Despite BlackBerry’s multiple attempts to create new products, the company is no longer a recognizable competitor next to Apple Inc.’s iPhones, and Google Androids.  The struggling company announced a $4.9 billion deal with FairFax Financial Holdings, a group of investors who want to privatize the corporation. Once a strong competitor, BlackBerry was capable of preventing this collapse.

With rapid technological innovation in the handheld electronic market, Blackberry was too late to implement new features. While most consumers switched to a touch screen, BlackBerry battled to stay loyal to their design and continued producing a keyboard. Also, instead of incorporating popular apps, BlackBerry continued to develop phones with only preliminary business features. Evidently, the company was behind in design until the release of the latest BlackBerry Z10. At this time however, consumers already abandoned the company, and the Z10’s unsuccessful launch onto the market resulted in $980-million worth of unsold phone inventory ¹. The financial setback was a leading influence in BlackBerry’s decision to sell their remaining shares to Fairfax.

Due to Apple’s and Google’s substantial brand power, surpassing their sales would require an entirely unique model. Nonetheless, if the company  took advantage of new features sooner while also producing their original brand, BlackBerry could have stayed a competitor in the market.

1: The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2013. http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2013/09/blackberry

Figure 1:

http://images.clipartof.com/thumbnails/46292-Royalty-Free-RF-Clipart-Illustration-Of-A-3d-Blue-Robotic-Hand-Pushing-Touch-Screen-Buttons.jpg

Figure 2: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=blackberry+Z10&go=&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=blackberry+z10&sc=8-14&sp=-1&sk=#view=detail&id=24E33E1D4121E17064D5A54B8199A2BDEEBB835E&selectedIndex=1

Leopold, Todd. “BlackBerry’s Dwindling Users Ponder an Uncertain Future.” CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 28 Sept. 2013. http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/23/tech/mobile/blackberry-users-future/index.html

Corporations should be ethically responsible for ensuring their suppliers are abiding legal safety regulations.

A fatal factory collapse in Bangladesh influenced Walmart’s decision to ban over 200 Bangladesh factories from manufacturing their products due to safety problems, labor violations and unauthorized subcontracting. However, according to U.S. customs records, at least two of the manufacturers have been sending shipments to Walmart. Walmart claims the shipments passed through customs due to confusion surrounding the labeling, but accepted the garments anyway. Meanwhile, one of the manufacturer’s deputy manager directors explained he was not even aware of being black-listed and had sent out another shipment recently.

By continuing to accept shipments from their banned factories, Walmart supports violation of safety regulations and demonstrates poor business ethics by participating in endangering people’s lives. As Milton Friedman suggested in Corporate Ethics and Corporate Governance, a company’s ethical responsibility is to increase profits so long as it is without deception. Walmart failed this responsibility when it received the shipment of garments that passed through customs with deceiving labels. Before continuing any business with Bangladesh manufacturers, Walmart should ensure safety regulations are being followed and refrain from any deceiving activity.

My links:

http://www.propublica.org/article/walmart-accepted-clothing-from-banned-bangladesh-factories

http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ubc/docDetail.action?docID=10187339&page=171

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