The only thing more shocking than my attempt at a humorous title would be the new Walmart pay statistic reported by analyst Dana Lime of NerdWallet. She unearthed the fact that Mike Duke’s retirement package is worth almost 6,200 times more than the average 401(k) balance of a non-executive employee. It has an estimated value of $113 million, and although this may not be the largest retirement package, it has the largest CEO pension multiple. Walmart has previously been under fire for its controversial CEO-to-worker pay ratio being extremely high, but even this is trumped. Walmart spokesperson has attempted to defend the immense retirement package stating that the package was derived from an accumulation of pay over the years.

I was not expecting the difference between the retirement packages to be of this magnitude, so I was astounded when I read this article. Walmart is, of course, a giant in the world of commerce, but it has had its fair share of controversy in the past. From the issues with illegal-immigrant workers, to the ridiculous CEO-to-worker ratio, and now this latest discovery that will most likely spark criticism from many critics. I find such events unfortunate considering the existence of such people like Tony Hsieh who gets paid less than some of his workers and is still able to develop a unique and profitable company

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*Note- I tried to make a pun with the title of a Duke, and Mike Duke’s last name in the title (You know its a bad joke when you have to explain it)

Once again the “Darling of Wall Street” has found a way to alter an aspect of its business model, and this time, it is all about the customers. By creating an all new interface that will take a step into the background, Netflix believes that customers will be able to connect with their programs in order to boost the number of titles watched by each customers. The initial results from the testing of this update showed positive results, as more had indeed been watched. This shows how taking advantage of Information Technology can boost sales, and customer experience, since producing a simple, yet effective, platform for customers will improve a customer’s opinion about the company, and also shows the customer that the company cares about their experience.

This article was especially interesting tot me as Netflix has been discussed numerous times in class, and the fact that I am a subscriber of Netflix. I personally am a customer of Netflix, and I must admit that I have seen large improvements. Initially, I was not a big fan of Netflix, as I did not see the value of its services. That being said, I have found myself more inclined to use their services as they continue to update their platform. One of the main goals of Netflix is to retain their existing customers, and I can safely say that they are doing a splendid job.

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Ikea has always been a firm that has stood behind its values of the importance of being an environmentally conscious company, and once again it has proven this to be true. With the goal of being energy independent by 2020, Ikea is right on track after acquiring a 20-turbine wind farm located in Alberta. Ikea is a shining example of what it means to be a company that participates in corporate social responsibility. Being environmentally conscious has been a priority that many companies have neglected. Becoming a sustainable responsible business is something that current companies should put a large focus on. I believe that Ikea is showing the world that it is possible to be profitable, yet sustainable. Not only is it trying to become energy independent, but it is also aiming to use a renewable source of energy. This is beneficial to the environment, and also the workers on the wind farm as they are now provided with a stable job. Having previously invested in wind farms all across Europe, Ikea knows the extensive benefits of these investments. This is also great for marketing since consumers can confidently view Ikea as a sustainable company. Also, it shows clear signs that Ikea is doing its best to recover from the horse meat scandal.

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The Canadian Grocery industry is turning into a fight of the survival of the fittest. Instead of drawing blood from the other competitors, however, these giants are drawing revenue from one another. The continuous saturation in the retail market is causing giants Loblaws and Metro to experience losses in their third quarters. The emergence of Target also continues to put pressure on these companies forcing both of them to cut prices. This is a prime example of how being the first to enter a market does not guarantee safety from the threat of being over-powered. Kodak knows this better than anyone else, after it was sunk even though it was deemed to be unsinkable. Competitors are appearing from very unlikely sources in the retail market as can be seen by Amazon Canada beginning to offer dry goods. This shows how technology is affecting countless aspects of the world today. Of course the success of buying such foods online will be determined in the future, but for now it still poses a threat to the existing retail stores. Overall, the incoming influx of competition will force all the companies to develop strategies that will enable them to retain the market power that they currently hold.

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Novia Scotia-based telecommunications company Eastlink has taken a huge step in announcing that it will put aside any roaming fees, with the hopes that it will be able to compete with the big three telecom companies that are Telus, Bell, and Rogers. Earlier this year Eastlink became the first TV service provider to allow the customers to be able to choose specific channels, as opposed to having to choose bundles. This shows the industry, and the government, that Eastlink is prepared to break away from the traditional practices of telco companies and pave a way of its own in order to gain a larger presence across the nation. These actions come at a time where the telecom industry has been in the spotlight with regards to the looming threat of Verizon creeping over the border. Eastlink is a prime example of a company that is willing to adjust to consumer behaviour by altering its business model. The actions will impact the revenue streams, key partners and the cost structure of the company. However, Eastlink President Matthew MacLellan has made it clear that Eastlink wants to separate itself from all the other carriers. I believe that these bold steps will put pressure on the big three, and possibly inspire other smaller carriers to put up a fight.

