I truly enjoyed a recent lecture in class, where as a class we talked about the success of Snapchat. This topic got me curious about the company, so I was able to find an article that talks about the recent success of the company. However, the article mainly criticizes the recent success of the company because the author feels that the youth are not a reliable judges of companies like this. Personally, I feel that I have to agree with the author’s analysis to a certain extent. In my opinion, his statement about how the youth constantly having fads is a possible reason why the youth are not suitable judges. I feel that most of the people in my generation and younger fall prey to following the cool thing, not the best thing. I even have to admit that this is one of my flaws because I too follow trends.

However, I feel that this should not tarnish the success that the company Snapchat has established. I feel that the company simply adjusted to the norms of society that we see today. They understood their market and appealed to them. In my opinion, the company should still be praised for their achievement

source: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303559504579202623459037550

I truly enjoyed reading the blog if Bozhen(Cap), where he talked about the recent decline of blackberry. He suggested different options that the company could take to help them achieve success once again. I will have to agree with the first suggestion, but not agree with his second suggestion. The first strategy that he recommended was the company could sell Blackberry to large software companies. I feel that this will be very advantageous for the company because they could recover the recent losses that they have incurred. This will also help the company improve their technology for their phones because giant software companies have the latest technology. The improvements in the specs of the phone from the high quality of the technology could help the company re-establish a customer base, thus may be restoring the brand to its former glory. I feel that this strategy, if done carefully and thoroughly will truly be advantageous for the brand.

However, I do not agree that they should still produce the same type of phones, until their machinery wares out. I feel that there is no longer a demand for their phones, so they should start innovating. These may help revive the company.

source:https://blogs.ubc.ca/libozhen/2013/11/09/blackberry-only-thorns/

http://ftalphaville.ft.com/files/2013/09/blackberry-logo1.jpg(image)

Reading through different blogs, one of the blogs that caught my attention is Shing’s blog about ethics in India. He talked about how tourism in India is significantly low compared to its asian neighbours. This is mainly because businesses in India have been cheating tourists. I agree that this is a very unethical practice done by both the small and big businesses in India. I also agree that poverty is one the reasons for these practices. Coming from the Philippines, I see unethical business practices everyday. This is something that needs to be changes because in all honesty no one likes to be cheated. I really feel that countries like India and the Philippines needs more discipline, so I agree that the government has to make a move. I feel that all types of businesses have more power than their consumers, but none of these businesses will have more power than the government. With the government imposing stricter laws and monitoring each business, I feel that companies will have to use fairer practices. I also feel that the government could help improve poverty by giving more opportunities for the less fortunate. I really hope that the government takes action.

Source: https://blogs.ubc.ca/shingtzewoo/2013/09/11/business-in-india-lacks-ethics/

http://nicolekraft414.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/ethics.jpg (image)

Recently, I have came across a blog that talks about Amazon.com, one of the most profitable companies that we know today. They talk about how the recent change in Amazon’s business model, and how Amazon has been constantly changing over the years. Then, they commented on how this strategy of Amazon is one of the many reasons why the company has built such a strong brand. I could not agree more with the statement that the bloggers have made. I feel that companies should follow this strategy because this allows them to stay a cut above the rest. In my opinion, the constant changes of Amazon has kept them up to date with technological changes, and has kept them interesting in the views of their consumers. However, the blog also mentions that the company had to pay “close to $14billion” for this change in strategy. I agree that changing one’s company will be very risky and costly, but personally I feel it is worth the risk. This will help the company have a longer life cycle and establish itself in the long-run. There is no doubt that this type of risk-taking is what separates the “Amazons” with the “Kodaks”.

source: http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/11/amazon-constantly-audits-its-business-model/

http://scm-l3.technorati.com/13/01/29/74795/amazon.jpg?t=20130129232715 (image)

Source:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke6ureLcpkk

(Please pray for the victims of this calamity)

Recently, I strong typhoon has devastated the country of the Philippines. This violent storm left nothing but destruction in its path. Plenty of lives have been affected by the recent natural calamity, lost of lives, houses and belongings were the end result. This is truly saddening, especially for me because I am Filipino. It was truly difficult to hear the news about the typhoon, and even more difficult to see videos of its destruction. This being the case, it was nice to see articles that talk about different people trying to help the victims of this event. In the article, I was able to read companies, such as the NBA, HSBC, JP Morgan and many more, are trying to do what they could to help. Personally, I feel that with their help, we will see the victims bounce back from this deadly storm. However, I am also proud to see that companies give more importance to social responsibility. I feel that this is truly an important responsibility for each company because it shows that they do care more than just profits. In my opinion, it is really a beautiful sight to see companies give back to the society.

Sources: (HBC), Global, and JP (JPMPRD). “Companies pledge millions to Philippines.” CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 12 Nov. 2013. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. <http://money.cnn.com/2013/11/12/news/philippines-typhoon-donations/>.

The past few lectures in my Comm 101 class, we had pleasure to of getting to know more about stocks. This is why this particular article from the New York times website was very interesting for me. The article talks about the increase in value for Asian shares this past week, especially with Japan, as shares have increased by a total of 7.6% this week. However, the article did not mention which companies have been preforming better as of late. This brings me to the next article, which I found in Reuturs.com. In this article, it was mentioned that 67% of the Nikkei companies have either exceeded or met expectations. This is truly remarkable because it shows that majority of Japanese companies have been operating in a profitable and efficient manner. This is why I truly admire this multi-national companies from Japan. However, the most interesting point of both articles is that the companies were able to use the fall of the Yen to increase value in their shares. This just proves that values of shares of companies will not only be based on internal, but external factors as well. Thus, helping me realize that stocks are a lot more complicated as I thought.

Articles:

Reuturs. “Japanese Shares Lead Asia Charge as Yellen Sounds All Clear.” The New York Times 13 Nov. 2013: n. pag.http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2013/11/15/business/15reuters-markets-global.html?src=busln. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.

” Nikkei scales 6-mth high, heads for best weekly rise in 4 years.” Nikkei scales 6-mth high, heads for best weekly rise in 4 years. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. <http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/15/markets-japan-stocks-idUSL4N0J006R20131115>.

http://images.moneysavingexpert.com/images/Stock_Market_Rise.jpg (image)