Month: September 2013

People are all lining up for the new golden iPhone with eager anticipation; none of them will pay attention to the once all mighty BlackBerry. Apple announced that the golden iPhone is officially sold out online while BlackBerry Ltd. Announced that they have $900 million worth of unsold phones.

Due to the massive loss BlackBerry is now facing, the company decided that it would cut 4,500 jobs in order to write off the loss of nearly $1 billion. The jobs represent approximately 40 percent of Black Berry’s workforce.

We, as consumers, may wonder what made Blackberry, a company that once dominated the smartphone market fall to such turmoil. Many of us agree that it is because BlackBerry lacks the technological innovation to attract newer consumers. They failed to foresee the new “App dominated society” that was based on Android and Apple software. Even when it eventually became clear for them that Blackberries were not working, they have only tried to imitate Apple and Samsung with their new Z10 model. For Blackberry to be truly competitive in the market they must have something beyond what Apple and Samsung can offer at the moment. Greater technological innovation is absolutely instrumental for Blackberry if they wish to stay competitive in the market.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/trading-in-blackberry-halted/article14440386/

This article highlights Zuckerberg’s attempt to tackle health issues in third world nations by providing them with the Internet. He partnered with seven prominent information-technology companies to create internet.org seeking inexpensive ways to provide Internet and computers.

While many activists believe Internet access is not a priority for people of those nations, however, Zuckerberg maintains that by providing the Internet people can better educate themselves about health problems such as diarrhea and malaria. Moreover, Internet can provide online consultations for people who face problems such as homosexuality and domestic violence.

In my opinion, corporate social responsibility is becoming an offering that many companies should engage in, in order to stay competitive. Zuckerberg is engaging himself in activities that are aligned with his branding concept. For example, by simply engaging in this project he is bringing more attention to Facebook and enhancing his company’s image. I believe that Zuckerberg is creating a global broadcast network to shed light on many important social issues as he allocates his resources towards this project.

In our world, today, many of us are tempted to act unethically for our businesses to profit. However, we do not see the potential opportunities and benefits ethical actions can bring. We, not only, enhance the company image for our stakeholders, but we also profit from increased consumer loyalty.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Commentary/2013/Sep-12/230952-zuckerbergs-dream-internet-for-all-those-in-the-world-without-access.ashx#axzz2eeAfAaWi