Miranda Liu's blog

The resent class discussion brought up topics on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and many classmates of mine had already incorporated it into their blog posts (Rida Wang’s “The Motivation Behind CSR” and Rehman Ahamed’s “Is the Motivation Behind CSR Profit or Ethics”). They notice that, firms peruse CSR not merely out of ethical concerns but also commercial motivations.

I want to dig deeper into whether or not there exist tradeoffs between these two goals and how firms promote their CSR roles.  According to Freeman’s speech on business ethics, the amazing result of creating shared value is that it does NOT require a tradeoff. He stated that the profit of the firms, shareholders and by-standers are seamed together; in striving to be ethical, firms becomes abler to make profits.

Based on this logic, I disagree with Rehman Ahamed is his argument over the necessity of conducting business purely out of compassion. For the same reason, I agree with Rida’s claim that it does NOT matter if the firms’ motives are make profits.

In the article titled “product positioning” we learnt about the importance of effective advertisements in helping firms capturing customers. CSR is not a new thing for firms, and many are using it as a mean to promote sales. For example, H&M followed Dove’s pattern and embarked on the campaign for women. However, H&M’s approach generated negative feedbacks, which criticized H&M’s campaign as “hypocritical, not empowering” (as written in Saskia Bamber, a blogger). She not only reported that H&M reduces cost by exploiting refugee children, she also targeted at its failure in adjusting sizes so that female of all body types fit in.

Bamber’s comment—“H&M makes the sincerity of this representation very hollow” —remind me that merely filming inspiring and compassionate ads do not count toward firms’ CSR. Consumers nowadays are tracking companies’ actions to make sure that they perform according to their claims. In order to really achieve CSR roles, businesses should “emphasize the cause area they are impacting” (Polizzotoo, 2015). Additionally, it is essential for them to publicize the actual benefits brought to the society. For example, after Toyota initiated  the “100 Cars for Good” campaign, it kept the public updated with how individuals’ lives are made better, thus inspiring people and welcome them to learn more about the organization.

A successful CRS ad focuses on details

To sum up, the motivation of companies claiming CSR roles is less important than what they actually achieve. In order for their CSR to be effective, they must convince the public through concrete actions.

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TORRANCE, Calif. “Third Annual Toyota 100 Cars For Good Program Continues to Impact Nonprofits’ Work.” TOYOTA. N.p., 13 July 2013. Web.

I had experienced a warm winter in New Jersey in 2015.  It had been a bless to me: not only was there no need to shoveling the backyard, I also spent little money buying new jackets and boots.

My neighbors also guessed that the low snow removal costs must be a delight to city organizers of Boston, which usually spends into a deficit to pay for snow-melting materials and equipment and wages for various personnel. These expenses, in turn, would result in higher taxes and, according to economic theories, compromise market efficiencies.

However, after learning about sustainability and re-examining incidences due to global warming, I felt I was too naïve to cheer the unusual warmth. Although in many places people enjoyed a saving in heating bills and transport companies were happy with low gasoline prices due to the fall in the demand for energy, retailers had suffered tremendous losses.

For example, John Lewis had a 0.6% fall in sales in November, 2015. Many retailers also complained that, even though they discounted heavier than the previous three years to clear stock, the trading was disappointing. It was reported that, the sale of boots of the U.S. were down 3 percent because of the weather.

As a result, marketers now use the weather to predict sales. Companies whose business model are more suitable for this new approach win the game. Zara, one of the winners, has the capability to cope with weird temperature patterns because, as answered by Jesús Echevarría, a high officer at Zara’s parent company, “it starts each season with a very low commitment to any style”. Zara’s production decisions are based on daily feedbacks from its stores worldwide rather than on preset plans. As a result, Zara is more flexible in making changes to its supply than other companies.

Unfortunately, such optimistic attitudes are false. Recently, professionals have grown fearful to the gloomy economic and environmental consequences due to global warming. The Union of Concerned Scientists summarized four categories of systematic impacts of global warming. The most direct affect was on the infrastructure that constitute private properties and public transportations and facilities. It is followed by the loss of social productivity, after the pace of daily business as well as education slows down. Eventually, people become “climate refugees”, engaging in migrations that lead to civil unrest and requires high coping costs.

Ikea is taking the lead by acting environmentally considerate

My research reveals how sustainability goal should be the core of every business because consequences stated above twist the entire business landscape and push every industry to their doom. Firms are fundamentally a conglomeration of decisions, which generates externalities. In order to avoid stepping into destructions, every single firm must start focusing on creating shared values for the society as a whole.

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                             Work Cited

"Boston to Set Record for Most Dollars Spent on Snow Removal." Boston.com. The New York Times, n.d. Web.27 Oct. 2016.

Butler, Sarah. "Warmer Autumn Weather Triggers Coat and Knitwear Discounts." The Guardian. GuardianNews and Media, 2015. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.

"Retailers Feel the Heat of Lost Winter Clothing Sales ..." N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.

"How Weather Affects Marketing - Home | Under The Influence with Terry O'Reilly | CBC Radio." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 2015. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.

"Global Warming Effects on the Economy." Global Warming Effects on the Economy. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct.2016.

 Fontinelle, Eric. "7 Ways Climate Change Affects Companies." Investopedia. N.p., 2010. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.

To upgrade the company image is financially and strategically demanding. Huawei, a Chinese smartphone company, has captured the media’s attention because its transformation is conspicuously successful.

Huawei, as cited by CNN, used to be “a brand of low-end, cheap smartphones” that satisfies the “ant tribe community”, constituted of young individuals who share the demand for advanced electronic devices but are not affluent enough to afford them.

