Is customization the way to go for McDonald’s or is Adams more accurate in claiming that McDonald’s focus should continue to be on

speed?

My classmate Tiffany Chen raises an important question for the future of the company.

Personally, I feel like this is a huge decision for the company therefore both sides need to be evaluated thoroughly. The idea of customisation is being adapted as companies are starting to realise that its very difficult to please everyone, so why not let consumers decide what they want? If anything goes wrong, they cannot blame the dish or the restaurant as they themselves dictated the recipe.

However, keeping up with their USP of fast services would allow them to remain in their current market of fast food, where the company is hugely successful. In addition, just like they have been doing for the past years, they could always introduce new, healthier options, ones that are quick to make but also satisfy the “healthy” need. Even though, when it comes to healthy, most consumers do not think of McDonalds as their first option, however having the USP of being fast proves favourable in terms of consumer decision.

In conclusion, I believe that the company has enough margin to tests new ideas, therefore customisation is surely worth a try.

“Social Media in Asia.” Social Media in Asia. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

SnapChat’s value and requests for acquisitions from large firms such as Facebook have been in the media eye quite a lot. The offers have been extremely high and this has shocked some people, as Snapchat is a new company. However, the even bigger shock came from the fact that the recently built company has rejected all of these offers.

Jiaqi Zhai’s blog post talks about the idea of differentiation as what makes SnapChat so unique. The company has been successful because it has found a niche in the market. Facebook and Twitter both have very questionable privacy policies.In the business world these websites are now being used to build your portfolio. Users have to be careful in what they post as a major way of recruitment by company’s today is through checking the applicants Facebook Profile. Therefore, we have to think twice before posting in either of these websites. SnapChat has followed Instagram in working as just a mobile app. Back to Jiaqi Zhai’s blog, the major differentiation is that users can have fun, not worry about privacy protection.In addition, they have found a new way of allowing teenagers to communicate with each other, via images and videos which is also a new concept for the “social media” market. The company has a strong value proposition and has found a very profitable niche in the social media market.

“Snapchat for Android Gets Video Capture and Sharing, Get Downloading.”UnleashThePhones RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013

Wortham, Jenna. “Rejecting Billions, Snapchat Expects a Better Offer.” NY Times. N.p., 13 Nov. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

There was recently a movement by the activists of Generation Basic Income Initiative in Switzerland to give basic monthly income to every one in the country- no deals, no work required. A fixed monthly income to everyone provided by the government. The sole purpose of this is to “help unleash creativity and entrepreneurialism” said Schmidt, one of the leaders of this activist movement.

Extra cash and savings can allow people to take more risks and do what they love doing. Therefore, this campaign is about allowing citizens to generate ideas and think bigger. I believe this is what entrepreneurship is all about: thinking big, doing what you love and taking risks. This movement is promoting entrepreneurship, hence the betterment of the country. Entrepreneurs are the future of the world we live in and this movement is fighting for a chance for all those people who have great ideas but need a helping hand.

They dropped 8 million (Switzerland’s current population) coins in front of the parliament in Bern, representing one coin for each citizen.

I’m supportive of the idea of encouraging entrepreneurial spirit however a problem with this movement is that people might become lazy after receiving a monthly payment. Nevertheless if some laws about employment or personal income are placed then this should work out well.

“Streets of Basel Paved with Gold: 15 TONS of Five Cent Coins Are Dumped on City’s Streets as Protesters Demand a Basic Minimum Income for Every Swiss Household.” Mail Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

Lowrey, Annie. “Switzerland’s Proposal to Pay People for Being Alive.” NY Times. N.p., 12 Nov. 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

Coy, Peter. “Swiss Initiative Would Give $2,800 a Month to Everyone—No Strings Attached.” BloombergBusinessWeek. N.p., 18 Oct. 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

Lululemons founder, Chip Wilson was recently seen as an ungraceful act. Instead of accepting his company’s mistake about their yoga pants, which were complained to be “see through”, he stated: “some women’s bodies just actually don’t work”, blaming his own customers for the failure of the product (See it for yourself on this link Lululemon Founder Chip Wilson Blames Women’s Bodies for Yoga Pant Problems).Lululemon, just like Zappos is known for its corporate culture and employee welfare.

In an interview he showed the world how much he cares about the effects that this would have internally as it will generate poor publicity, affecting the brand image of the company, hence decreasing motivation and eventually lowering productivity. However, no such concern was present about customer feelings. Chip Wilson, the CEO, who is sup

posed to influence the organisational behaviour of the company, has let them down. Even more so, he has publicly come forward to show his true personality. So where is the brand going from here?w later, Wilson clearly apologized his employees and told them how he could sympathize with what they were going through, given the current fragile position of the company. However, he did not apologize to his consumers. Where does this leave the company?

