Cheerios' Facebook Campaign Fuels Controversy over GMOs
Another social media campaign gone awry: Cheerios' attempt for people to comment on what the cereal means to them turned into a free-for-all about the product. Thousands of posts criticized the use of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) in the cereal. The comments likely are the result of recently defeated Proposition 37, which would have required labeling of GMO products.
General Mills had been posting the comments, some via an app that displayed them in the Cheerios font. Since then the company has discontinued the app and stopped posting comments for some time. The company also removed anti-GMO photos from the Facebook page.
Todd Larsen, Green America Corporate Responsibility Programs Director, encourages consumers to understand the product and calls on the company to respond:
"At GMO Inside's Facebook page, people can see which ingredients in Cheerios and other products are likely to be genetically modified. Cheerios needs to label or remove the GMO ingredients. Consumers have a right to know."
The company's response has been minimal. Where the app was on the Facebook page is now this note:
"We consider your comments, and we listen to your point of view. Our community is passionate about food and about Cheerios. There are many varied opinions and they are often very strong. We've created this space to enable robust conversations, and we invite you to share your thoughts on things we're doing well and on areas we can improve. We ask only that you remain respectful and considerate of others as you're posting, in keeping with our community guidelines."
Critics say that General Mills should have known better: the opposition was clear, so the social media campaign was too risky, and the result is not surprising.
Discussion Starters:
- What's your view of GMO products? Do they concern you or not? What research are you relying on to shape your opinion?
- How else should General Mills respond to the controversy on its Facebook page or elsewhere?
FreshDirect Updates Customers on Storm Recovery
FreshDirect Co-Founder and CEO Jason Ackerman sent an email to update customers on the company's recovery since Hurricane Sandy. Located in Long Island City, Queens, FreshDirect was hit hard by the storm.
Early in the message, Ackerman writes that FreshDirect is "largely back to pre-storm availability." The main point is clear, but where is it placed, and is "largely" the best word choice?
With easy-to-read bullets, Ackerman highlights other key messages for customers about meeting service expectations, replacing lost trucks with greener options, and contributing to relief efforts.
Discussion Starters:
- What are the other strengths of Ackerman's email, and what other suggestions would you make to improve the message?
- If you were a customer of FreshDirect, how do you think the email would make you feel? How would it affect your image of the company?
Guy Fieri Gets Mocked and Responds
The New York Times published a scathing review of Guy Fieri's new restaurant, Guy's American Kitchen & Bar in Times Square. Reviewer Pete Wells wrote just a series of questions including the following:
- Hey, did you try that blue drink, the one that glows like nuclear waste? The watermelon margarita? Any idea why it tastes like some combination of radiator fluid and formaldehyde?
- How did Louisiana's blackened, Cajun-spiced treatment turn into the ghostly nubs of unblackened, unspiced white meat in your Cajun Chicken Alfredo?
- What is going on at this new restaurant of yours, really?
- Does this make it sound as if everything at Guy's American Kitchen & Bar is inedible? I didn't say that, did I?
To respond to the review, Fieri appeared on The Today Show. When asked whether reading the review felt like a "punch in the gut," Fieri said he thought the review was "ridiculous" and "overboard." He took issue with the tone and question style, and implied that the reviewer might have had another agenda:
"It's a great way to make a name for yourself: go after a celebrity chef that's not a New Yorker that is doing big concept, and in the second month [fist punch into his hand]..."
The interviewer also pointed to less-than-stellar Yelp reviews, to which Fieri admitted that the food isn't perfect but noted that it's still early in the restaurant's tenure.
Saturday Night Live produced a skit about Fieri, although it didn't appear on air:
Discussion Starters:
- What's your assessment of the review? Is it probably fair, a personal attack, or something else?
- How effective is Guy Fieri's response on The Today Show? How could he have taken a different approach?
Statements About Elmo Puppeteer's Resignation
After 28 years as Elmo's puppeteer, Kevin Clash has resigned following accusations of underage sexual relations. Last year, Clash starred in a documentary, "Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey."