Therefore, it is astonishing to know that Huawei has climbed up the ladder, becoming the third most powerful mobile firm under Apple and Samsung. Huawei makes such progress by discovering new customer segments and serving them with products that represent the company’s new value proposition.

One of the first key steps Huawei took was to build connection with high-profile partnerships. For example, Huawei had invited Leica, a German photography company, to design the duel lenses for its smartphone. Huawei also brought in Swarovski for fashionable inputs for its smartwatch.

In the meantime, Huawei invested heavily in ad campaigns. In an effort to win the favor of the European customers, Huawei asked popular European soccer teams and athletes to sponsor for the brand. Aiming to reinforce its honorable image, Huawei put up its ads exclusively on flagship stores in downtown and often the banners cover the entire building.

“Aesthetic Design Centre” in Paris— Huawei aims to improve customer’s shopping experiences

However, feedbacks somehow got stuck with the fact that Huawei “lacks the cachet or consumer loyalty that Apple and Samsung do.” A researcher stated that customers continue “upgrading their phones to an iPhone6S or iPhone 7” because they are attached to App Store (Ana Ablaza, 2016).

Huawei has also been working hard on product innovations, which includes water-resistant features, noise reduction, low electromagnetic radiation…etc. But are they attractive enough to gain customers from Apple or Samsung? According to “Rule of Three and Four” by Bruce Henderson, “all except the two largest rivals will be losers.”

Huawei had beat Apple once with the sales in China, and salesmen at some European smartphone shops are already advising customers that “maybe Huawei is better” than Samsung (Goralczyk). A Huawei phone costs 2000RMB, while an iPhone 7000RMB.  But many Huawei users had purchased their phones at a much lower price— around 300 RMB.  Whether or not Huawei’s new market orientation deters its most desperate customers is not clear.

Furthermore, there are no statistic about the constituent of Huawei buyers— it is possible that while less affluent “ant tribes” and less demanding elder individuals find Huawei satisfying, the young generation that grows up on Samsung or Apple products and those who are already loyal to either of them won’t give Huawei a chance.

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Work cited

Shepard, Wade. “China’s Huawei ‘Growing Up’ To Become The World’s No. 1 Smartphone Brand.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.

Stout, Kristie Lu. “Would You Buy a Huawei Smartphone?” CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.

By Adopting the Innovative User-scenario-based Design, We Have Been Able to Develop Products That Are Easy to Install and Use. Based on Our In-depth Understanding of User Scenarios, We Applied Ergonomics Engineering in Product Design to Make Our Products Conform to the Engineering Habits and Skill Requirements of Users. “To Receive a Timely & Appropriate Reply, Please Select a Field for Your Query.” Customer Satisfaction Management. N.p., 2014. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.

Ablaza, Ana. “Huawei Smartphones SurpassApple IPhones’ Sales in China.” Yibada RSS. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.

Business ethics direct operations to ethically correct paths. While maximizing profits is the ultimate goal of doing business, business ethics aim to protect consumers and the society. Examples are taxes on alcohols and limits on sugary-drink sales.

Business ethics also take part in complicated issues such as drug dealing or armament smuggling. Abortion, of course, counts as one of them. So how do business ethics intervene in abortion and is the results satisfying? 

Pro-abortionists argue that, unwanted children burden their family and will probably not contribute much to the society. In the U.S, an anti-abortion super bowl ad by football player Tim Tebow cost as much as “$2.5 to $2.8 million”, and as if challenging it, in 2015, a company called Planned Parenthood opened 16 abortion clinics in the country.

Abortion has become a justified business operation; it leaves huge impacts on the economy and is controversial at the same time. For these reasons, it is understandable why business ethics feel the need to step in.

An article titled Responding to Economic Arguments for Abortion explains how children stipulate economic growth. Their demands on goods and services lead to market enlargement and employments, said the article. Economist Julian Simon also pointed out children’s capability of “being a positive return on the investment in them” when approaching their early middle-years. Laura Antkowiak, author of the article, especially stressed the importance of the possible “talents and the creativity” of the unborn.

Just as what we learnt, individual household is the fundamental unit of our community. Under this knowledge, I come to understand why countries, such as the U.S., put efforts in outlawing abortion. The Supreme Court had put down Abortion-Business regulations of Texas, and abortion had become a felony in Oklahoma — there have to be utilitarian reasons acting as pillars to any moral justifications.

However, I think of anti-abortion movements not as wise as it is efficient. Concrete evidences show that overpopulation does lead to poor living standards and environmental issues. “Yes or no” answers to abortion issues cannot function well because thinking at margin applies to policy makings as well as decision makings. Maybe it is the reason why China opens up the second-child policy but does not go beyond that.   

Wind, Rebecca. Digital image. Abortion Patients More Likely to Be Poor in 2014 than in 2008. Guttmacher Institute, n.d. Web.

Business ethics on abortion have room for improvements. Scales that measure the necessity of abortion should be helpful. For example, a middle-class family with two working parents have privilege to abortion as oppose a wealthy family with one parent staying home; parents already having children can go for abortion while those who have none cannot… Organizations that plan for adoptions prior to the childbirth also eliminate wastes on human resources.

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By Laura Antkowiak, NRL Research Assistant. “Responding to Economic Arguments for Abortion.” Abortion. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.

NEWS, By CNA/EWTN. “Supreme Court Strikes Down Texas Abortion-Business Regulations.” National Catholic Register. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.

Monkovic, Toni. “Should CBS Have Allowed the Tebow Ad?” The New York Times. The New York Times, 2010. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.

“America’s Biggest Abortion Business: Planned Parenthood Opens 16 Abortion Clinics in 2015 | LifeNews.com.” LifeNews.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.

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