“Buy one, give one” refers to a commitment that for each product sold a company will give the same product for free to the person in need, usually from an emerging country. The truth is that most companies include taking care of the poorer communities in their lofty mission statements, but their actions, although undoubtedly beneficial have rarely a permanent character. On the other hand, companies which committed themselves to “buy one, give one” initiative are not only providing a long-lasting help to the disadvantaged, but also give an extra value to their customers. Thus, “buy one, give one” can become a source of a competitive advantage, differentiating a company’s product from other products with a similar price and quality (1).

Ever since its introduction “buy one, give one” has been lauded as brilliant by many who stress the simplicity and the humane character of this novel idea.  Others criticize it for not addressing the real causes of the poverty, but only alleviating its painful results or even creating deadly competition for the local producers. Interestingly, the “buy one, give one” companies decided to take the critical remarks into consideration and started to look for better ways to  support the local communities (2). One of them is TOMS, a pioneer company, who was one of the first ones to promise to donate an exact number of the shoes it sold to the customers. Their most recent idea (launching today) is creating a virtual TOMS Marketplace for the products of the companies, which somehow support less developed countries. TOMS is giving to those companies a chance of bigger exposure and a chance of reaching more customers, while gaining a bigger diversification of product (3).

There seems to be no doubt that these kind of initiatives are the future for the charitable projects. The Internet seems to be the best possible channel to reach conscious customers, wanting to make a change with their purchases. Online shopping is not only continuously on the rise, annually attracting more and more customers, but also is easily reachable and transparent.  And all these factors combined increase greatly their  probability of success (1).

(1)http://econsultancy.com/ca/blog/63726-buy-to-give-is-philanthropy-a-natural-fit-for-ecommerce

(2)http://www.pri.org/stories/2013-10-08/toms-shoes-rethinks-its-buy-one-give-one-model-helping-needy

(3)http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/05/business/media/buy-one-give-one-spirit-imbues-an-online-store.html?_r=0

Undoubtedly, consumer behaviour lies in the centre of interest of all marketers. In the end, it is consumers who pull out their wallets or credit cards and decide on a particular purchase contributing to the profits of the company. However, does that mean that they are completely aware of the decisions they are making? In other words, are they rational in their choices?

Many researches aimed at answering this question by listing multiple factors such as psychological, social or situational which affect consumer’s decision process. There have been also many studies on the shortcuts consumers take in order to shorten the tedious process of making up one’s mind in the presence of ever growing number of products and services. However, the debate on how good consumers are at weighting out the pros and cons of their decisions remains open and each year brings new contributions to the subject.

One of the books devoted to the subject of decision making is Dan Ariely’s book titled Predictably Irrational. The book comprises of Ariely’s research on the rationality of consumer’s choices providing interesting insights for both marketers and consumers. Apart from its informative value Predictably Irrational is a great read demonstrating how irrationality affects all aspects of our lives. One of the very first concepts introduced by the author is the power of a decoy, defined as a slightly worse version of a given item. The choice between two equally attractive options is difficult to predict, however if one of them becomes accompanied by its decoy a great majority of consumers tend to turn to the better counterpart, completely overlooking the equally attractive alternative. Surprisingly, this holds true not only in the world of marketing where it is vastly applied, but also in the realm of dating. Thus, Ariely humorously advises to pick wisely whom to take with to meet women or men on a Friday night. The book does not completely resolve the mystery of decision making, nor aims at doing that, but it certainly makes one much more aware of the intricacy of this supposedly known process.

Dan Ariely: Are we in control of our own decisions?

source: http://www.ted.com/talk/dan_ariely_asks_are_we_in_control_of_our_own_decisions.html

Nowadays the most successful product is a product which stands out, which has a unique feature that fulfills specific consumer’s need or desire, a product which adds value. Even though the receipt for success seems relatively simple the ability to deliver that extra value is a great achievement and its undermining has driven many out of business. However, those who managed to take advantage of value-adding enjoy substantial profits and are unlikely to stay behind in the race. Is there any chance that an undergraduate commerce student can benefit from learning about adding-value strategies long before being responsible for designing strategies for products in big corporate companies?
If we conclude that on the job market what constitutes a sophisticated product is an employee then we can assume that marketing of people should be done just like the marketing products – by adding value. Despite obvious differences in both types of marketing, this tactic seems to be extremely successful and has been widely advocated as a helpful tool to stand out in ever more competitive job market. Thus, to be able to compete for an attractive internship good university degree is no longer enough, the source of advantage is this elusive extra value that an intern or an employee adds when joining the company. It can be many different things. An exceptional skill a person decided to develop, an innovative approach towards specific problem, an interesting experience. Whatever the source of added value is it should be well-considered and chosen with a specific goal in mind. The successful marketing plan of oneself sends a clear message to the employer that the applicant is aware of how the market works and what are its needs in terms of skills. It also reveals an ability to look ahead, come up with a plan and execute it. It shows that one has a vision and although it is bound to undergo changes overtime it is never too soon to start shaping it.

source: Friedman, Thomas L. The Internship: Not the Movie, The New York Times, 2013 Jun 8

Year 2008 came down in history as the time of worst recession the modern economies saw since the Great Depression of 1930s. With millions of people losing their jobs and struggling to make both ends meet it became extremely difficult to accept the fact that the main reason behind their dramatic situation seemed to be human greed. However, the blame did not fall only on people directly responsible for the crisis. Eyes of many turned to the institutions which nurtured them, their alma maters, their business schools. Many started asking what can be done to promote ethical behavior among aspiring businessmen and businesswomen. There is no doubt that a business school is usually a very competitive environment, but just as often, along with ambition and drive there is a great amount of creativity and a strive for making the world a better place. However, it is common knowledge that good intentions aren’t enough and can quickly be overridden especially under unfavorable conditions. What is then the best way to prepare oneself to face ethical dilemmas of the real business world? An insight into that problem is offered by the professor Jon Haidt, who in 2011 left the Department of Psychology at the University of Virginia to develop a course in ethics at the NYU Stern School of Business. According to Haidt the key to tackle unethical behavior is not underestimating it as a threat towards our moral principles. By familiarizing his students with famous psychological experiments such as Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment he aims at showing how easily individuals can conform to and even internalize/appropriate unethical behavior. This awareness seems to be crucial in building up the strength to oppose immoral practices. Thus, the best tactic to ethical behavior seems to be staying alert and modest. And never letting your moral compass out of sight.