Day: September 26, 2014

Chang Lao’s blog post on the poor business ethics of KFC highlighted the violation of basic moral values. According to reports, KFC’s chickens have been fattened with illegal drugs and their ice cubes had 13 times more bacteria than their toilet water. This harms the business’ reputation, and I completely agree with Aiken that the KFC “will lose the trust of their consumers…[and face] a decline for their company.”

I decided to do more research on other fast food chains, more specifically McDonald’s, to see if they practiced similar ethics as China’s KFC. According to Forbes, a recent scandal reported that Shanghai Husi Food Co, a supplier to McDonald’s and KFC in Shanghai, “reused meat that had fallen to the factory floor, as well as mixing fresh and expired meat.” As a result, Husi was shut down and both fast food companies have switched suppliers.

I believe such practices are an extremely poor application of business ethics. These acts put the health of consumers at risk and can further damage the reputation of these chains. Despite the claims that fast food chains are switching to better, safer suppliers, these scandals that have surfaced multiple times placing an increased distrust among consumers. I personally try to avoid these fast food chains as much as possible because I know that these companies use fillers, chemicals, and preservatives to make their foods taste great, look more appealing, and even last after a full year. Nevertheless, many consumers still flock to this fast food chain because it is quick, convenient, and filling. McDonald’s still remains the number one fast food chain in the world and it does not seem to be drastically losing shares despite their poor safety and  moral ethics.

References

Lao, Chang. “CLASS 3: BUSINESS ETHICS – KFC.” Weblog post. Chang Lao’s Blog. WordPress, 8 Sept. 2014. Web. 27 Sept. 2014. <https://blogs.ubc.ca/aikenlao/2014/09/08/class-3-business-ethics-kfc/>

Solomon, Brian. “McDonald’s, KFC Snagged By New Food Safety Scandal In China.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 21 Sept. 2014. Web. 27 Sept. 2014. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolomon/2014/07/21/mcdonalds-kfc-snagged-by-new-food-safety-scandal-in-china/>

“Top 10 Global Fast-Food Chains.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. <http://www.forbes.com/pictures/feji45ihfj/1-mcdonalds-4/>

Image

Davies, Sally. Happy Meal, Day 180. Digital image. Treasure Hunt Adventure. On Topic Media, 12 Oct. 2010. Web. 26 Sept. 2014. <http://www.treasurehuntadventure.net/mcdonalds-food-indestructible/1/>

I came across this video while checking  Twitter and I found it to be interesting, yet at the same time, appalling. We have all heard and seen the outrageous line ups for the release of Apple’s brand new inventories. The most popular items include the iPhones in which dedicated Apple consumers line up for hours, even days, to get their hands on one. With the recently release of the iPhone 6, people still lined up outside stores of course, but not with the original intention.

For past iPhones, consumers lined up because of pure excitement and interest in the Apple product itself. Like any loyal consumer, after waiting long hours to get into the store and finally buy one with their own hard-earned money, they would normally start using the device, testing out its features, and sync it with their other devices. The video shows people lining up for an entirely different purpose. At first, it seems that all these customers are in line to buy the iPhones for personal use. However, once they start walking out of the store with 2, 3, even full bags of iPhones, you start to get suspicious. As the camera shows, the consumers already started selling the phones to other people who paid in pure cash. We can assume that the original consumer sold the phone for more than they bought it, therefore making some profit.

This leads to a correlating article that states that in China, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are being sold for $1430 and $2400, respectively, by smugglers wanting to make a brisk profit. Although the black market, is profitable for the smugglers, I believe that it is an unethical way of making money and is ultimately detrimental to the economy. First of all, if a good part of the consumers purchase multiple iPhones just to sell it to other people, most of Apple’s target market is not reached. With most of the inventory sold to customers that do not really care, the consumers that actually value Apple products for its features and efficiency miss out on purchasing a phone right away and are put off. Apple may lose some of its devoted consumers and may need to end up cutting prices of their products. The black market negatively affects the economy as a whole in ways in which taxes are lost and unfair competition arises. It is insane to see smuggling and the black market thrive within the world of technology and I believe if Apple does not capitalize on this issue, serious consequences will result.

References

CaseyNeistat. “Black Market Takes Over the iPhone 6 Lines.” Online video clip. Youtube, 20 September 2014. Web. 26 September 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef_BznBwktw#t=369>

Wan, William, and Liu Liu. “IPhone 6s Being Sold for Insane Amounts of Money in China.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, 22 Sept. 2014. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/09/22/iphone-6s-being-sold-for-insane-amounts-of-money-in-china/>

Image

Neistat, Casey. Digital image. Cult of Mac. Cultomedia Corp., 22 Sept. 2014. Web. 26 Sept. 2014. <http://www.cultofmac.com/297103/video-shows-black-market-took-iphone-6-lines/>