies such as Amazon are providing  free audio books. Walmart and Superstore are hiring more people to address expansive lay-off situations. Moral and caring companies will find every way to keep their workforce and not lay off people at the most difficult time of our society, if not our civilization. I hope every company can think of ‘togetherness’ as a motto to help its stakeholders get through this tough time”

Chi Liao, an assistant professor at the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba, who focuses on behavioural finance, said there is an inordinate amount of fear that’s affecting the way people are reacting.

“People are looking at their portfolios because they are scared and then based on their emotional reaction to the numbers they see, which are probably much lower than expected, they might react as a result, which is not a good idea,” she said.

Obviously, there have been market corrections in the past, but the scope and scale of this one has some unusual twists.

“This is unique in the sense that not only are we worried about our retirement savings, we are also worried about contracting the COVID virus and ending up in the hospital where there might not be an extra respirator available,” Liao said. “So there’s even more uncertainty.”

On March 11, a reporter had asked her for an interview on a major business scandal, but she instead offered to talk about how companies can react to a global pandemic.

COVID-19 was reported in Manitoba the next day.

“My research team had been tracking how businesses respond to what seem to be impossible situations,” she says. “When I was teaching a course titled Cross Cultural Brand Management as part of the MBA program, we were talking about the business practices in China. My next class was the following day, and I knew I had to physically teach my class without me or my students knowing if we had been in contact with anyone with the virus. A bit panicked, I went to class and told the students we were going completely online for our Saturday session.”

She notes: “That one-hour training session on Friday was much more efficient than I could have imagined. On Saturday, the entire class was using Zoom together, sharing videos and images, interacting with messages and taking notes. We were the first class to go completely online.”

Wan and her Asper colleagues have worked fast and hard on moving much of their programming online, to the point where they started forming WeChat groups to coach one another about online teaching platform-related questions, learning from each other about the features.  

“The current COVID-19 crisis is an opportunity,” she says. “While some universities are further ahead in their online course capability, the move to go online is very strong here. Many post-secondary institutions have a bit of psychological inertia about moving online completely, and some educators even assume a classroom is a necessity.”

Wan believes that teaching online is far superior to in-class learning. In the classroom, she notes that the average distance between the instructor and student is between one and four metres, whereas online, she can be literally inches away. Seeing faces up close and being able to see names of those online create a much more personal experience because as she says, “physical distance determines our psychological distance.”

“Teaching online is awesome,” she says. “For my online class, students were non-stop texting, asking questions, and adding comments, resulting in a much richer learning experience. The first day we went six hours! It was amazing, live, and interactive.”

Wan adds: “Our lifestyle today is transcending time and location,  so it makes sense that our educational model should adapt to this new normal. People like flexibility, so ideally, learning should be location free, and attending a physical class might be considered a luxury we cannot expect anymore.”

Coincidentally, online learning was pioneered at the University of Manitoba in 2008, when the first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) was developed and tested with a class of about 2,000 students.

But Wan gets to experience online learning to the extreme this weekend, when she is scheduled to give an online presentation to a business conference in China. And she’s not just speaking to a small class in Asper. The platform she will be using for the Chinese online discussion is capable of handling the expected 8,000 to 10,000 participants – far more than the maximum of 500 available on Zoom and other popular North American platforms.

“It’s an exciting time, even during this time of the terrible COVID-19 crisis, because such situations create opportunities for innovation,” she says.