AT&T is slashing prices on almost every smart phone they are carrying that you can set your eyes on, and it’s only running for a “limited time”. For a two-year contract, you can get an iPhone 5c or 5s $99.99 or $49.99, respectively. Speaking from personal experience, had they offered these deals when I was in the process of getting a new phone, I would have 100% changed carriers to them. I think that this plan will work exceptionally to steal customers from carriers such as Mobilicity as they don’t have any contract fees. If they can manage to lure in some more customers with these incredibly low prices, then the contracts can keep the customers hooked.

This deal is especially lucrative as the iPhone rarely have their prices cut, making this a once in a blue moon type of event. These deals will effectively increase customer segments if they can poach more customers. Deals such as this one could even be considered key activities if they can be kept up, and will help with AT&T’s economies of scale if they can attract more customers. Hopefully, other providers will begin to offer deals in order to compete, and I for one will be extremely pleased.

Image: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1i7EX7a2ELY/THJzalT219I/AAAAAAAAATY/5yXdwTSC5-A/s1600/att-tilt-gps1.jpg

“Some women’s bodies just actually don’t work for it” was Chip Wilsons (found of Lululemon) response when asked about a mistake in the design of his yoga pants which leads to them being partly see through. This is a great way to alienate your customers and make them not want to buy your pants, very similar to what Abercrombrie and Fitch has done. And just like Abercrombie, Lululemon’s stock prices dropped, from $84 to $67.

Although Lululemon’s success is nothing short of impressive, Chip has managed to make me disappointed in the brand with such comments. Surely, he has to understand that his statements have a tremendous impact on his consumer base. Chip has successfully provided another avenue for people to feel self conscious.

Chip’s statements have angered his consumer base and rightly so, provoking some bloggers to state that they will “NOT be shopping at [his] store anytime soon.” Similar to Abercrombie, Lululemon has reduced their customer segments, customer relationships, and revenue streams. Perhaps it is time for Chip to take his customers’ advice and “fix [his] product to fit real women.”

Blog: https://blogs.ubc.ca/matthewanderson/2013/11/08/one-sour-lemon-lululemon/

Image: http://www.vancouversun.com/cms/binary/8649020.jpg?size=620x400s

This blog post highlights the pros of social enterprise and leans towards fact that it is mutually beneficial. Although I am inclined to agree that social enterprise and foreign direct investment are beneficial, there is a deep-seated negative aspect that must be taken into consideration. For example, Nigeria’s oil reserves fell prey to social enterprise and it is paying the price. Nigeria is the worlds eighth largest exporter for oil, yet the working class is barely above poverty levels. When investing in developing foreign countries, the country on the receiving end of the investment may be looking towards making a fast buck rather than looking into the long term. In this case, as long as other countries in Africa can learn from Nigeria’s mistake, then social enterprise can be deemed as mutually beneficial. On the flip side of the coin, it can lead to crippling disparity and all the money can end up in the hands of the top percentile. Despite the negative possibilities, I agree with Kirk on the fact that social enterprise can do a lot of good, and it is a proposition that can bring countries out of poverty.

Blog: https://blogs.ubc.ca/kirkbergez/2013/11/18/can-greed-still-be-good/

Image: http://www.marxist.com/images/stories/nigeria/make_refineries_work.jpg

The answer is simple according to Snapchat Inc. co-founder Evan Spiegel, as he obviously believes that it is not worth it. I am inclined to agree. The reasoning behind this is the fact that Facebook’s target demographic is beginning to dwindle, as teens are looking for new places to do their social networking. Snapchat is the perfect alternative as it allows for 10 seconds glimpses into the lives of another, and then the glimpse is gone forever. It is regarded as safe and secure, and allows you to share information without being lurked by strangers.

