Re: “Blackberry’s Comeback” by Serinda Kong

This post is in response to Serinda Kong’s blog post titled “Blackberry’s Comeback” which discusses Blackberry’s new strategy with their new Passport, and how she thinks that they can now “thrive and rebuild the company’s relations with the enterprise market.”

My opinion in regards to their change in target market is like that of Serinda’s. Like she said, Blackberry is not likely to reach the popularity it once had a few years ago, and will probably never reach sales similar to Apple’s. However, Blackberry for the most part has had success in the corporate market, even before their downfall. With their Passport and new marketing strategies, it is very possible that they can gain success in their new market.

Companies such as PayPal, Youtube, and even Apple have had to change their strategies over time in order to gain more of their market share. Now they are the leading companies in their respective industries. Michael Porter’s globally accepted theories on competitive strategies emphasize the importance of a competitive strategy for every business. Many companies can produce similar products and services, but differentiations quality and/or target markets can bring a firm to the top of their industry. If Blackberry’s new strategy holds, they have a chance to be a top choice for corporate electronics.

References:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/serindakong/2014/09/25/blackberrys-comeback/

http://chargify.com/blog/6-companies-that-succeeded-by-changing-their-business-model/

http://www.fastcompany.com/42485/michael-porters-big-ideas

Photo: http://sagaciastrategies.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Business-Strategy.jpg

As an aspiring accountant, I hope to be able to assist people with their financial information and help them make the right choices with their money. Others see accounting as just making financial statements, or filing your taxes. However, accounting is much more than that, and financials can have a bigger impact on the public than most believe.

Financials show the state of the company, which help people decide if they want to invest in it. Unfortunately, it is possible that the numbers on these statements can be tampered with. This is also relatable to ethical vs. unethical acts in the workplace. Revenues can be raised and expenses lowered to increase earnings in order to meet the demands of shareholders and/or attract more investors. On the other hand, revenues can be falsely decreased so the company can pay less taxes. A memorable example is when Enron took billions of dollars from shareholders, and public alike. I think this shows the power financials have in a company’s success, but also the power accountants have to challenge these numbers.

There certainly was some accountants or executives with accounting knowledge behind these frauds, but those who caught and/or got the evidence against the wrong-doers were also accounting professionals. According to my dad, anyone can put financials together or file income taxes, but accountants are willing to do all that and take responsibility for the numbers, and I agree completely. I believe that strong (and honest) accountants can guide businesses and individuals to gain much more in the long run.

Reference: http://www.accounting-degree.org/scandals/

Photo: http://explore.tandfonline.com/uploads/images/campaigns/Accounting_Banner_2.jpg

Let’s face it: we probably all have taken a cookie when we weren’t supposed to, or copied an answer off a classmate’s worksheet right before it was due. However, I’m sure we haven’t let these deeds go too far as to shoplift or cheat on an exam. Unfortunately, many workers have committed some major unethical acts in their workplace and for a lot of the cases, they started off with smaller ways to cheat. This is what four university professors in the US called in their report about unethical acts in the workplace the “slippery-slope effect.”

Examples of this effect as mentioned in the article include a Ponzi schemer and a newspaper plagiarist. They took the easy way out to get more money, or to get the job done faster, but eventually the situation get out of hand and led to committing crimes and fraud – something one can’t get out of even if they wanted to.

I think employers should further promote the consequences of unethical work in order to prevent snowballs from becoming boulders. According to R. Edward Freeman, a business should be run so as to benefit everyone involved in an ethical way. There is a social responsibility that a business (including its operators and employees) must fulfill, and running it ethically will contribute to its customers and society as a whole.

Sources:

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20140806-the-slippery-slope

Image: http://lawinquebec.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/white-collar-crime.jpg

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