Once a top competitor in the cell phone market, Blackberry has plummeted off the top 100 list of global brands after a reported nearly US$1-billion loss.

It was only a couple years ago when Blackberry was the latest fad.  When I was in grade 10, Blackberry’s sleek design and useful features was one of the many reasons why everyone used it.  Blackberry messenger was a unique feature that other brands did not have at the time.  Now two years later, not only do none of my friends own a blackberry anymore, but I rarely hear about it anymore in my daily life.  Similarly,  Nokia, once the largest phone maker in the world went down 65% to 57th place.  So what exactly is the reason for these huge declines? As a consumer, lack of innovation is probably the number one problem for both these companies.  While Apple and Samsung continued to bring out well advertised and innovative features, Blackberry and Nokia just weren’t able to keep up.  Consumers generally shifted away from these two companies as Apple and Samsung were able to provide phones with more intriguing features.

So here’s the question, why is it that Blackberry and Nokia took this long to realize what was wrong before they went through such huge losses?

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/fp/BlackBerry+falls+global+brands+list+Apple+takes+spot/8977903/story.html

After reading the article in The Economist: “Working conditions in factories when the jobs inspector calls”, I have concluded that these companies are only improving their business ethics because they have no other choice.  Labour associations and other organizations are sent to “look at [some] of the factories in China” used by large companies such as Nike and Apple.  In order to protect their reputation, these companies are forced to improve working conditions and follow stricter codes of conduct.  Without this pressure, most of these companies will not even bother focusing on ethical working practices.  Profit is the number one objective and when excess monthly output is demanded, many companies have no choice but to go against ethical practices and lose control of working hours.   As mentioned in the article, factor managers often “bribe auditors” and “use fake books showing shorter hours” and surprisingly, many workers are more than willingly to collaborate.  As someone living in a first world country, little do I know of the many more unethical practices that may be happening behind the scenes.  Although the working conditions have vastly improved from decades ago, we must reflect on what types of business practices are being used and realize what companies will do for extra profit.

www.economist.com/node/21551498‎

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