On its website, Sesame Street posted this message:
After Clash's resignation, the website was updated with another statement:
Further, in a statement to the press, Sesame Street noted, "None of us [at Sesame Workshop], especially Kevin, want anything to
divert our attention from our focus on serving as a leading educational
organization. . . . Unfortunately, the controversy
surrounding Kevin's personal life has become a distraction that none of
us want, and he has concluded that he can no longer be effective in his
job. . . .This is a sad day for ‘Sesame Street.' "
Kevin Clash provided his own statement about the situation:
"I am resigning from Sesame Workshop with a very heavy heart... I have loved every day of my 28 years working for this exceptional organization. Personal matters have diverted attention away from the important work ‘Sesame Street' is doing and I cannot allow it to go on any longer. I am deeply sorry to be leaving and am looking forward to resolving these personal matters privately."
Discussion Starters:
- Assess Sesame Street's statements. What is effective, and what could be improved?
- How, if at all, do you think Elmo's image will be affected?
- How can Sesame Street preserve the brand at this point?
5-Hour Energy Drink Responds to Death Claims
According to the Food and Drug Administration, 13 deaths over four years may be linked to the caffeine-infused 5-Hour Energy drink. More than 90 filings with the FDA have cited the beverage as a possible cause of heart attacks and other physical problems.
Packaged not as a beverage but as a shot, 5-Hour Energy is marketed as a dietary supplement, which makes regulation challenging for the FDA.
Manoj Bhargava, CEO of Living Essentials, the company that distributes the product, originally told The New York Times, "I am not interested in making any comment." However, the company has since issued a statement defending the product and its warnings to users.
Discussion Starters:
Yahoo's Server Crashes Before Fantasy Football Game
Yahoo learned a hard lesson when its server went down before kickoff on Sunday. Fantasy Football players turned to Twitter to vent their frustration.
Yahoo's site is one of the most popular for Fantasy Football game players. When users were able to log into the site, they saw this message:
"We apologize sincerely for the outage on Sunday. We are working on the fix-the site is stabilized-and will update everyone on next steps for how to handle week 10. Currently, data and scores can be viewed on our mobile apps but for now you cannot make transactions or change line-ups from the apps."
Head of Yahoo Sports Ken Fuchs also sent this email to Fantasy Football players:
Dear Yahoo! Fantasy Users,
I want to sincerely apologize to all of you about today's Yahoo! Sports Fantasy outage. As the head of Yahoo! Sports and as a Yahoo! Sports fantasy player myself, I am disappointed that we failed all of our fans today. Our first priority is having the best experience for our users, and today we fell short.
The outage started around Noon ET (awful timing we know) and while our team was on it immediately we are still working on various pieces. Our team is continuing to work on identifying and resolving the root cause. We have restored full functionality on the website, and we're working for a final fix for our mobile apps. Currently data and scores can be viewed but for now you cannot make transactions or change line-ups from the apps.
We will also use today as an opportunity to improve our set-up so that we hopefully never have an outage like this again. Our fantasy commissioners and players are our biggest priority - we pride ourselves in being able to offer our users with the best fantasy sports experience possible and we take our job to deliver that to you very seriously. Rest assured we will work hard to make sure we continue to deliver on that commitment.
Thanks for playing with us and your patience today,
Ken Fuchs
Head of Yahoo! Sports
Discussion Starters:
- What, if any, impact do you think the outage will have on Yahoo users next season?
- What's your opinion of Fuchs's email? What works well, and what could be improved?
Anheuser-Busch to Paramount: Remove Budweiser Logo from "Flight"
In the new movie, "Flight," Denzel Washington's character, a pilot, is drinking a Budweiser beer while he lands a plane. Anheuser-Busch doesn't like the publicity and has asked Paramount to omit its logo from digital and future versions of the film.
In a statement to the Associated Press, Rod McCarthy, vice president of Budweiser said, "We would never condone the misuse of our products, and have a long history of promoting responsible drinking and preventing drunk driving. We have asked the studio to obscure the Budweiser trademark in current digital copies of the movie and on all subsequent adaptations of the film, including DVD, On Demand, streaming and additional prints not yet distributed to theaters."
A distributor of Stoli vodka, another alcohol represented in the movie, also is unhappy with the depiction of the brand. A representative of William Grant & Sons told the Associated Press, "Considering the subject matter of this film, it is not something in which we would have participated."
These companies may be out of luck. As the Associated Press explains, courts have ruled that movies can use representations of brands without permission:
"Trademark laws 'don't exist to give companies the right to control and censor movies and TV shows that might happen to include real-world items,' said Daniel Nazer, a resident fellow at Stanford Law School's Fair Use Project. 'It is the case that often filmmakers get paid by companies to include their products. I think that's sort of led to a culture where they expect they'll have control. That's not a right the trademark law gives them.'"
