Cinnabon is everyone’s favourite indulgence. With over 500 bakeries, it’s hard to resist. The brand has rapidly expanded since its opening in 1985, with stores in mall food courts, a move to supermarkets, partnerships with fast-food chains such as Burger King and affiliations with popular brands like Pillsbury. They also added a variety of products including deluxe and miniature versions of their classic cinnabon among other products.

Kat Cole is Cinnabon’s president. She demonstrates what brand power and hard work can achieve. In late 2010, she was hired as Cinnabon’s chief operating officer, and three months after finishing her MBA, she was promoted to president. Under her guidance the chain has doubled and is open in over 54 countries. It has also reached the $1 billion mark in retail sales.

While under fire for the health risks that an 880 calorie cinnabon poses, both Cole and buyers were horrified. “Don’t mess with perfection”, said one respondent. The brand has reached its loyal customer base through numerous channels and is fulfilling that need for a delectable experience that each bite affords. Its’ main purpose is to offer each customer an escape into the heavenly pastry, and Cinnabon does its’ job well.

Picture-Cinnabon

Mourners outside a collapsed building in Bangladesh on May 14, 2013.

In Manveer Tatla’s Blog, she discusses the accountability employers have to their employees. In a fire, in a building Wal-Mart had used and reportedly closed for their clothing line, “Faded Glory”, 1,100 workers had been killed. Manveer states that, “Wal-Mart has the social responsibility to ensure that all of its workers, worldwide, work in a safe environment”. I agree with this statement, and I think companies should not take their employees for granted or blindly assume that their actions don’t have consequences.

This is not the first instance of unsafe working conditions. In Bangladesh alone approximately 1,800 employees have been killed in building collapses or fires since 2005. This and other incidences has prompted many large clothing corporations, including Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, to sign an agreement in which they will refuse to do business with factories that will not make improvements to factory conditions as well as offer up to $500,000 for repairs and inspections into retailers’ factories.

Hopefully these incidents will motivate other retailers into action to provide safe conditions for employees all around the world.

Sources:

Global News Article

A Google Street View car equipped to take pictures.

In a world where technology is improving at a rapid pace, ethics are often left behind. This was the case with Google’s Street View. The internet giant is in court over its illegal usage of emails, documents, phone calls, and other personal information from home computers.

Google has argued that all their information was easily accessible off Wi-Fi networks and does not violate any laws, but this has been rejected by the Court of Appeals of the Ninth Circuit.

Kathryn Barnett, who works for Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Berstein, a firm working for the 22 plaintiffs said, “Although technology continually advances, the right to privacy in our homes endures.”

When so much of our lives are shared on the internet, privacy is very important. Just because you can access someone’s information, doesn’t mean you should. Everyone has secrets and sometimes they should stay hidden. This is especially disappointing since the people that are being violated are Googles’ own users. People want their privacy respected, and it shouldn’t be such a struggle to comply.

With the lawsuit moving forward, hopefully more effective policies to help maintain the secure privacy of the public will be introduced.

Picture- L.A. Times

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