Response to Roland Rumrill's "America For Sale"

Is buying your way into America a process that all its citizens should know about? I’m curious to know how this program is marketed, if at all, to other countries. What do you think?

Roland brings up a new immigration path in his blog in which immigrant can pay a large sum of money, about $500,000, in order to expedite there rate to citizenship.  besides the obvious discrimination this path holds. Enabling wealthier immigrants to cut to the front of the line, while those who are actually seeking the refuge and opportunity of the untied states are left to wait, which in itself is sickening.  it goes against everything america stands for.  the whole idea of our country, as i see it is the act of working hard to achieve a goal.  this system rewards those who have already attained a large amount of capital and in most cases probably do not need the opportunity presented.  This method will obviously be geared towards the richest to the immigrant attempting entry to the country and i would be willing to bet kept a secret from those who do not have the income.  This idea goes against the principles of this country  and i hope it never comes into action. 

The John Smith Dilemma

Demonstrated in Professors Johnsons blog is a scenario in which a manger is faced with an ethical decision.  John Smith has the option to sell the information of the people he has research on for 8000 dollars,  as mentioned there is no legal issue and the individuals involved never signed anything retaining their information.  this leaves us with the issue of ethics, should smith sell or not.  the problem is if smith does not sell it is very likely the firm will address someone else with the same offer and overall receive the same information.  Because there is no legal dilemma Smith should take the opportunity and receive the money.  After which he can address the ethical issue with his employees for any future scenario that may be similar to this one. 

Do you believe that if John Smith does not take this deal someone else will.  What do you think the ethical ramifications, if any, would be if the individuals found out about the sale?

Response to Kerri Hinkle's "Marketing through Mission"

What do you think about the ethical implications of using a mission to win customers?
Is it a smart idea? Why or why not?

Organizations are constantly claiming CSR yet time and time again we witness that their claims are at best exaggerated.  However i do believe that the mission statement of the company is the best goal the company can seek out, not necessarily the one they have achieved.  even if a company is lacking in CSR at least a responsible mission statement proves they are aware of the issues that may be plaguing society.  as to whether this is a scheme to win over customers i truly do not know.  it is always a smart idea to have a socailly responsible mission statement, it is the responsibility of the consumer to question the company and  find out how legitimate the claims in that statement may be. 

Importance of Proper Research

This week in class we hit upon the importance of research to a marketing firm.  A firm must know everything about their product, how customers react to it, and what demographics it will sell best to.  they even consider the social ramifications their ads and test samples of consumers before releasing them. however, as was evident when we watched the banned ad on youtube, sometimes this research fails.  Whether it be the managers fail to see the customer reaction to their product or the social implications it may have, there are instances when the research proves wrong.

What do you think are the main reasons marketing research can fail.   How would you address these issues as a manager?

Response to Heather Young's "Dove Ad"

What other ads have you seen that are using this emotional connection to a specific company to advertise rather than the actual product itself? Was it more or less effective?

Time and time again i see advertisements that tug at the heart strings of consumers rather then promoting the product itself.  This is a commercial for an SUV that says nothing about the SUV but instead shows its detector stopping the driver from hitting a child behind the car.  No doubt this is a practical addition to the car that should be advertised, however to exploit the emotion involved in a potential child's death to promote a product seems nothing less then immoral.  these ads have only one effect on more, a negative feeling towards the advertiser.

Privatization at KSC

As was mentioned in this class and other management courses more and more companies are beginning to privatize parts of their corporations.  Keene State is a perfect example of an organization acting on this trend.  in the recent year KSC has outsourced a large part of their business, in theory allowing them to focus more on education.  The DC, Bookstore, and waste management branches have all been outsourced to outside companies.  This allows keene to save money on activities such as these, however at what cost to customer relations.

How do you feel the outsourcing of KSC facilities has affected you throughout your school career.  Was the outcome a good or bad one?

Response to Ariana Barones "Biebers Debit Card for Teens"

Do you having Justin Bieber backing this project was a savvy business move?

As anyone in the management industry has noticed, people spend without thinking.  I believe having a well known pop star, who is influential in children and young teens lives, promotion responsible budgeting is one of the best acts of CSR in recent history.  not only will Biebers move help an array of teens better manage their budget, I'm sure it will get him the gratification of those teens parents.  all in all Biebers debit card initiative was a very savvy business move.