Zohair Lakhani's Blog

Marketing is one of the most important business functions. Good marketing can lead to increase in sales and brand loyalty, and bad marketing can lead to the exact opposite. Kean mentions in his blog, “marketers are obviously appealing to sex, an activity much of the youth seems to be obsessed with.” This aspect, sadly, is very true. Most companies market their products in a very sexually explicit manner in order to attract customers.

Major clothing retailers use sexually explicit marketing to advertise their products. For example, Abercombie and Fitch use models in order to appeal to the customers. Sexually explicit marketing can also be seen in other industries, for example, BMW used an image of an attractive woman to advertise used cars. This type of marketing can also have negative implications, for example, BMW, for the same advertisement, faced criticism from the public. Most people claimed the advert to be gender discriminating.

The information technology industry is one of high potential and one that is very static. The industry is considered static in the sense that innovation is the key to survival. Firefox will be entering an industry that is dominated by Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. This means that the organization will need to perfect their products and adhere to the highest quality of service.

Sauder Fan mentions how he believes that the first phone will not be as competitive as other competitors in the market, however, the tech industry is highly regarded for innovation and the introduction of a new phone with never-seen-before operating software can be a start to a future line of products that can help bring the company profits. Moreover, by operating in different industries, Firefox will be able to gain competiveness and might be able to use its popularity in the internet market as a USP for their phones.

This is in response to Sauder Fan’s blog post on “Will Firefox Phone Rock the World?”

Link: https://blogs.ubc.ca/sauderfan/2013/10/07/will-firefox-phone-rock-the-world/

The US government has decided to emplace a tariff on solar panels imported from China. The act of protectionism came after the US International Trade Commission found that illegal dumping from Chinese competitors was harming domestic solar panel manufacturers. If confirmed that the US industry is affected by the dumping, the government will impose a high tariff for most solar panel manufacturers.

The dumping that the Chinese producers have been accused raises concern for the US solar market industry. The dumping implies that the exporters are losing money intentionally on the solar panels and therefore are preying on domestic solar panel producers and stealing away domestic consumers with unsustainable low prices.

Bribery is a serious offence that can be punished through legal means. Hewlett-Packard’s employees have faced charges in regards to bribing upto $10 million to achieve a deal to provide computer accessories and gear to Russia’s Prosecutor General office.

These allegations not only affect the company’s corporate image but also lead them to lose revenue. For example, the organisation will be asked to return the revenues from this deal (almost 35 million Euros) if the employees are found guilty. Moreover, this act of bribery raises questions about the organisations ethical values.

In order to cope with these allegations, HP has set up a program called “HP’s Anti-Corruption Compliance Program.” This program acts as a way to better the company’s worsening image. Moreover, this program is placed to assure that such acts do not happen again.

Works Cited:

• Hewlett-Packard. HP’s Anti-Corruption Compliance Program Overview. Palo Alto, CA: Hewlett-Packard, n.d. HP’s Anti-Corruption Compliance Program Overview. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
• David Crawford. “German Prosecutors Name H-P in Bribery Indictment of Employees.” Wall Street Journal. WSJ, 12 Aug. 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

Rising inflation and unemployment have become a raging threat for the Eurozone. The chances of the Eurozone collapsing have significantly increased, and pose a threat for all nations worldwide. According to the Eurostat, the statistical agency of the European Union, reported that economies facing stag inflation may be responsible for this increase. The E.C.B. has countlessly tried to decrease inflation and to help sustain the economy by loaning out $1.3 Trillion, as a monetary policy and have also stated that the supply of money will increase.

Many Monetary and Fiscal policies are being set in place to avoid the impending disaster to occur in the Eurozone. The monetary and fiscal policies will concern around inflation rates, and decreasing interest rates will lead to an increase in investment, which will trigger demand. The Eurozone will need careful planning and policies that may not lead to more problems in the future. The road to a recovery is tough, but the Eurozone should stay together and try their best.

Mark Hurd, valued C.E.O. for bringing back Hewlett-Packard’s reputation, was investigated over his relationship with a female contractor hired by HP. He was accused of sexual harassment and was asked to resign from his position. This allegation against the C.E.O. of the organisation lead to serious questions about the ethics and values held by the organisation.

The harassment case came at a time when Mark Hurd was the “hero” for HP. During his time as CEO, Mark had established a stable business organisation that not only led to a good reputation for the organisation but also led to doubling share prices. In addition to this, Mark was also negotiating a three year plan for the organisation worth almost $100 million.

The allegations against the C.E.O. have had several implications for the organisation in general. Firstly, these charges create a very negative corporate image for the organisation. A negative corporate image can lead to several issues such as difficulty in hiring employees and selling of goods. Moreover, this allegation also led to decrease in share prices which upset shareholders immensely. Secondly, the organisation also faced questions on their ethical values. This can be very demotivating for the employees and can lead to lower levels of productivity.

Dubai is considered the front-runner in the bid for the next World Expo to happen in 2020 as it was considered the top 4 venues. Governments, firms, and individuals eye this Expo as an opportunity to increase revenues in the property market as well as the tourism market. The expo will help the already ‘booming’ economy of Dubai, and might help the country in achieving long-term goals such as increased standard of living.

The Expo, if won, will be staged in the United Arab Emirates with the most luxury and attention to detail provided. The master plan on how the UAE wants to achieve this is already provided; it displays beautiful architecture and is a major stand out in terms of appeal.

However, there are some issues Dubai will have to face as it decides to hold the Expo. If it wins, millions from around the world will come to the Expo, a lot of these people will be foreigners that don’t understand the UAE’s strict Islamic laws. For example, there are serious consequences to consuming alcohol in public. Moreover, the UAE also has strict laws against the consumption of drugs. In any case, Dubai, if they win the bid, will be a very successful and financially powerful city.

Ethics is a widely debated term, mostly because each individual has a different definition for it. Ethics truly refers how individuals behave in a business organization. Recently, a famous American clothes retailer, Abercrombie and Fitch, has been questioned on their business ethics as a woman was fired for her religious beliefs.

Abercrombie and Fitch have responded to this by offering a public statement, apologizing for the dismissal and explaining how the hijab lead to an issue with their marketing. The organization also argues that the scarf violates the policy in regards to their employees looks and also would affect sales. There have been many questions about the ethics held at Abercrombie and Fitch, as this is not the first time they have been questioned. In 2004, they were sued for racial and sexual discrimination, it was believed that the organization promoted more white employees, and would not use Hispanics, Blacks, or Asians in their marketing approach.

The question about Abercrombie and Fitch’s ethics has been a long and heated debate. According to their marketing team, the dismissal of Hani Khan was more towards the image of the business than her religious beliefs. This therefore entails to another definition of ethics.

Bibliography

LIPKA, MICHAEL. “Abercrombie Hijab Firing Highlights Muslim Concern about Discrimination.” Pew Research Center RSS. PEW RESEARCH CENTRE, n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2013

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