Take Twitter’s recent IPO as a stunning example, their IPO skyrocketed to $18.3 billion dollars, way more than a measly $3 billion. Spiegel thinks that if he can hold on for a while longer, his company can soar in a similar fashion. I am inclined to agree as Snapchat is still expanding quickly, and it has lots of room for improvement, such as making the program more user intensive and adding features other than just image/video sharing.

Oh Abercrombie, where to start? I could begin with their extremely strict dress code that has caused numerous employees to quit of feel ashamed of themselves for discarding religious symbols. Or perhaps I could continue on to the part were their CEO stated that their product is only met for “cool” and “attractive” people, and that it is not meant to be worn by “fat” people. But of course they already know that as they just experienced their seventh straight quarterly drop. In possibly related news, Abercrombie’s two main competitors – Aeropostale Inc. and American Eagle Outfitters – recently experienced share price falls of 5.9% and 3.5%, respectively. Hopefully, the death of snobby elitist brands is lurking right around the corner and this is just the tip of the iceberg. More importantly, this might bring about a rise in teen happiness as Abercrombie and the like are directly responsible for pushing the idea of what a perfect teen body looks like; the idea is that the average teen should be totally jacked as a male, or be a toothpick as a female. Hopefully, Abercrombie will continue to experience losses, as the world would be a better place without them.

Source: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9utHwhYToNA/UZKVDYVOtrI/AAAAAAAAALA/1Fw75t6KcdE/s1600/75866148.jpg

After the building collapse in Bangladesh in April that killed nearly 1,100 people, retail gaint Wal-Mart said they would begin to audit their buildings in order to keep them up to safety code in an attempt to turn their horrible PR around. Personally, I am disgusted by the behaviour that Wal-Mart is portraying, and many other giants have before. It shouldn’t take public shaming to make a multi-billion dollar company provide it’s employees with basic human rights, such as the right to safety. What is even more shocking is the fact that in Wal-Mart’s first audit, about ten of more than six dozen buildings failed the inspections.

Although large corporations such as Wal-Mart are able to provide us with goods for so cheap, the cost of doing so is others basic human rights, and in some cases, their lives. Large transnationals cannot continue to get away with making such extreme violations towards their fellow man. Unfortunately, the working class doesn’t even have the government on their side, as their own safety is taking a backseat in order to fulfill orders and quotas. Additionally, the corruption is the government is widespread and will continue to grow as long as there is very little in the way of government resources.

Not quite.

References:

http://news.yahoo.com/wal-mart-bangladesh-factories-failed-audits-035042694–finance.html

http://www.takefiveaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/wmrainbow.jpg

http://en.maquilasolidarity.org/node/1148

Twitter is still growing in numbers of users and right now sits in excess of 19 million active members, generating billions of tweets per year allowing members to share experiences within a 140 character limit. Twitter has successfully created a symbiotic relationship that allows users to get involved in participatory events ranging from sports events to television programs. Organizations and celebrities alike are catching onto this and have begun to develop a social media presence to garner more publicity. Twitter is a live portrayal of how complements work and how they can act as ‘force multipliers’.

Take for example the Super Bowl, last year 24 million tweets were sent out about the competition, and nearly 45% of the commercials had some form of hashtag involved encouraging viewers to follow them on Twitter. Also, during the Breaking Bad finale a record setting 1.24 million tweets were created, topping out at 22,373 tweets per minute. Organizations such as the NFL may create tweets drawing attention to major plays, and letting people know that they can catch the game on their television network. Clearly, Twitter’s huge fan base coupled with the fact that there are roughly 1 billion smartphone users worldwide with access to the Twitter app and data is the ultimate form of a symbiotic relationship which is beneficial for advertisers, consumers, and Twitter.

Sources:

http://staceyhood.com/tag/digital-development/

http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/television/Twitter+tunes+into+chatter+sees+future/9008625/story.html

Everybody is aware of Apple’s slick designs and classic phones. They were known for pushing the market and being the first to create a sleek, simple, easy-to-use smartphone. Billions of dollars have gone into making Apple the technological powerhouse it is today, and they are a prime example of how image can prevail over innovation in the short run.

