Burger King and McDonald’s signs in Russia
Sources: http://newsblaze.com/story/2010012114351300002.bw/topstory.html and http://www.thingsihateaboutbackpacking.com/?p=109

After opening its first fast food restaurant in Russia in 2010, Burger King has been working very hard at increasing their presence there. As of June 2012, there were 57 Burger King restaurants open in Russia, with more plans to open more. This may be a part of its fierce attempt to take away market share from its main competitor, McDonalds, who has been in Russia for over 20 years and has 314 restaurants open (as of May 2012).

However, Burger King isn’t the only company interested in increasing the number of restaurants it has in areas other than North America. McDonald’s has also shown interest in adding more restaurants to other countries around the world. Both McDonald’s and Burger King struck deals with franchise operators this year, which will accelerate their growth in Russia, along with signalling the fact that they’re very interested at increasing their worldwide presence. Both of these companies trying to increase worldwide presence is partly due to the fact that the market for fast food in the United States is quite saturated. It’ll be interesting to see what the fast food market around the world looks like in 5 years with these two major companies, along with others, ramping up expansion worldwide.

Links:

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100121/157640260.html

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/burger-king-strikes-deal-expand-russia

http://money.msn.com/top-stocks/post.aspx?post=7531cb47-5569-4160-8929-0beb8e41d47b

Apple sells some of the priciest and sleekest technology available on the market to consumers. However, these high prices don’t necessarily translate to proper working conditions for the factory workers who manufacture these products. A look inside the Foxconn factory, where Apple products, like the iPhone 5, are manufactured, reveals painstakingly difficult working conditions.

These workers are simply seen as extensions to the factory equipment. They’re forced to work under extremely strict and unhealthy conditions while receiving little pay for their hard work. Even without proper rest, they’re forced to work non-stop for 6 to 7 hours at a time with no breaks. They also have to live in the factory dormitories, which have been described as having horrid smells and cockroaches running around.

For a company that routinely charges thousands of dollars to people to purchase their products, this should definitely not be happening at their factories. Their need to increase their bottom line as much as possible has resulted in inhumane working conditions for those who make the existence of their products possible. Apple is seeing profit as more important than giving their workers proper working conditions, and this needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

Link to article here.