Value propositions are vital components of any company’s success. The question, “what are we providing to our customers?” must be asked by all management teams. By providing a personality or a message to the product, it creates a much stronger connection with the consumer. Products like the Iphone, have become so powerful simply because they have become more than just a phone. Essentially, it is an image. Some would argue people want the Iphone for what it is rather than for what it does. As a result, customers develop a sense of trust for Apple. This highlights the importance of maintaining a value proposition.

When looking at company failures within the same market, Serinda Kong’s blog on the “Blackberry Comeback” highlights the importance of staying true to value propositions. Originally Blackberry dominated the corporate world.  The minute they attempted to compete with the likes of Apple, their image was lost. Serinda eloquently explains how Blackberry intends to “Thrive and rebuild the company’s relations with the enterprise market.” For a company that has struggled as much as Blackberry has, I believe this is exactly what they need.

In class five we explored the world of accounting. We saw the many ways that companies can use accounting to provide them with positive insight. Providing the numbers, helps companies make vital decisions. Unfortunately many people abuse the system and bring a bad name to all involved.

A recent article posted on the Wall Street Journal, reveals one of the many accounting frauds in the last few years. AgFeed Industries Inc. which is a a Chinese animal-feed and hog-production company, was caught inflating revenue to unjustly improve its stock’s value. Shockingly they were getting away with falsifying their revenue “by $239 million by creating fake invoices for the sale of feed and purported sales of hogs that didn’t actually exist”. 

Selfish choices like these, affect all of the stakeholders. Not only does it bring negative media attention and a bad name  to the company, but it also affects the stock owners as they are paying for an extremely over valued item. For those that invested large amounts of money, fraud cases like this can ruin lives. Thankfully, Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC,  filled a lawsuit in which the settlement ended up being 18 million. This money provided some relief for those who were wrongfully treated throughout the whole process. It never pays to cheat, or be unethical and cases like these provide proof.

FIFA has always been infamously in the spotlight. Most recently, World Cup scandals have come to the forefront. After a lengthy campaign by multiple countries to host the 2022 World Cup, quite controversially, FIFA elected Qatar as the host nation. As noted by the Washington Post, “Summer temperatures can climb to 120 degrees, which FIFA inspectors called a ‘potential health risk.’” Qatar has also never qualified for the World Cup, so they definitely haven’t earned it in that regard. Qatar essentially paid off FIFA representatives to receive the bid, and the poor ethics of this decision have not gone unnoticed. On top of that, nearly all the labor used for constructing the state of the art stadiums consist of foreign workers. They are over worked, under paid, and under appreciated. Shockingly, “Nearly 1,000 migrant workers constructing World Cup facilities” (Washington post) have died. People should never lose their lives in mass to accommodate for a game. It is barbaric and gladiator-like. It is also sad to see such a wonderful game being so poorly influenced by financial injustice. I think that those who disrespect the integrity of the game should receive lifetime bans. For the thought that match fixing, fraud and embezzlement are really happening ruins the viewing experience.