Discussion Starters:
- What's your view of how alcohol is depicted in the movie? Do these companies have a right to try to protect their brand in this way?
- How do you think Paramount decided to use these brands? Did the movie producers not think about the impact on brands, did they consider the consequences and ignore them, or something else?
- How could this type of situation be prevented in the future? What are the responsibilities of filmmakers and brands?
Car Wash Company Tries to Balance Aid with Promotion
After American Apparel's failed attempt to capitalize on Hurricane Sandy, other companies are trying to do a better job. Splash Car Wash's email at least offers a service to people affected by the storm.
The subject line, however, sounds like an overstatement: "Public Service Announcement From Splash Car Wash." Is the company offering financial assistance? And, is a car wash necessary following a major hurricane? I would think that people affected are seeking shelter if they're displaced and food if they're hungry.
On the other hand, Business Insider describes streams of people wanting cellphone power and Wi-Fi access. Located in Stamford, CT, Splash could attract the 39% of Connecticut Light & Power customers without power in Connecticut.
Discussion Starters:
- What's our view of Splash Car Wash's email? Is this a successful advertisement for the company?
- What improvements could you make to the email? Consider the text and graphics.
- What emails have you received from companies about Hurricane Sandy? Which have been successful and why?
American Apparel Capitalizes on Hurricane Sandy
American Apparel has learned a hard lesson after using Hurricane Sandy to promote a sale. With this graphical subject line, the company sent an email to customers:
☁ ☂ ϟ Hurricane Sandy Sale! ϟ ☂ ☁ 20% Off Everything!
The email encourages customers to take advantage of the sale if they are "bored during the storm."
Backlash on Twitter was fast and fierce, with tweets promising to boycott the stores, telling the brand to "shut up about your #Sandy sale," and speculating that the company "will soon be hiring a new marketing director."
As of this writing, American Apparel has not responded to the complaints.
Gap made a similar but less serious faux pas. The company did respond to critics-sort-of:
UPDATE: In an interview with BloombergBusinessweek, American Apparel CEO defends the ad.
Discussion Starters:
- What's your view of American Apparel's ad campaign: a clever marketing approach, insensitive, or something else?
- Should American Apparel respond to the criticism, and if so, how?
- How effective is the Gap's second tweet in explaining the first?
Chase Emails Customers About Fees During Hurricane Sandy
Chase bank is communicating with customers about Hurricane Sandy. Before the storm hit land, the company emailed customers about plans to waive fees. It's an interesting email and shows the company's kinder side.
On its website, Chase repeats a version of the open paragraph and provides customers with information about open branches. The branch locator allows customers to search for branches and see the status of each.
As of this writing, neither Bank of America nor HSBC have similar messages on their websites.
Discussion Starter and Assignment Idea:
- What is your reaction to Chase's email to customers?
- Go to the websites of other major banks. Do you find messages similar to that of Chase? How do they compare?
NYT Article: BlackBerry Is Like an "Embarrassing Relative"
A New York Times article delivers a harsh blow to Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of Blackberrys. Several quotes from users paint a sad picture of the BlackBerry as a public embarrassment:
- "I'm ashamed of it."
- "I want to take a bat to it."
- "You can't do anything with it. You're supposed to, but it's all a big lie."
- "I feel absolutely helpless."
The article tells stories of people hiding their BlackBerry underneath their iPad, not using their BlackBerry at cocktail parties, and getting "disgusted" looks when asking a hotel concierge for a charger.
These aren't great testimonials for the product that was called "CrackBerry" when first introduced because of its popularity and additive qualities. Now it seems people can't wait to trade it in for an iPhone 5.
The article quotes an investment analyst saying that RIM's recent video, a play on REO Speedwagon's "I'll Just Keep on Loving You," is "a sign of a desperate company."
RIM clearly is not happy with the article. Amy McDowell, senior director of corporate communications at RIM, said that the company wasn't asked for input on the story. In response, CEO Thorsten Heins wrote an opinion letter in The New York Times:
"BlackBerry as Black Sheep in Smartphones" (Business Day, Oct. 16) lacks the balance your readers expect.
