Source: http://supercell-www-content.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/201401/cache/images/made/b136aec39c9210cd/CoC_titlescreen_2013_1440_727_c1.jpg

As an avid fan of the mobile application, Clash of Clans, I decided to do some more research into what has already struck me as an incredible business. Clash of Clans is an online mobile game created by Supercell, a company based primarily in Helsinki, Finland. What I find interesting about the sales portion of the game is that while the game itself is free to play, many players will still spend money on the game in order to progress more quickly due to their own impatience and pressure from their war teams. Supercell itself is a small company, and hearing of its small, devised organization reminded me of the class focused on marketing and decision making. Supercell is divided into multiple groups, each responsible for a different aspect of the company with almost complete power over that aspect. Other than schedules which they are to follow, there is nobody with complete power in the organization and the CEO himself states that his goal is to be “the world’s least powerful CEO”. The games themselves are played by millions of people around the world, though only five people are needed to keep them running. The small company and de-centralized business model helps efficiency in decision-making as well as a constant production of different and new ideas.

Source:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2013/04/18/the-2-4-million-per-day-company-supercell/

Stephanie Strom’s story in the New York Times regarding CVS Caremark and it’s decision to halt it’s sales of tobacco products brings into question the role of ethics in the world of business. Connecting this decision to Edward Freeman’s stakeholder theory, it may be determined that this company seeks to cease it’s tobacco sales in order to improve their brand name and become more appealing to the majority of their clients. Despite the fact that CVS Caremark would be losing profit initially, the company seeks to better their reputation so as to appeal to more potential clients. Consistency is an important attribute of any company, and so with this course of action, CVS Caremark seeks to appeal to their non-smoker clients as opposed to their smoking clients. In stopping their tobacco sales, CVS Caremark is encouraging their market to be healthy, which is consistent with their pharmaceutical nature. Connecting this situation to Milton Friedman’s essay, The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits, encouraging healthy living at the companies own expense could be considered a mistake; however, if one analyses the long term effects of this action it may be beneficial. The tobacco sales did not represent a significant percentage of profit for the company, and improving their brand name and reputation among the general public could prove to aid CVS Caremark in the future.

Sources:

http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ubc/reader.action?docID=10187339&page=171