“Ideas.” Ideas What Lululemon Could Learn From Abercrombie About Fat Shaming Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

“Lululemon Founder Chip Wilson Plunges Company into PR Crisis | Marketing Magazine.” Marketing Magazine Lululemon Founder Chip Wilson Plunges Company into PR Crisis Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

“Lululemon ‘Second Chance Pant’ Still Triggers Complaints.” HUFFPOST BRITISH COLUMBIA. N.p., 13 Nov. 2013. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.

Suhay, Lisa. “Lululemon Yoga Pant Controversy: Namaste Turns Nasty.” The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Nov. 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

Would tourists want to get any closer to favelas?

The video “‪Social Entrepreneurs: Pioneering Social Change” correctly stated: “social entrepreneurs see opportunities where people see failures”. “Favelas” in Rio have carried extremely negative connotations and have been associated with the term “violence”, “danger”, “poverty” and “hopelessness”. However, an outsider named Elliot Rosenberg has surely seen the opposite perspective. Not only has he found a way to bring in money to the biggest Favela “Rocinha”, but he has also found the solution to remove the negativity that surrounds the place.

Rosenberg found a niche! He will be renting out places in the favela for tourists to stay for the upcoming sportive events in the country. The 2016 Olympics will surely need room for the millions of people who will come from around the globe. Living in a favela will not only give them a place to stay, but also allow them to be around what the majority of Brazil is like. Often tourists come to a city and get a relatively “ideal” perspective of the city, however this will give them a “realistic” view of what Rio is actually like. Eventually giving tourists a better understanding of the Brazilian culture!

What will Rosenberg do to convince tourists that it is a safe environment? How will he erase all the stereotypes ?

Field, Anne. “Helping Tourists Go Native In Brazil.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 13 Oct. 2013. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.

“Life in Favela of Rocinha, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.” : Kay Fochtmann- Germany. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.

“Social Entrepreneurs: Pioneering Social Change.” YouTube. YouTube, 18 Feb. 2009. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.

First it was Blockbuster’s turn to bid adieu to the business world and now studies show that TV viewership is also on the decline. According to the Business Insider, there has been a 50% decline on Cable TV viewership since 2002. Even though Television companies are constantly introducing new ways to keep watchers interested – such as the possibility to “record” our favourite shows so we can watch them when we desire or even the option to purchase or rent movies through TV, all these options have not been enough to keep viewers loyal. Strangely enough, I have not had a TV for over a month now, but it has not been immensely missed.

The attendance to movie theatres has also decreased in the past few years. According to Daily Mail UK, it has diminished by 40% since 2002. Viewers have found easier and cheaper ways to access movies online. In addition, not all countries get the movies released on the same dates. Having lived in Brazil, my friends and I have felt the frustration of waiting for the release of a movie in the country for months after it has been released in the States.  Therefore, not having much option, except for to wait, we have opted other ways to watch the movie, such as Netflix, which has always been a very reliable source.

“Are Americans Falling out of Love with Hollywood? Cinema Attendance Plummets to 25-year Low.” Mail Online. N.p., 24 July 2012. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.

“BRUTAL: 50% Decline In TV Viewership Shows Why Your Cable Bill Is So High.” Business Insider. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.

“Fix Netflix App for JellyBean 4.2.2 TV Players.” ANDROIDTVNEWS. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.

“Television Declining Rapidly As Shift To Online Entertainment Consumption Grows | Singularity Hub.” Singularity Hub. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.

Vincent, Alice. “Is Netflix the Future of TV?” The Telegraph. N.p., 23 Apr. 2013. Web. 15 Oct. 2013.

Discussions about Blockbuster in COMM 101 classes made me realize that if we were to sit down and think about how many businesses have failed due to the advance in technology we would be shocked! Just like CD’s, desktop computers are being exchanged for laptops, music players for I-pods and workers for machinery.

Those days when people actually went to stores to buy music CD’s are now history as ITunes and other informal businesses have made the download of music so much easier, quicker and cheaper (Even free in some cases!). According to the Telegraph, “nearly three in four independent record stores have closed down in the last decade (in Britain)”, which is an extremely shocking statistic and “only 13% of the people actually buy CD’s from stores”, according to a survey by the consumer Watch Dog.

Even though “Technological” means more profitable and these advances are great for businesses, they also require companies to constantly change and innovate. This is amazing for large organizations as they have funds but what about the small startups? How will they ever catch up?

Bibliography:

1.  Leopold, Todd. “The Death of the Home Stereo System.” CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 29 Sept. 2013.

2.”Three Quarters of All Independent Music Shops Have Closed down in the Last Decade.” The Telegraph. N.p., 27 May 2013. Web. 7 Oct. 2013.

Check out the amount of money spent on cancer research!