With more than 80 million customers globally, BlackBerry is growing and remains one of the world's most popular smartphones. I've just come from visiting carriers and partners in all parts of the world, and they have told me that there are millions of BlackBerry fans out there who not only find great value in their device, but also pride in being a BlackBerry owner.
While any report of dissatisfaction among our users is a cause for concern that I take very seriously, the comments supporting BlackBerry both online and in calls we've received from our customers in response to your article are encouraging to me.
BlackBerry remains the leader in providing security for corporate customers, which is why more than 90 percent of the Fortune 500 rely on BlackBerry. It's true that some companies put restrictions on accessing certain applications for security reasons, but applications like Yelp and OpenTable are, in fact, among the approximately 100,000 apps available in BlackBerry AppWorld.
We've received excellent feedback from carriers, developers and partners for our upcoming BlackBerry 10 platform and are on track to deliver it in the first quarter of 2013. We appreciate the customers who have remained loyal to the BlackBerry platform and look forward to winning back many who have left.
THORSTEN HEINS
President and Chief Executive
Research In Motion
Waterloo, Ontario, Oct. 16, 2012
Discussion Starters:
- Should The New York Times have contacted RIM for comment on the story before publication? Does it have an obligation to do so?
- What examples of logical argument, emotional appeal, and credibility do you find in Heins's opinion letter?
Wyclef Jean's Failed Haitian Charity
Haitian-American rapper Wyclef Jean's charity is now defunct, with questions of impropriety in its wake. A New York Times article, "In Haiti, Little Can Be Found of a Hip-Hop Artist's Charity," cites angry creditors wondering what happened to $16 million in donations and "trail of debts, unfinished projects, and broken promises."
According to the New York Times article, Jean was using funds for his personal benefit:
"The forensic audit examined $3 million of the charity's 2005 to 2009 expenses and found $256,580 in illegitimate benefits to Mr. Jean and other Yéle board and staff members as well as improper or potentially improper transactions. These included $24,000 for Mr. Jean's chauffeur services and $30,763 for a private jet that transported Lindsay Lohan from New Jersey to a benefit in Chicago that raised only $66,000."
When accused of misdirecting funds, Jean said that he didn't need the money, offering as evidence, "I have a watch collection worth $500,000." This didn't quite endear people to his cause.
In his new book, "Purpose: An Immigrant's Story," Jean denies wrongdoing. Rather, he claims that he is the victim of "crucifixion."
A CEO letter that was posted on the charity's now-defunct website refers to "better accountability, more impact and greater financial transparency" and "a more disciplined Yéle Haiti." It's too late for that now.
Discussion Starters:
- Read the CEO letter. Which parts are the most and least convincing?
- Read the New York Times article. Which side of the story do you believe?
Starbucks Requests Starbarks Name, Logo, and URL Change
Starbucks sent a cease and desist letter to Starbarks doggie daycare for having a name, logo, and web domain too similar to the coffee company's. A Starbucks representative defended the action: "...we have a legal obligation to protect our intellectual property . . . in order to retain our exclusive rights to it."
Andrea McCarthy-Grzybek, the owner of Starbarks, said, "I love the name. Everyone loves it. It's clever. It's not like we sell coffee or anything they do." With the URL, www.starbarksdog.com, the Algonquin, IL, small business offered to change the sign color to yellow and to use a graphic of paws instead of the stars, but Starbucks didn't bite (sorry).
Another company, with the domain starbarksaz.com, had a similar fate. Management explained the situation on its website:
"Due to a conflict with a very famous coffee company our previous name (which we cannot mention) had to be changed to Canine Village only. We are the same kennel and Canine Village was always a 'part' of our name. This website will be shut down shortly so please go to www.caninevillage.com and see all our wonderful reviews and many pages of information. You can also email us with specific questions to caninevillage@cox.net. Thank you for your understanding of this inconvenience."
As expected, public opinion is mixed, with some people blaming Starbucks for bullying and others saying the small business should have known better.
Discussion Starters and Assignment Idea:
- What's your view of the situation? Is Starbucks a bully, or should the small business owner have chosen another name?
- Write a draft comment for the owner's Facebook page supporting one side of the argument.
In Email to Employees, CEO Threatens Layoffs if Obama Wins
CEO David Siegel of Westgate Resorts wrote an email to his employees warning of dire circumstances if President Obama is re-elected. Excerpts follow, and you can read the entire email here.
