I am responding to the blog post “Going Green for Money“, by Jason Sidhu. In his blog Jason Sidhu states that companies are now not only going green for just the environment, but they are saving money by doing so as well. Sidhu argues that companies are now investing in a more efficient way of producing and are saving money. Companies such as Frito-Lay are “becoming more sustainable, [and] they are increasingly cutting costs and having a positive social impact“. Not only are they gaining popularity and helping to sustain the environment, but they are cutting back on production costs and their profit margins are increasing.

With all of this being said, there are some companies that ” “greenwash” consumers by claiming they are sustainable when they are not”. This is a new “strategy” which is emerging because companies know that consumers tend to buy green products and so they show that they are focusing on being environmentally friendly, yet they are not “following through with their green claims”.

All in all, the consumer has to be extremely cautious when buying into these ‘green claims’ set by companies. One way to determine if the product is really green is by being able to recognize and identify labels. Although, there may be food products which claim to be biodegradable the consumer should be able to recognize what the label means and figure out how much time is required for it to biodegrade.

As more and more people are buying the iPhone 5, Samsung is coming out with new techniques of marketing to promote the Samsung Galaxy S III. The rivalry between the Samsung and Apple has been brewing for a while, and now it is reaching new levels where Samsung directly targets iPhone 5 buyers and mocks them for purchasing it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf5-Prx19ZM

This advertisement which has aired on many networks, shows loyal Apple customers waiting in line to purchase “the next big thing” and Samsung ironically mocks the customers and claims that “the next big thing is already here”. This is a very creative marketing strategy and it seems as though it is working; shown by the increase in sales of Samsung S III phones. Even though Apple won the major lawsuit and sued Samsung, the sales for the Galaxy S III did not decline as shown in the chart below. In fact, the sales for the S III inclined when the final verdict for the lawsuit was released and also when the iPhone 5 announcement was made.

This new marketing approach is indeed helping the S III sales because it has a different style and is appealing to the audience; it is ultimately attracting more consumers towards the S III who eventually purchase the phone. The irony placed in these advertisements is extremely entertaining and thus the S III is gaining popularity.

Apple is one of the most iconic companies in the world and it recently released its fifth generation Iphone. However, the release of the  Iphone 5 was overshadowed by the iOS 6 maps mishap. Since Google pulled out its maps software from Apple, a new software was developed, which quickly fell considerably short of consumers’ expectations. In fact, the iOS 6 software update as a whole compared to iOS 5 has proven to be dis-satisfactory among users.

The Apple Ceo, Tim Cook, has felt some of the brand loyalty weaken and in response has issued a personal apology for falling short on expectations. The iOS 6 software has more drawbacks than benefits and this has enraged a lot of loyal Apple customers. Tim Cook’s apology letter is just one way of recovering brand loyalty, what other steps can be taken to further strengthen brand loyalty?

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Business ethics is how people in the business world should perform and react to different circumstances and events. It is the set of moral standards that individuals and organizations in commerce go by. The article that I have selected is based around the possibility of an NHL lockout and how the players, owners, and the league are interacting. “The NHL is looking for an awful lot, too much too fast” and the players aren’t being able to digest it and agree. NHL wants to reduce the share of the players by a ridiculous 14%. This means that there is going to be a hefty cut of 24% in a player’s average annual salary. The two sides are miles apart from coming to an agreement and as judgment day approaches it can easily be presumed that there will most definitely be a lockout. The NHL and players will both be affected by this greatly, but the real losers are the fans. The fans are the ones who pay for ridiculous salaries of players and this is how NHL repays them; by commencing another lockout.