Month: September 2012

Since its strong public market launch in November 2011, Groupon, the pioneer of  online dealing service companies, has been losing its users, as its IPO(Initial Public Offering) of $26.11(NASDAQ)  declined to its present value of  $4.76.  Whether Groupon is desperate in the state that it currently occupies, or from its starting interest in a different market, the company has taken a new approach towards its value positioning in consumer’s minds.

Groupon has recently initiated a credit card payment business on Wednesday, September 19th, 2012. The company elaborates its new sector as a service that “lets restaurants, salons and spas, retailers and other local businesses accept credit card payments at a lower rate than other providers.” For instance, while stores that have deals with Groupon will  accept “.8 per cent for MasterCard, Visa and Discover cards, on top of a 15-cent fee per swipe” as their payments, stores without the contract with Groupon will charge “a higher rate of 2.2 per cent”. It is interesting to note that Groupon’s goal in incorporating this concept into their business is not to make an enormous profit, although plenty of opportunities can be foreseen; it plans to obtain “more data on how many customers bought deals, when they came into stores and how much they spent.””. If this plan results in success, it may be the only option that Groupon have in establishing its position in Internet-based Dealing enterprise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ4BIO-gtAs

Source Cited

BARR, ALISTAIR. “The Globe and Mail.” The Globe and Mail. N.p., 19 Sept. 2012. Web. 01 Oct. 2012. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/groupon-launches-credit-card-service/article4554437/>.

Photo Credits

Cohn, Emily. “Groupon Payments To Challenge Square, PayPal (PHOTO).” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 19 Sept. 2012. Web. 08 Oct. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/19/groupon-payments-square-paypal_n_1897233.html>.

Video Credits

“Trading at Noon: Groupon Gets Its Groove Back.” YouTube. YouTube, 19 Sept. 2012. Web. 08 Oct. 2012. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ4BIO-gtAs>.

Apple products have become prevalent electronic products during the first decade of the 21st century. Aside from their utility and fashion, apple products have a tragic story behind its illuminating cover. Foxconn is a Taiwan-based company that is responsible for most of the manufacturing of apple products. Many of their factories are based in mainland China, where the economy is thriving and the concept of minimum wage is obscure. Blinded by its pursue of maximizing the profit, Foxconn has neglected the working conditions of its employee in many of the factories in China. The degradation of the working conditions of factory workers has gotten to a point where in 2010, more than ten workers have jumped to his death. Critics have identified this astounding behavior as the extreme case of work-stress by the Chinese workers. “Over ten hour shifts, they are required to assemble 4000 computers”(http://chinalaborwatch.org/pro/proshow-98.html), changing tasks every 7 seconds.Foxconn’s unethical actions of treating its employees as faceless entities who serve for the benefit of the company have frowned many people promoting labor right justice and led the public to view it as the iconic symbol of a “sweatshop” in the 21st century.

You can watch the video of this tragedy here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3YFGixp9Jw

Source Cited

“Foxconn – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn>.

Chen, Michelle. “Foxconn Deaths Illuminate Deeper Tragedies in China’s Workforce.”Foxconn Deaths Illuminate Deeper Tragedies in China’s Workforce –. N.p., 2 June 2010. Web. 11 Sept. 2012. <http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/6051/foxconn_deaths_illuminate_deeper_tragedies_in_chinas_workforce/>.

Photo Credits

“Foxconn Employees Say Underage Workers Were Hidden Before FLA Inspection | Cult of Mac.” Foxconn Employees Say Underage Workers Were Hidden Before FLA Inspection | Cult of Mac. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2012. <http://www.cultofmac.com/147878/foxconn-employees-say-underage-workers-were-hidden-before-fla-inspection/>.

Video Credits

Sacom2005. “The Truth of the Apple IPad Behind Foxconn’s Lies.” YouTube. YouTube, 06 June 2011. Web. 08 Oct. 2012. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3YFGixp9Jw>.