L’Oreal has constantly been condemned by animal welfare protection groups for their use of animal testing for some of their products. The company has been the focus of damaging publicity and has also lost many customers as they question the morality of the company as a whole. L’Oreal recently made the decision to donate $1.2 million dollars to an EPA program to help put an end to animal testing. This move by L’Oreal was a good way to get positive publicity for the company and gain the support of the public. L’Oreal is taking a step in the right direction to market themselves as an ethically correct business. These days, consumers care a lot about the ethics and image of a business and will bring their business elsewhere if they feel that the ethics of a business are substandard and represent a bad image. It is the unfortunate truth that companies are mainly interested in making ethically correct decisions with their own interests in mind, such as pleasing consumers and maximizing profits.

Sources

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2115572/LOreal-donates-1-2million-help-abolish-animal-testing-welfare-groups-say-company-stop-practice-NOW.html

L’Oreal Donates Money To Help End Animal Cosmetics Testing

Hostess Brands Inc., widely known for it’s Twinkies and Ding Dongs is going out of business. I believe that one of the main reasons for this company going out of business is the company’s inability to modify it’s products to the new healthy living global trend. People all around the world are becoming increasingly conscious about eating healthy and living healthier lifestyles. Hostess Brands Inc. failed to adapt to the new market demand for healthier, lower calorie snacks and therefore could not keep up with it’s competitors. It is important for a company to be able to adapt and modify their products quickly in order to keep up with changing market demands. The company has had many factors working against them lately as increasing pension and medical costs for employers have been rising recently. Many of the company’s employees were on strike and Hostess Brand Inc. followed up on it’s threat to shut down if these employees did not return to work. This company’s closing will have serious effects on the company’s workforce as approximately 18,500 jobs will be lost.

Sources:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2012/11/16/hostess-twinkies-shutdown.html

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1288748–no-more-twinkies-hostess-going-out-of-business

Toyota, once again, recalls 2.77 million vehicles, this time, for a pump problem and a steering shaft defect that could result in difficult and even hazardous steering. This does not bode well for the company’s reputation as this incident is only the most recent in a slew of recalls since 2000. These massive and frequent recalls do nothing positive for the reputation of the Japanese automaker. These mistakes look poorly on the company as a whole and decrease sales for Toyota. One would think that after several similar incidents,  the company would pay more attention to the quality control of their products. Mistakes like these that call into question the reliability of a product, of which safety is a key selling feature, can only lead to a decrease in sales. However, it seems that executives at Toyota are less concerned about the quality control and reliability that should be synonymous with the company name, but instead have decided to focus on pursuing aggressive growth and expansion. This begs the question: Will Toyota’s smeared reputation allow the company to pursue this growth? Or has the loss in public faith hindered these hefty ambitions? It seems that only time and no more recalls will determine this.

Sources:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/11/14/toyota-recall.html

Peter Nowak brought up an interesting point on his business blog that Apple may have a dilemma once it’s iPad Mini comes out. He pointed out that the new iPad Mini is around $200 dollars cheaper than the full size iPad and once it comes out many consumers will buy the cheaper Mini as opposed to the more expensive full sized iPad. The iPad Mini is much lighter and smaller than the full-sized iPad and corresponds to the consumer’s needs to have their electronic devices as small and convenient as possible. As Peter Nowak suggested, Apple may not have taken into account the possible effects on profits of creating a cheaper version of the iPad. He stresses that a cheaper iPad mini means less profit for Apple as there will be less total revenue. He also suggests that competition in the smaller tablet market is much fiercer and that Apple will be faced with more competition. Due to the increase in competition Apple may have to lower it’s price for the iPad Mini as well.

The proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline has caused much debate lately and critics are unsure whether the benefits of this pipeline outweigh the risks. This pipeline would run from Alberta to Kitimat, B.C, passing through much nature and wild life. Thousands of people protested against the pipeline on the lawn of the B.C legislature. The pipeline would serve as a huge risk to B.C as a potential oil leek or rupture could cause extensive damage to the surrounding wildlife as well as endanger humans. Many protestors believe it to be morally wrong to risk our wildlife in order to create this pipeline. The oil inside the pipeline would belong to Alberta and B.C would just be used as land for the oil to transport on. In this case, Alberta would be responsible if anything went wrong with the pipeline however a problem would serve as an inconvenience to B.C. Although I am able to see the protestors’ reasoning for why the pipeline shouldn’t be developed, I believe that it would be in everyone’s best interests to develop the pipeline. Even if the pipeline didn’t end up going through B.C, any other means of transporting this oil would cause pollution and is pretty much unavoidable. Additionally, the creation of the pipeline would create many available jobs for individuals in B.C which would have a positive impact on the economy of B.C. 

Sources:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/northern-gateway/story/2012/10/18/bc-enbridge-northern-gateway-terry-lake.html

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/northern-gateway/story/2012/10/22/bc-pipeline-protest-victoria.html

I found Sarah Li‘s blog post on gender targeted marketing very interesting. In our society, it is clear that there is a divide in the products that are marketed to women and men. However, I had previously never thought about products that have no need for gender differentiation and the possible effects of marketing them as gender specific products. In Sarah Li‘s post, a BIC pen is used as an example of a unisex product that is now marketed as a feminine product because the pen is pink and called “for her”.

I agree with Sara’s stance that marketing gender specific versions of basic products is a good way to increase sales. In the case of the BIC pink pen, I think that this product differentiation would be a determining factor in buying the pen and that many females would be drawn to this pen as opposed to others because it seems more customized to meet their needs. Changing the colour of a product, for example from blue to pink, is a simple change for a business but also one that could increase profits. I believe that this kind of marketing works for both men and women and that when a product has a specific visual appeal to a gender, that gender is more inclined to buy the product.

Sources:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/surge-in-gender-targeted-products-creates-marketing-headaches-for-companies/article5358521/

https://blogs.ubc.ca/sarahli/

In our society, there has always a been an ongoing debate about the way women are depicted in advertisements. Most ads exhibit the ‘ideal woman’ to be very slender such as in Victorias Secret advertisements, which give the message that only skinny women are seen as beautiful. There has been a new trend for brands such as Dove to use plus sized models in their advertisements and escape the usual tendency for ads to feature skinny women. Irina Costei raised the discussion of how both the Dove and Victorias Secret commercials are on opposite ends of the spectrum, featuring only skinny or only plus sized models, without any diversity in between. I agree with Irina Costei that Dove’s marketing is equally as flawed as Victorias Secret’s as it has the same effect on people. Bigger women who look at Victorias Secret’s adds may not think they are beautiful enough to buy Victoria’s secret products and vise versa with the Dove commercials. I believe that Dove’s new advertising campaign is a step in the right direction for advertisements pertaining to women’s body image, however the first brand to feature both skinny and plus sized models simultaneously will earn a lot of respect from consumers and appeal to a wider range of customers as well.

Sources:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/irinacostei/2012/09/29/dove-vs-victorias-secret-raises-body-image-debate/

So far Canada has again and again refused to give monetary aid to a bailout fund through the International Monetary fund to help the troubled European economies. According to the Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, “not enough has been done” and that European countries “need to do much more”. He also stated that “the European countries themselves have more than the adequate resources to do so.” There has been much controversy on whether Canada should possibly rethink it’s position on the European crisis. The main argument for Canada not bailing out the Europeans is that Canada has nothing to do with the crisis and that it’s strictly a European issue. The other side of the argument is that we are talking about an interconnected global economy, where if Europe or one country in Europe defaults it will cause credit to subside which will in turn have a feedback affect and effect everybody. Germany’s ambassador, Georg Witschel stated to Canada in an interview that “Canada should realize that the entire global economy will be at risk if the European economy falters.” The benefit to Canada for helping Europe would be that if Europe becomes more stable then the return to Canada will be much higher. One thing Canada has to think about is that if it decides to assist Europe, it may receive no return or a lower return on that money. It could be a huge loss to Canada because Canada would be getting a lower rate of return than it would if it invested that money in the financial system. I think that Canada needs to look at the time value of money when coming to a decision in this crisis.