The email is reminiscent of a chain letter from 2008 from an alleged small business owner. Siegel confirmed with Gawker that his letter is real and was sent to his employees, but he acknowledged using the original as a "guideline" and said, "It speaks the truth, and it gives [employees] something to think about when they go to the polls."
Siegel and his wife were the subject of a documentary, "The Queen of Versailles," about their plans to build the largest home in America-a $100-million-dollar, 28-bedroom, 90,000-square-foot mansion.
Discussion Starters:
- What are the potential consequences of a CEO's sending such an email to employees?
- Do you agree with Siegel's arguments? Why or why not?
- Does knowing about Siegel's extravagant home change your opinion of him or his concerns about his business?
"Worldulike": EU's Spin on Climate Change
"A world you like. With a climate you like." This is the European Union's attempt to rebrand climate change, hoping people will choose a "Worldulike."
The website presents case studies of organizations that have taken saved energy expenses and, in some cases, redirected funds to better use, such as education.
In a press release, Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action, explains the new approach:
"We have a choice: We can ACT on our knowledge about climate change. Or we can sit idly by and watch as things get worse. Both options come with a price tag. So why not create a world we like, with a climate we like, while we still have time? With this campaign we want to focus the debate on the solutions and find out what is holding us back from applying them."
The name is already getting some ribbing from, for example, Roger Harrabin of BBC: "The campaign title ‘Worldulike' will doubtless raise eyebrows. The name is uncomfortably reminiscent of the British baked potato restaurant chain Spudulike."
Discussion Starters:
- Do you think the EU's campaign will be successful in getting people to make better decisions about energy use-and in meeting the EU's goal of reducing greenhouse gases by by 80 to 95 percent by 2050? Why or why not?
- Choose one of the case studies on the website. What makes the example effective, and how could it be improved?
American Airlines Responds to Loose Seats
After reports of seats coming loose during flights, American Airlines is investigating the situation and inspecting 47 planes. American admits that six planes each had a row of seats that weren't properly clamped down. Some became dislodged while in flight.
American spokeswoman Andrea Huguely issued a statement including these excerpts:
"Originally, American planned to evaluate the seats on eight Boeing 757 airplanes, but out of an abundance of caution, the decision was made to proactively evaluate a total of 47 Boeing 757 airplanes that have the same model Main Cabin seats with a common locking mechanism."
"American's internal investigation has focused on one of three types of Main Cabin seats on the 757s and how the rows of these three seats fit into the track that is used to secure the rows to the floor of the airplanes. Our maintenance and engineering teams have discovered that the root cause is a saddle clamp improperly installed on the foot of the row leg."
"Safety is -- and always will be -- American's top concern."
The seats are the latest in a series of issues plaguing the airline. Now under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, American has been grappling with labor relations issues that airline management blames for recent flight delays and cancellations.
According to a Washington Post article, the airline spokeswoman Andrea Huguely said that airline employees last touched the seats, but a labor union representative took issue with the accusation: "Our workers were the last to touch the seats only in the sense that after the seats came loose, we were dispatched [to fix them." Because seat installation is handled by a third-party, the labor union denies responsibility and blames management for the outsourcing decision. Indeed, Timco Aviation Services installed the seats.
Regardless of where the responsibility lies, this is more bad publicity for American Airlines.
Discussion Starters:
- How can American Airlines manage this latest bout of bad news?
- How do you assess the airline's response?
- If you were the president of Timco Aviation Services, what would you do now?
Disgruntled Employee's Resignation Email Makes the Rounds
An employee at UK-based media agency MEC left the company with some harsh words. Kieran Allen, a senior account manager, wrote a bitter resignation email addressed to "All Staff" in the London office. Someone leaked the email, and it went viral.
A spokesperson for MEC issued this poorly written response:
"We are sad that one of our employees has chosen to share their personal views in such a public way and has left the company with such bad feeling.
"We are taking this issue seriously though given the highly personal nature of the email, we cannot comment further."
The interviewee named in the email denies the accusation of having sexual relations with her future boss: "I didn't sleep with him. I kissed him. I had been to the pub with Greg for an informal interview for a job. It was a kiss in the foyer whilst waiting for taxis. We were both single at the time."
