In the world of fashion, one can buy a dress for just $6.95 from H&M retail, while I spend more than that at Starbucks! Starbucks may be just one big rip off, but it makes me question, the quality of the clothing, and the underlying incentives the retailers may have; like pricing items questionably low to encourage customers to actually buy more than they would if the prices were high, making more profit. The cost for Chinese labour is increasing, however retailers must think strategically that if they up their prices, their profits will likely decrease. Retailers have to cut their prices in order to meet the equilibrium price and quantity, which has shifted due to a change in expectations by the customers. For a retail store to be successful they must constantly be on their toes ready to increase or decrease their prices according to customer’s willingness to buy, and economy scale. While the margins are fairly high now, with the continually rising manufacturing cost, it will be difficult for retailers to maintain those low prices, meaning they will have to lower their prices or bring in less profit. Until this happens, right now is the prime time to shop, shop, shop! 

WORK CITED: “H&M OFFERS A DRESS FOR LESS” – Canadian Business Magazine

BP is intentionally not going into deep analysis of the causes of the oil spill, ultimately in protection of the company’s image. Repositioning the competitor discussed in Positioning of a Product, relays that by convincing consumers to view the competitor in a different way is an effective strategy to gain the consumer’s mind. In this situation, it’s not another competitor, it’s themselves. If they were to give an in-depth analysis it may open a bottle of bad decisions on their behalf, giving the company a negative image.

This outlines the company’s business ethics – they are more concerned about protecting the company rather than facing the consequences of their faults and learning from them! “Mark Bly, head of safety and operations for BP PLC, told a National Academy of Engineering committee that a lack of physical evidence and interviews with employees from other companies limited BP’s study.” That limits their study to a degree, but by making conclusions without examining the drilling rig limits their study even MORE; contributing to the imposition of the analysis being incomplete. 

BP did not have access to samples of the cement, yet they reported that the cement failed? This is misleading and erroneous, just as the $15/unit was in the Lieber case. “[They] ignored many red flags!” and it shows! In their eyes sacrificing their moral integrity by lying isn’t worth the bad rep for their wells.

 Work Cited:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/experts-question-bps-take-on-gulf-oil-spill/article1726504/
word count: 194 excluding quotes

Welcome to UBC Blogs. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Former Basketball player/coach, Peter Boettke, now a proffessor at George Mason University(GMU), combined his economical knowledge, creative intellect, and good ethics to arrange the Universities Basketball team. The University had no funds to recruit top basketball talent, and therefore had to spark a new innovative strategy if there was going to be a GMU team.  

GMU recruited players no one else wanted; those deemed too fat or too short. With the conventions of society today, by unconscious thought you may laugh and think that this team would not have gone far. This team of black horses came close to winning basketball’s biggest crown! Boettke played the game fairly, taking ethical actions – he did not cheat his way to get money or make sneaky loopholes in the rules (as did RyanAir) to get the best players; yet he still stepped outside the conventions and ended up with a very successful team. 

With a rational strategy in mind Boettke chose players that were highly motivated, thinking that their motivation and readiness to work hard would ignite a flame that would reach great heights. “There is one and only one social responsibility of business–to use it resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game,” this applauds Boettke’s actions. You can be a good citizen, and excell in business!!!

 http://topics.pe.com/article/07q2a9x7zhfvIq=Virginia
http://www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/libertarians/issues/friedman-soc-resp-business.html
word count: 196 excluding quote

I enthusiastically agree that in order for a business to be successful they must create value – worth and importance, for customers, supplyers, employees etc. Values in general influence attitudes and behaviour. If people know they are an important asset to the organization or company that will induce the confidence for them to speak up and voice their ideas and thoughts. By knowing that your not just a spec on a large counter top, but rather a valuable and important appliance, ready to contribute when and where needed, makes for a much more positive attitude toward ones job. Those who feel they are valuable in the workplace will be more engaged, job satisfied, and will work hard to prove that they ARE indeed important. Treating all groups in the organization with equal importance will benefit all individuals, producing greater productivity and success for the business. Those who lack value in an organization won’t feel they have to step up to the plate because they know their opinion wouldn’t matter. An unhappy employee = negativity = lower productivity = less benefit for the organization.
I am all for creating equitable divisions of importance in the workplace!