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Alex Wou’s blog post touches on the issue of ethics and marketing. After Mr. Barilla publicly stated that he was opposed to the idea of having a gay family in the company’s advertisements, it is understandable why it had caused quite an uproar. On the surface, it appears that Mr. Barilla is opposed to gay families, but I believe this issue should be further analyzed. Barilla is an Italian company whose headquarters are based in Parma, Italy with Mr. Barilla himself being Italian. Italian culture is, of course very strong, and it is reinforced in the culture that the women in Italian families have the key role in the cooking. These views would naturally have an affect on the way the company markets its products, as the values of the society tend to have similarities with the values of the companies. Also, I personally have not seen an advertisement on any form of media that involves a gay, or lesbian family. All this being said, however, I think that it was still inappropriate for Mr. Barilla to respond the way that he did. Companies should always be looking for ways to adjust to the current needs of society, even if it may involve dropping past values.

Picture: http://www.trbimg.com/img-5244aa9e/turbine/la-ol-boycott-barilla-anti-gay-20130926-001/454 

This post done by Andrew Grange was particularly interesting to me since it based on events that are taking place in my province. As he had mentioned in the article, I am among many British Columbians who are unaware of what is taking place. British Columbians known for its vast natural resources, and to be giving them away for no cost is almost baffling. I believe that the provincial government should act on this issue, because the province as a whole could be benefiting if Nestle is charged for the resources they use.   Other companies such as, BC hydro, should also be behind the movement of placing a fee on the valuable resources to create a fair system for all companies who would potentially use these resources.There should be a better allocation of the resources, which should be decided by the government. I agree with Andrew’s point of it being an ethical issue for all British Columbians. Although this loophole provides a profit boosting situation for Nestle, they should not be able to attain a resource like water at zero cost based on a law that was created in a pre-captalistic society. It is time for the laws to be updated to better suit current markets.

Image:http://images.sodahead.com/polls/003313695/399607234_nestle_pure_life_water_answer_2_xlarge.jpeg

Although the competition between Samsung and Apple appears to be a war of attrition, with both companies continuously trying to out-do the other with the launch of a new smartphone, Samsung has been expanding into untouched markets.It seems that the tech giant is hoping to be the first to enter in new emerging markets, andit appears that they have been successful so far in doing so by developing low cost smartphones. By being the first to expand into the vast markets of India and China, where just under a third of the world’s population lives, the potential for unmatchable dominance is huge. They are able to continue to compete with Apple in the already existing markets, and now they can slowly expand their possible markets. As said by analyst Andrew Milroy inthe article, “They have covered both ends of the spectrum really well”. With all of this happening, Samsung is still putting a large focus into developing and creating brand new products. This shows how dynamic the company really is, and how deserving it is of its predicted record breaking quarterly profit. Samsung Electronics is clearly living up to its title as “The world’s biggest mobile phone and TV maker”.

Article:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24393850

Photo: http://onlinetechguru.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/samsung_logo_alt_720w.png

It appears that that the tobacco industry may be on the verge of having the carpet pulled right from under its feet. The new emergence and rapidly increasing popularity of E-cigarettes has the potential to be a major threat to the tobacco industry. Their main point of difference being that they contain no tobacco, which is seen by many as the most toxic of the elements of a cigarette. They also can be seen as a more attractive way of quitting smoking, as they have been proven just as effective as nicotine patches and gum(as said in the article). It seems that they were the first to move into a fresh new market, and thereby began to establish early dominance. It seems that many players in the tobacco industry have began to change their incentives from expanding on their tobacco based products, to developing a potential product that may be able to enter the electronic cigarette market. The only thing that is working in the favour of the tobacco industry is the tough time the E-cigarette producers are having with regulators. Nonetheless, the tobacco industry will have to be wary of a now clear competitor creeping up close.

Article: http://www.economist.com/news/business/21586867-regulators-wrestle-e-smokes-tobacco-industry-changing-fast-kodak-moment

Image: http://epower.core-mark.com/2013/04/e-cigarettes-already-dramatic-growth-accelerates/

South Korean Car Manufacturer giant, Hyundai, has been enduring many organized union worker strikes in the past year that have damaged its productivity. Unions had issues with the worker’s wages, and this has occurred multiple times in the past. In fact, Hyundai has encountered a strike in 22 years of its 26 year existence. Why does it seem then that Hyundai simply fails to learn from its previous issues or mistakes and resolve the ethical issue of worker’s wages?

Regarding the ethical issue of Stakeholder Theory, Hyundai was unable to figure out how to make all of it’s stakeholder’s interests move in the same direction. This was clearly demonstrated by the employees taking industrial action, as their interests had been left behind. The company’s profits were on the decline, and there was pressure on the management to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. By conforming with the union’s demands, they were able to take their first steps in collectively moving the interests of all groups of stakeholders uniformly.

The management’s “social responsibility”, as stated by Friedman, is to maximize profits while staying within regulations, and having workers going on strike causing a decline in profits can be easily considered as  corporately unethical. Such activities both created idle resources and caused a decline in the productivity of the company. The lack of unanimity among the groups of stakeholders caused instability within the company, and gave it the image of a business in decline. With increasing competition from Japanese carmakers, and recovering US manufacturers, it was crucial that the management was able to reinstate the stability that will be required to keep the company’s profits increasing.

Hopefully the South Korean firm will be able to finally settle its disputes with the ever-growing unions and get on with making internationally renown automobiles

Article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24012301