TOPIC
You will be asked to read a short article on a business practice called “brushing” and then be given a short writing task. The topic will encompass ethics and problem solving.(you need to write a introduction paragraphs about the problem and ethics issue of “brushing”, and then state a solution for it.)
Here is the article:
http://cnafinance.com/alibaba-baba-fake-orders-brushing-plagues-baba-stocks/1973
What is brushing
How brushing works on Alibaba platforms
So, vendors turn to ‘brushing’ to increase their sales figures and gain standing on the marketplaces. In China, you can become a brusher if you have a Taobao account, an online payment account and Internet connectivity. Merchants claim that without brushing, their products will never be visible to potential buyers. Sellers pay brushers the cost of the goods ordered, plus a service fee. The brusher places an order for that seller’s product using the money they received from the seller. Thus the money reaches the merchant, and they ship an empty box to the brusher in return of positive reviews.
Now it has become a vicious cycle. Even an honest seller has to resort to brushing because their rivals are doing so. They risk left behind and become invisible on the marketplaces if they don’t use brushing services to boost sales figures and get positive reviews, just like their competitors are doing. That’s one of the reasons Chinese consumers have lost faith in positive reviews and featured merchants. They are increasingly preferring international merchants to buy goods from.
SamplePlease follow this instruction….
• You work at Rite Aid and are writing to marketing/PR.
• CVS has banned tobacco products, and now there’s some pressure for Rite Aid to do the same.
• How should Rite Aid respond to the public regarding tobacco sales – if at all?
• Make your message coherent and on point and relevant to your audience.
• If you were writing to operations or merchandising, how would your problem be posed?
• Pose the problem carefully.
3 Part Intro
• Establish a shared context
• State the problem
• State the solution
Rite Aid has been receiving some pressure to halt tobacco sales since CVS’s decision to stop sales was announced earlier this year. On March 15, 2013, the attorneys general of 28 states have asked Rite Aid, along with other retailers such Walgreens and Walmart, to remove tobacco from our shelves. (SHARED CONTEXT) This increasing pressure on Rite Aid to follow CVS’s lead seems to warrant a prompt response….(PROBLEM)If we do not respond to the concerns of the state attorney generals…. Thus, we should consider…. (SOLUTION)
Please follow this instruction….
