Banners for the Sony PS4 and Xbox One gaming systems hang at the GameStop Expo in Las Vegas in August. The two systems will be commercially available this month.

Resources: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/playstation-4-vs-xbox-one-review-how-they-match-up-1.2424315?cmp=rss

Sony’s launch of its PlayStation 4 on November 13^th has added more heat to the already-hot market of gaming consoles, selling more than a million units within the first 24 hours. The fire is sure to get even hotter with the impending release of Microsoft’s Xbox One. According to CBC.ca’s coverage of the launches, “PlayStation 4 vs. Xbox One Review: How They Match Up” at, it appears that two big questions, “Which one should I buy?” and “What’s the difference?” are what console buyers are asking. Both platforms show big improvements in the fidelity of how graphics are rendered, with both displaying major advances over their respective previous versions. Some elements are difficult to compare because they rely on the personal preferences and discrimination of each player. For example, stone walls and riverbeds in Call of Duty looked good on the old Xbox 360, but on the Xbox One they pop into three dimensions. A head-to-head comparison of the two platforms produces no huge difference between them because Sony and Microsoft use different approaches for gamers. The PS4 serves up a great controller and slightly better graphics at a lower price point, while the Xbox One offers more big games up front, with at least one of them likely to become a blockbuster. The two approaches demonstrate the importance of offering points of parity that ensure that each product meets the specifications that are required to be a contender in the market, yet also establish worthwhile points of difference that set each of them apart for the purpose of brand positioning and value proposition. We will see, as the holiday season plays out, which platform wins the hearts and minds of more consumers. Looks like it’s game on!

Reference: Nowak, Peter. “PlayStation 4 vs. Xbox One Review: How They Match up – Technology & Science – CBC News.” CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 13 Nov. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/playstation-4-vs-xbox-one-review-how-they-match-up-1.2424315?cmp=rss>.

Rescuers work after a building housing several garment factories collapsed in near Dhaka, Bangladesh, on April 24, 2013. After the deadly building collapse, Walmart released a list of factories it had banned. But it has continued receiving shipments from two of those factories

Resource: http://www.propublica.org/article/walmart-accepted-clothing-from-banned-bangladesh-factories

Some of America’s biggest retailers are facing pressure from many sources to improve safety practices in Bangladesh garment factories, following the collapse of the Rana Plaza near Dhaka. In response, Walmart has banned more than 200 factories from producing its merchandise due to serious safety issues, labor violations and/or unauthorized subcontracting; yet some of those factories are still shipping their products to Walmart stores. The retail giant claims that those shipments continue because the products are not a Walmart house brand.

Such a dubious ethical stance brings into question just whose standards such factories need to meet in order to be permitted to be sold by influential retailers such as Walmart.

While some retailers have already signed an accord to pay for fire and building safety upgrades of Bangladesh factories, Walmart has not yet done so, choosing instead to work on an alternative plan that the company claims will improve safety faster, but which is not legally binding.

Most logical people would consider it obvious that it is not a smart business practice to force employees to work in an unsafe or unhealthy environment. Such behavior might bring additional profits for a while, but eventually it will destroy the reputation of a company and its leaders. Worse, it can lead to dissatisfied workers, workplace injuries and illness, and even death. Is that the price we are willing to pay for a cheap shirt and a little extra profit?

References: Grabell, Michael. “Donate.” Top Stories RSS. ProPublica, 12 June 2013. Web. 08 Oct. 2013. <http://www.propublica.org/article/walmart-accepted-clothing-from-banned-bangladesh-factories>.