Works Cited

Gollom, Mark. “Should Canada Help With a European Bailout?” CBC News Canada. CBC News, 16 Aug. 2012. Web. 6 Oct. 2012.

“Harper’s Refusal to Help Bail Out Europe Draws Germany’s Ire.” The Globe And Mail. The Globe and Mail, 8 Jun. 2012. Web. 6 Oct 2012.

Samsung and Apple  

Samsung’s new Galaxy S3 commercial has gotten a lot of attention accompanying the Apple and Samsung Trial. After watching it, I thought about the possible implications of the commercial. It is apparent that the commercial downgrades Apple and their new Iphone 5 even without directly addressing the company and that there is also some truth in Samsung’s depiction of Apple. This commercial can be seen as quite clever on Samsung’s part as it gives a strong brand promise while comparing itself to one of its main leading competitors, Apple. This commercial got me questioning whether it will have any affect the sale of the Iphone 5. A small population may move away from Apple, however it is most likely people will stay with Apple and purchase the Iphone 5 due to strong brand loyalty and because of Apple’s known brand name. Samsung’s commercial may also attract more attention from the media on the ongoing Samsung and Apple trial. Apple filed a lawsuit against Samsung as Samsung had allegedly infringed upon six out of seven patents for Apple’s mobile devices. Soon after, a countersuit by Samsung ensued. Apple is known to buy a large amount of its components from Samsung, however even when the courts forced the two bosses to meet to reach agreements, they were unable to agree on any cross-licensing deals. “Rather that competing in the marketplace, Apple is seeking a competitive edge in the courtroom,” stated Samsung’s attorney Charles Verhoeven. I agree that these two companies should be more focused on competing in the marketplace rather than in the courtroom.

Link for commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJafiCKliA8

Works Cited

Kelion, Leo. “Samsung and Apple’s Patent Clash Leads to Trial by Jury.” BBC News Technology. BBC, 30 Jul. 2012. Web. 24 Sept. 2012.

McCarthy, Dawn. “Apple Asks for More Damages in Samsung Case.” Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg, 23 Sept. 2012. Web. 24 Sept. 2012.

“Q&A: Apple and Samsung Trial.” BBC News Business. BBC, 24 Aug. 2012. Web. 24 Sept. 2012.

You know something is ethically wrong with a company when the CEO is faced with numerous sexual harassment lawsuits from former employees. To this day, Dov Charney, the founder, chairman and CEO of American Apparel has been sued at least five times for sexual harassment and for creating an explicitly sexual and uncomfortable workplace environment. Charney has a history of being unprofessional with his position and has held many meetings in his bedroom, in which he was wearing nothing but a towel. Charney has also been known to have workers sleep at his residence and he speaks openly about engaging in sexual affairs with many of his employees.

How could a person of Charney’s high position believe that mixing business with pleasure would not lead to problems?

External Links:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/aug/25/rise-fall-american-apparel

American Apparel and the Ethics of a Sexually Charged Workplace

 Works Cited

Hill, Amelia. “The Rise and Fall of American Apparel.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 25 Aug. 2012. Web. 11 Sept. 2012.

Holson, Laura M. “Chief of American Apparel Faces 2nd Harassment Suit.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 23 March. 2011. Web. 11 Sept. 2012.

O’Brien, Gail. “American Apparel and the Ethics of a Sexually Charged Workplace.” Business Ethics. N.p. 15 March. 2011. Web. 11 Sept. 2012.