Disney bets big on Avengers and wins
May 14, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under International Business, Management, Organizational Behavior
Description: Disney CEO Bob Iger says a growing number of silver screens across the globe is helping drive the success of ‘The Avengers.’
Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
Date: May 09, 2012
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/05/09/n-co-avengers-iger.cnnmoney/
Questions for Discussion:
- What are the reasons for the success of this film and the company as a whole?
- How are global marketing strategies becoming more important to the firm’s success?
Main Street’s uneven recovery
May 14, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Management, Organizational Behavior
Description: For some small business owners in Sayville, New York, Main Street feels like a “ghost town.”
Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
Date: May 11, 2012
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/05/10/n-making-it-on-main-street.cnnmoney/
Questions for Discussion:
- What does this report have to say about economic recovery on Main Street?
- How important is small business managerment to explaining why some businesses are coping better than others?
Integrated Marketing: If You Knew It, You’d Do It
May 14, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under International Business, Management
Description: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, is such a cliché that it has spawned its own cliché: If it ain’t broke, break it. Unfortunately, that’s just what many companies do unwittingly to their branding programs, playing into the hands of public enemy No. 1 in today’s marketing environment: fragmentation.
Source: Busineweek.com
Date: May 10, 2012
Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-10/integrated-marketing-if-you-knew-it-youd-do-it
Questions for Discussions:
- What is the fundamental strategic issue addressed in this article?
- How does the author suggest it can be resolved? Do you agree?
J.P. Morgan shares slump after $2 bln trading loss
May 14, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under International Business, Management, Organizational Behavior
Description: Bank’s loss is embarrassment for CEO, fodder for regulators
Source: Marketwatch.com
Date: May 11, 2012
Questions for Discussions:
- Summarize the reasons for the loss.
- What do you believe this event will mean for the company, management, and regulators?
Toyota RAV4 EV: Will anyone buy it?
May 14, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under International Business, Management
Description: For anyone arguing recently that electric cars don’t stand a chance in the U.S. mass market, I would have offered one end-all example: the battery-powered Ford Focus at $40,000.
Source: Marketwatch.com
Date: May 11, 2012
Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/toyota-rav4-ev-will-anyone-buy-it-2012-05-11
Questions for Discussions:
- Who do you think is the likely customer for this product?
- Is there a global customer?
- How could Toyota rationalize the price gap between the electric and gas models?
Why Delta is buying an oil refinery
May 7, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under International Business, Management
Description: Delta Air Lines tries to take out the middle man by purchasing a Pennsylvania oil refinery, but it could prove to be a risky investment.
Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
Date: May 01, 2012
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/05/01/n-delta-oil-refinery.cnnmoney/
Questions for Discussion:
- Why did Delta management do this?
- What are the risks?
- Do you think it was a good decision?
- Has management changed Delta’s business model?
Rattner: General Motors is undervalued
May 7, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under International Business, Management
Description: Steven Rattner, former ‘auto czar’ for the Treasury Dept., says the government should hold its GM stake until the stock rises further.
Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
Date: May 02, 2012
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/markets/2012/05/01/mkts-rattner-gm-government.cnnmoney/
Questions for Discussion:
- What is the basis for this evaluation of GM?
- Do you agree with this assessment?
- How will a shift away from government ownership affect the organizion?
Groupon, the Deal That Keeps Getting Cheaper
May 7, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under International Business, Management
Description: Is Groupon (GRPN) too good of a deal to be true?
Source: Busineweek.com
Date: May 01, 2012
Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-01/groupon-the-deal-that-keeps-getting-cheaper
Questions for Discussions:
- Summarize the views expressed in this report.
- Why has the stock value fallen?
- What new strategies would you recommend to managers?
The ‘Smartphone Class’: Always On, Always Consuming Content
May 7, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under International Business, Management
Description: Consuming content in frequent, small portions means more touchpoints for marketers
Source: eMarketer.com
Date: May 02, 2012
Link: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1009014&ecid=a6506033675d47f881651943c21c5ed4
Questions for Discussions:
- Summarize behaviors of smart phone users.
- Do you think these behaviors will become common across all users?
- How should business strategists who distribute mobile content deal with this research?
7 signs of a dysfunctional boss
May 7, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under International Business, Management, Organizational Behavior
Description: (MoneyWatch) COMMENTARY I’m going to go out on a limb here and say the word “dysfunctional” probably describes more people than the word “normal” does. When it comes to CEOs and executives, it’s almost certainly true.
Source: CBSNews.com
Date: April 25, 2012
Link: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-57420393/7-signs-of-a-dysfunctional-boss/?tag=nl.e857
Questions for Discussions:
- Summarize the descriptions of CEOs presented in the report.
- Do you believe they are accurate?
- Do you agree with the reasoning presented by the author?