The medicine industry is a questionably unethical one as; the larger the numbers of people with a particular sickness or disease, the higher the profits that the medicine industry will make. Looking around the Forbes website, this striking article: “5 Signs You’ll Get Cancer” caught my attention. The video stated that: “Cancer is not better now, the war against cancer is being lost and cancer industry is a BILLION dollar one”. Apparently one of the largest causes of worldwide deaths has become an industry worth billions as chemotherapy and all  the drugs are outrageously expensive.

A lot of money is being made because instead of money being spent of research, more is being spent on the drugs to solve the issue. Therefore, they aren’t worried about preventative treatments but more about treating it once it has already hit your body. Should there be more money allocated to cancer research?  In addition, smoking which is one of the main causes of cancer in completely legal around the world, again because that too is a billion dollar industry. Therefore, where are the ethics of business here? Its legal to sell a product because it can boost the economy but the fact that it is causing deaths of millions is sneakily ignored! According to the UK Cancer Research, cigarettes caused more than a quarter of the cancer deaths.

1. ^{“5 Signs You’ll Get Cancer.” NewsmaxHealth. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2013.}
2. ^{Pollack, Andrew. “For Profit, Industry Seeks Cancer Drugs.” NY Times. N.p., 1 Sept. 2009. Web. 5 Oct. 2013.}
3.  ^{“Smoking Statistics – Smoking and Cancer.” Cancer Research UK. N.p., 25 Apr. 2012. Web. 6 Oct. 2013.}
4. ^{“National Cancer Institute.” Cancer Research Funding –. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2013.}

Both Facebook and Twitter caused a paradigm shift in communication, empowering the “social media” market.  However, even though they are both seen as rival companies as they came around the same time, I can visualize that they have different value propositions.

Facebook has the primary purpose to allow people to keep in touch with family and friends and share photos. However, Twitter came out with the idea of allowing expression and communication in fewer characters, and wanting people to freely communicate ideas around the globe. Twitter has based its IPO submission on the fact that it is a mobile technology, hence easy to use, practical for advertising. Personally, the first thing I do every morning is read the news headlines on Twitter. The website uses the idea of “trends”, “Retweets” and “account promotion” in order to advertise, in comparison to Facebook, it is a less subtle form of advertising people, products and ideas in general.  So are they rivals? Well they are because they are both working in the social media sector of the market, however, even though closely related they do offer different value propositions and segments of the market. Eventually, people confuse one with the other, which is a clear example of the companies trying to work in more than one segment, hence causing misperception for its users.

Works Cited :

1. BBC News. BBC, 13 Sept. 2013. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
2. Guglielmo, Connie. “The Twitter IPO: 20 Talking Points.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 03 Oct. 2013. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
3. “TWITTER IPO — TWTR IS NOT PRIMARILY A SOCIAL MEDIA PLAY.” The Slant. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
4.  “Twitter IPO vs. Facebook: Will TWTR Stock Suffer Worse Fate Than FB Debut?” International Business Times. N.p., n.d.

Whether it is being discussed in a Theory of Knowledge class or in a business environment, ethics causes conflict and engages discussions. However it also enhances us to broaden our perspectives. The Brazilian government for instance was just recently in the media eye when protests began regarding the intentions of the country leaders. Being a part of the government means that the “ethically correct” acton is as follows: use the money that you get from the taxes imposed from citizens to make their life easier and invest it wisely on the growth of the country. Just like businesses have responsibilities towards its shareholders, the government has one towards us: the public. However, Brazil’s government has had high taxes but not shown much development in the country. Coming form someone who has spent a decade in Brazil I can assure that the infrastructure is still poor. Public schools are synonyms to no education. Public hospitals are in no treatment condition! The inequality between the rich and the poor is still too big to imagine. Then where is the money of the citizens going? The Government is misusing the power that it has been given to charge extremely high taxes and implement very little change in the dynamics of the country. In addition, people who are trying to take a stand for their rights are being called “vandals”. Is it unethical to stand up for your own actions? We live in a world where the unethical party is getting away with everything because of their superiority and the ones fighting for the ethical action are being called “aggressive”! Police Response to Riots in Sao Paulo, Brazil – Check it out and see how people who are fighting for their rights are being treated!

Bibliography:

• “Personal Income Tax in Brazil.” AngloINFO Brazil. Everything for Expats Living in or Moving to Brazil. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2013.
• “Police Response to Riots in Sao Paulo, Brazil.” YouTube. YouTube, 17 June 2013. Web. 12 Sept. 2013.
• “Protests in Brasil : The Streets Erupt.” The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 18 June 2013. Web. 12 Sept. 2013.
• Romero, Simon. “Protests Fill City Streets Across Brazil.” The New York Times. N.p., 7 Sept. 2013. Web. 11 Sept. 2013.