Here's the email with names redacted:
From: Kieran Allen
Sent: 25 September 2012 08:11
To: MEC London UK All Staff
Subject: LeavingHello MEC,
It feels quite strange to be writing my leaving speech after 2 1/2 yrs. of loyal service to the company. It's the longest I have spent at a company and I owe MEC a lot for my training and development. I leave in a position where I can go and further my career in digital if I so wish and for that I pay MEC great tribute.
However I leave with a horrible taste in my mouth after my working life for the past 8months has been ruined by <redacted>.
Background:
Joined MEC in May 2010. Soon after I started to receive continuous praise from Kevin Kirby Account Director and <redacted> for my outstanding performance across accounts (mainly Specsavers) Inc. a commendation from <redacted> to Jason Dormieux about my ability and contribution. I also received high praise from Amy Creasey and Louise Temperley (re general Specsavers performance and securing a PPC turnaround for Colgate inc a 100%+ YoY spend increase).
October 2011
I decide to hand in my notice and join another agency in order to further my development. <Redacted> while initially cold to my departure rapidly changed tone and started to court me in order to stay.January 2012
I retract my notice after <redacted> promotes me to Senior AM and gives me a substantial pay-rise along with the promise of rapid development.However while all seemed well on the surface things were far from ideal in the background.
Oct-Feb 2011/12
My client load had been nearly trebled from 6 to 16 clients due to the departures of Aoife Bergin and Jacob Knox-Hooke (Brand team).
I was initially asked to help out in order to help service the clients while staff were recruited but I ended up being made the de-facto brand team manager along with my original client list.
The stress and strain took its toll and during late January – early February 2012 my health started to deteriorate rapidly.
I ended up breaking down to <redacted> that I couldn't take it anymore and that I was losing my mind under the pressure. Nothing changed although he knew I was beyond stacked.Feb 21st I had to go to the doctors due to an imminent breakdown where I was ordered to stay off work indefinitely. I was signed off with Work Related Stress. I ended up needing over 2weeks off in order to recover.
On my return things went from bad to worse. <Redacted> instead of welcoming me back and looking to make things right, instead attacked me and made me feel an outsider. I was made to feel that I had actually done wrong.
Soon after my return in early March <redacted>
- blocked my 2011 bonus due to
1)"poor performance in 2011″
2) "being given a pay rise and promotion in Jan 2012″
3) "things not working out as recently planned"
4) "being monitored after coming back from illness"- Gave me an official company verbal warning for poor performance in 2011
- Put me on a performance review
All of this though after
- Praising me regularly throughout 2010/11
- Courting me to stay when i decided to leave
- Promoting me to Senior Account Manager
- Giving me a 15% payrise
- Describing my performance as "outstanding" as late as December 2011 when there was a lot of issues due to staff departures
and my ability to step in and manage the brand teams PPC activity…The only thing that changed during Feb/March 2012 is that I had to take 2 weeks off work due to work related stress and that <redacted> was questioned as Head of Department as to why this had happened under his watch and instead of taking responsibility he instead decided to attack me and my reputation in order to discredit my time off and make himself look less liable for blame.
This type of approach would seem extreme from a decent man but this is <redacted> who openly in front of other team members
- Made jokes about the "Spastic Olympics" (referring to Para-Olympics)
- Openly claimed to be proud "not to have a drop of Jewish blood in him"
- Regularly made sexist and other bigoted remarks
- Took a female colleague out for a drink on the day he interviewed her, then later took her back to the MEC offices that night and had
sexual relations with her in the meeting rooms on the 3rd floorThe above is all common knowledge throughout the team. This is <redacted>'s style of leadership and is gross misconduct on many levels. It is hard to fathom that such a man is responsible for the work wellbeing of over 30staff.
I am writing this message in order to expose these failings and protect others in future. I am far from perfect personally or professionally but I am a good human being who treats people with respect. In 2012 this behaviour is not acceptable and certainly not in a company which touts itself as being all about its people.
Not one thing on this email has been exaggerated or made up. This is my truth to you all.No doubt I fully expect the above to be ripped apart but as long as the truth is out there then that's all I can do.
Good luck to MEC and all those good people who strive to make her great.
KieranKieran Allen
MEC
Senior Account Manager
Interaction
Discussion Starters:
- What's your impression of Allen's letter? Do you sympathize with him, or could there be another side to this story?
