Reply to Understanding Fairness… (External Blog)

Reply to N. Taylor Thompson blog post on the Harvard business review:

Your post reviews a very interesting case in which a company supposedly attempted to make its products more effect and accurate to its consumers thus making it more fair – you pay for what you use but on the other hand consumers interpreted it differently.

I understand your argument that the company could have predicted the way it escalated, however I disagree that it is that clear and easy to predict. As you yourself mentioned costumers attempted to punish Netflix for unbundling their services, while they did not thoroughly examine their new business model. Netflix is  good example that shows that not only companies and firms have to constantly plan and think; consumers (or at least rational consumers) should execute research and planning in their consuming decisions as well.

Reply to Day 7 of USA Government Shutdown

Replay to Edward Sim’s blog post:

Thank you for the brief overview of this important scenario. It seems as the US government will bring a major crisis upon itself if it does not act soon to restart the government’s schedule. In spite of the fact that economics crisis does not seem as close, history shows us how these appear when they are least expected. I personally believe US government should change its policies when theses things occur, as implemented in many other countries worldwide, for instance: instant break up of the government and immediate restructuring.

Hawaii’s Corn Fields

The following article discusses the problems Hawaii’s genetically modified crops. After the pineapple and sugar agricultural industries in Hawaii collapsed due to foreign cheaper imports producers and the government were looking for a new product to grow on Hawaii’s lands. The solution that came up was genetically modified corn, however this crop causes major unease to the residents living in Hawaii. Looking at the producers SWOT analysis, they did not see the threat of foreign imports on time. One of the major weaknesses of growing corn is that people living by the fields are suffering from major pollution and pesticides. This poses as a correct threat to the producers as individuals’ are acting against them however the Hawaii based producers supply most of the corn to the US, one of their stronger advantages. At the moment the Hawaiian producers should look for opportunities to produce in a cleaner manner and to avoid hurting local residents: since these companies have strong influence and power over the economy a possible solution to the problem could be purchasing land further away from residents or seeking cleaner pesticides thus prevent hurting the environment for instance.

Israel’s New Television Show

The “Rising Star” is Keshet’s brand new format with astonishing ratings reaching 49 percent on primetime television. The article overviews Keshet’s brand new concept and businesses model: the television screen and smartphones brought together. The new show is a live singing competition in which the audience themselves vote and decide whether the contestant continues to the next level or not: using their smartphones in real time. Keshet has been working on their “off screen” platform intensively lately as consumers shift away from the television screen for the mobility of the smartphones. As Keshet was aware of the growing threat it worked to provide a platform that allows consumers to watch all of their content on whichever device they are using. In spite of the fact that they tackled the smartphones’ curse on time Keshet was looking on ways to make the audience more involved and perhaps pull them back to the television screen. The attempt to combine these two markets resulted in this new form of market: live integrated television; at the moment one of the most successful television formats in the history of Israeli television.

BlackBerry’s Extra Office Space

The following article discusses Blackberry’s current situation. At the moment Blackberry owns around %15 of the total office market in Canada. As it lays off many workers as part of its attempts to reduce costs Blackberry is left with enormous amounts of unused office space. Blackberry is attempting to sell and rent some of their office space however demand for this size office space nowadays is very low. Blackberry should attempt to use its existing operations, manufacturing and development facilities in order to make profit. Blackberry has the resources to invest in new and upcoming startup companies or support new high tech companies by renting them space or resources for instance. In spite of the fact that Blackberry is struggling on the market these days it still hold onto 1.6 million square feet of office space, which if used in the right way and led to the right direction, could provide Blackberry with a large income from existing assets.