“If a group of beings from another planet were to land on Earth – beings who considered themselves as superior to you as you feel yourself to be to other animals – would you concede them the rights over you that you assume over other animals?” – George Bernard Shaw.

Many people are now becoming vegans, making a transition from vegetarians due to their ethical reasons like animal rights, health or environmental factors. Due to the spread of veganism, it has urged many companies to launch vegan products. My peer Vishal Mutti talks about one such company. He talks about Ben and Jerry’s, an ice-cream producer launching vegan based ice-creams. These ice-creams are made from almond-milk and are named as “Frozen Dessert”

This change in consumer preferences gives an incentive to other companies to launch vegan products as all types of customers will now be able to consume their products. Lately, Tim Hortons and Burger King have also promised to serve food made from cage-free eggs. These major companies have their stores located at many locations in Canada, America, and across the world. They plan to put this decision into action by 2025. While this is a long-term goal, it still encourages people who support this decision to buy food at these locations versus companies who do not approve this plan. This move will also give freedom to those hens who are kept in cages and are tortured. With this announcement, McDonalds and Denny’s also announces that they plan to sell vegan foods in their restaurants.As Tim Hortons is one of the biggest food chains in Canada, by announcing this decision it has opened a trend towards the safety of various animals.

To further expand on Vishal’s blog, he talks about the differentiation model which consisted of companies selling innovative products, creating an advantage over other competitors. These companies want to sell delicious, healthy food by sustainably producing their products and being meaningful to their customers by advancing towards animal welfare. With this campaign, Ben and Jerry’s have been able to target a wider range of consumers as well as promoting cruelty-free food. As this company has strong brand loyalty, they do not have to fear their sales going down. People will be more inclined towards purchasing the products of this company when they will come to know about the company selling vegan products, therefore gaining even more customer loyalty.

As someone who cares about animal cruelty, I am glad to see companies taking a step towards the production of vegan foods.

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Do you ever feel like you are being decanted by your favorite phone companies? The two big players in cell phone manufacturing, Apple and Samsung, have both been under fire recently about their questionable business ethics. The two have been dueling over the iPhone 7 and the Galaxy Note 7.

One of the top phone companies – Samsung – is undergoing great loss due to the malfunctioning of its latest phone, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. This phone was first recalled due to reports of the batteries catching on fire. Then there was a second recall, which was also not successful because lithium-ion batteries were still catching fire and Samsung couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I believe it was unethical of Samsung to have released the Galaxy note 7 without proper testing. They might have released it simply because they were expecting competition from Apple’s iPhone 7 but less safety measures were taken for the people using Samsung’s products. Many people’s lives were also at risk, which is not a  good sign for the company to advance its products in the future.

http://www.andymator.co.uk/2016/02/battle-of-smartphones-apple-vs-samsung/

On the other hand, Apple is becoming a trap for the public as people are always wanting to update to the newest version. Even though there is no significant change in the newer version, people still buy it due to brand loyalty. This leads to a cycle, which is what they feed off . They used to prosper because of their differentiation – like they have unique products and their own iOS software. However, now they rarely design something new, yet only updates on the same product. As pointed out by my peer Megan Dhaliwal, Apple is becoming dangerous and harmful, which is leading to a growth of great amount of e-waste. Apple has stated itself that their product won’t last for more than three years. If they’ve admitted that their product will soon be trash, why do we continue to support them?

The people who run these companies appear to be negotiating their ethics and focusing more on making money. Lots of iPhone and Samsung users no longer trust these companies. What will they do now to gain back their customers’ loyalty?

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Works Cited:

1. @globeandmail. “Your New IPhone Will Soon Be Trash, and That’s the Point.” The Globe and Mail. Special to The Globe and Mail, 08 Sept. 2016. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.

2.   “Megan Dhaliwal’s Blog | Just Another UBC Blogs Site.” Megan Dhaliwals Blog. N.p., n.d. Web.      16 Oct. 2016.

3.  “‘Safe’ Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Batteries Are Still Exploding.” LiveScience. TechMedia Network, n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.

Uber and Ford Motor Co are emerging together to launch the new “self driving uber car” which is a computer modified car. This car, named Boron 6 by Uber comes with more than 20 cameras, seven lasers, a spinning 360-degree laser-based detection system. The  first trial of the car was taken place in Pittsburgh, U.S.A. on 14 September, 2016. As the passenger sits in the car, they take a selfie on a computer screen (which is attached in the car) and then start driving wherein they can  see the infrared movement of the car on the screen which is totally a 360 degree vision with a 3D map. After the drive is complete, a GIF is sent to the passengers of the 3D route along with the selfie.

With this model, the value propositions of the passengers being safe from various road accidents  is fulfilled. It will now become safer for people who are scared to hire a taxi at night. People are also safe from the misbehaviour of Uber drivers that is being reported in the news everyday. A person can also press a big red button located in the centre console, in case he or she feels unsafe at any point. Due to this expansion in their business, Uber will now be the first company in the US to provide people with these cars – which will help them gain competitive advantage over its competitors such as Google and Volvo. It will be able to increase its customer relationships as it is the people who are benefitting the most from this project.

In my opinion, the use of these cars will ultimately benefit Uber, as it decreases the manpower of Uber. This will help them generate more profit as they will no longer have to pay any more wages to these drivers. This will also lead to great increase in the sales of Ford, therefore increasing their income too. If this facility launches soon in various countries, it will definitely be a success for both the people and the companies. People will not hesitate to pay the price of riding this car, as they will look for their safety and also they will feel more comfortable. Both companies have much to gain from this merger.