- Does a bad work experience ever justify an email sent to all employees of a company, with the potential to go viral?
- Rewrite MEC's response to be more substantive and grammatically correct.
Apple Apologizes for Maps App
To address a barrage of criticism about the maps application installed with the new iPhone 5, Apple CEO Tim Cook has written a letter of apology.
The Financial Times reported that the weak maps app soured the iPhone 5 launch. Complaints were about misnamed areas, missing information, and poor search capabilities. Jokes and parodies plagued the company for a week. In one video, the narrator says, "Many people say that our new maps are inaccurate, and that's not true. It's just that with Apple's new Q6 Quantum Processor, they may occasionally show features from other, parallel universes."
Last week, Apple responded to the criticism:
"We launched this new map service knowing that it is a major initiative and we are just getting started with it," Apple's Trudy Muller said in a statement. "We are continuously improving it, and as Maps is a cloud-based solution, the more people use it, the better it will get."
Today, Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a formal letter to customers.
Although Cook takes responsibility in the letter ("...we fell short"), he seems to place responsibility on users for improving the app. Also, inviting customers to visit other maps programs seems a sad admission for the company to make.
Discussion Starters:
- What's your reaction to Cook's letter? What are the most and least effective parts?
- Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that Apple should have used Google Maps for the new operating system. If you represented Apple, how would you respond?
Romney Criticized for "47%" Comment
Mitt Romney was caught off guard when Mother Jones leaked a video of him responding to a question about his strategy to win the election:
"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That, that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax."
To explain his comments, Romney positioned them in terms of his campaign strategy:
"This is a campaign, fundamentally, about how to help the middle-class in America, and how to help people in poverty get into the middle class."
VP candidate Paul Ryan also tried to position the comment into the larger perspective of the Republican campaign:
"Oh I think he would have said it differently, that's for sure," Ryan said. "But the point still stands, we have too many people becoming too dependent on government because of the poor economic policies of the Obama administration."
Discussion Starters:
- What's your view of Romney's initial comments? How could he have phrased his perspective instead?
- In the second video here, is Romney effective in repositioning his 47% comment?
Talk but No Deal in Chicago Teachers' Strike
After a week of no school for 350,000 students in Chicago public schools, the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago School Board could not agree on a contract. Talks continue today with hopes of children returning to school on Monday.
In the past week, both sides have been honing their messages to garner support. Rahm Emanuel called the strike "unnecessary" and "a strike by choice." In his press statement, he says that two issues remain: teacher evaluation and principal accountability. He also emphasizes the importance of getting "...kids back in the classroom. Our kids, the kids of Chicago, belong in the classroom."
On the other side of the table, Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, leads the conversation. Lewis, described by The New York Times as a "fiery former high school chemistry teacher," spoke to a reported 18,000 supporters on Labor Day. She riled the crowd: "We know there's a finite amount of resources, but we also know we didn't create that problem. Our children are not a campaign promise. Our children are not numbers on a spreadsheet. When you come after our children, you come after us."
The Chicago Teachers Union has an active Facebook page, with almost 35,000 "likes." Although the page is often updated and shows strike-related activity, more content about the Union's position is available on its website. Here, we see a flyer targeted to parents that outlines the following demands:
- Reduce class size
- Provide social services children need
- Invest in all schools
- Support teachers as professionals
- Stop charter expansions
However, in the lastest "Bargaining Update" posted, from August 22, the Union highlights these "three priorities":
1. A "Better" Day-with Art, Music, World Language, Physical Education and other services like counseling anchored by contract language that assures prep and break time, limits on teaching load, and limits on duties.
2. Job Security-in the form of guarantees that the Board will conduct future hiring from a pool of displaced members before making new hires, as well as an appeal process and other protections against unfair evaluation.
3. Fair Compensation-we deserve a fair raise for work that will be more stressful and challenging. In addition, we seek to protect our salary schedule (steps) and keep out merit pay, insurance premium hikes, and changes to our accumulation of sick days that undercut our benefits.
Discussion Starters:
- Read more about the contract negotiations online. Which side do you favor? What issues do you consider most important for each side?
- Watch Rahm Emanuel's and Karen Lewis's videos. What do you consider to be the most and leaving convincing arguments in each?
- In the Bargaining Update document, is this use of "assures" correct: "contract language that assures prep and break time"? What should be in its place?