After every new iPhone release, Apple’s stock prices experienced a rise; however, after the 5S and 5C release Apple’s stock prices took an unexpected drop. Obviously, this came as a surprise to the public and to Apple as well. However, this should have been slightly anticipated as the 5C and 5S are hardly worth the upgrade from the regular 5, let alone the 4S. It is true that the 5 series of iPhones are better, but are they worth up to another $920?

At this point Apple is producing new phones at almost the same rate that Call of Dutys come out. But just like Call of Duty (it’s a video game), Apple products seem to be bought almost as a status symbol and because they are new, rather than because it is a major improvement. I guess the question is, is how long can a company get away with using their image to sell incrementally better products?

Sources:

http://www.imore.com/would-you-want-gold-colored-iphone-5s-poll

http://store.apple.com/ca/buy-iphone/iphone5s

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2013/09/11/apples-stock-prices-fall-after-iphone-5s-announcement

Recently, Blackberry has fallen into a slump after releasing their new touch-screen cell phone model the Z10. The failure of this phone has cost the company nearly $1 billion. The colossal failure of this phone nearly cost the company all of it’s quarterly revenue of $1.6 billion. Given the statistics, there is no way Blackberry provided sufficient time and funding into doing a forecast for the market.

Due to this oversight, Blackberry is now facing class-action lawsuits from shareholders claiming that they were misled by the company regarding it’s future. In addition to facing lawsuits, the company also had to lay off nearly 40% of the workforce; totalling roughly 4,500 people. After revealing the losses and labour cuts, Blackberry’s share price nosedived by 25%.

Although the current situation looks grim, Blackberry has high hopes for saving the company as it proposes to become privately-held. Tech-companies from Asia, and multiple private-equity companies from Canada and the US have considered bids for the waning company, but it is currently unclear if they are currently interested. Could this be the end of Blackberry as they are known? Or will being privately-held provide Blackberry with some breathing room for innovation? Only time will tell the future for this company, a precious commodity which they do not have.

Sources:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/10/06/blackberry-faces-class-action-shareholder-lawsuit/2931455/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303759604579093342883899478.html

http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/27/blackberry-loses-a-billion-dollars-on-z10-charge/

The company AT&T has recently sparked outrage on various social media platforms recently after publishing an advert that could be viewed as insensitive to those effected by the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001. Their advert depicts a hand holding up one of their smart phones capturing the image of the Tribute in Light.

http://wpmedia.o.canada.com/2013/09/screen-shot-2013-09-11-at-1-13-24-pm.png?w=680

AT&T has since removed their image after they were called out as being “tacky”, “disgusting”, and “shameless.” All of which appear to be fitting titles. The company could only offer up a feeble apology stating they simply “meant to pay respect to those that were affected by the 9/11 tragedy.” Personally, if AT&T had really attempted to pay respect, they could have let their product ride back seat to the real respect that is due.

Although their actions can be classified as tasteless, this is part of the desensitized world that we live in. In spite of their poor taste, I believe that AT&T does not deserve the ramifications that will surely follow, much like how owner Marc Watts did not deserve the death threats and general social media backlash after offering subsidized rates at his gold course.

This event has led to the mass questioning of AT&T business ethics. Are they really willing to stoop so low as to throw up product placement on an occasion such as this?

Sources:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/11/att-tweet-sept-11-controversy/2801591/

http://wpmedia.o.canada.com/2013/09/screen-shot-2013-09-11-at-1-13-24-pm.png?w=680

http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/09/10/wisconsin-golf-course-offers-9-11-special-on-9-11-apologizes-following-backlash/

Classmate Commentary:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/comm101sec105/2013/09/11/cheaper-iphone-will-cost-more-in-china/

https://blogs.ubc.ca/comm101sec105/2013/09/11/business-ethics-in-china/