Description: There is a website where cats and dogs rule the day, profanities are common, and clips from Lord of the Rings movies can be used to convey universal sentiments like the joy of revenge. All right, there are plenty of websites like that, but this one is more popular than those of the Weather… Read more »
Posts Categorized: International Business
The Elders of Organic Farming
Description: Among the sleek guests who meditate and do Downward Facing Dog here at the Esalen Institute, the farmers appeared to be out of place. They wore baggy jeans, suspenders and work boots and had long ago let their hair go gray. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Jan 25, 2014 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/25/business/the-elders-of-organic-farming.html?ref=business Questions for discussion: Describe the… Read more »
The 30-Year-Old Macintosh and a Lost Conversation With Steve Jobs
Description: On a late-November day in 1983, Steven Levy, then a freelance journalist for Rolling Stone, got into a car outside 10460 Bandley Drive, in Cupertino, Calif. As the vehicle sped away from the white office building, Mr. Levy looked at the driver and said hello to Steven P. Jobs, then the young, spry co-founder of… Read more »
How Steve Jobs launched a revolution in home computing and founded an army of passionate devotees
Description: “I don’t know a single person who watches the Super Bowl,” said a worried Steve Jobs, then just 28 years old. The event he was referring to commanded a television audience of more than 80 million at the time, but Jobs’ nervousness at the prospect of Apple spending $1.6m (£1m) to secure two 60-second… Read more »
Café customers pay by the minute
Description: Customers of this London café can have as many drinks and snacks as they want as long as they make them and clean up by themselves. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Jan 15, 2014 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2014/01/15/n-london-cafe-charges-by-the-minute.cnnmoney/index.html Questions for Discussions: Why do you think this concept works? To what sort of customer do you… Read more »
Inside The Cheesecake Factory culture
Description: Employees who ‘ooze hospitality’ are in hot demand at The Cheesecake Factory where perks like BMWs for its general managers have helped it land on Fortune’s list of 100 Best Companies to Work For. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Jan 17, 2014 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2014/01/17/inside-the-cheesecake-factory.cnnmoney/ Questions for Discussions: What did you learn about management… Read more »
Can Daniel Dienst Turn the Martha Stewart Empire Around?
Description: On Oct. 29, the newly appointed chief executive officer of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO), Daniel Dienst, spoke publicly for the first time during an earnings conference call. It was not a cheery occasion. During the third quarter, the company had lost $4.3 million. Falling publishing revenues had once again eclipsed growth in merchandising…. Read more »
How to Suppress the Apology Reflex
Description: Confidence, at least in the American workplace, means never having to say you’re sorry. I know that now, but early in my career I found myself apologizing over and over as my confidence and self-worth were tested on every level — from my job function to performance reviews, from networking to winning clients. Source:… Read more »
The $20 book that companies are betting could save them $100,000 or more
Description: CBS, Michael Dell, and others are giving David Agus’s A Short Guide to a Long Life to their employees to encourage good health. Source: Fortune.com Date: Jan 17, 2014 Link: http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2014/01/17/the-20-book-that-companies-are-betting-could-save-100000-or-more/?iid=SF_F_River Questions for Discussions: What is the message to managers and employees? How should management encourage employee compliance in wellness programs?
Typo, the iPhone cover with a keyboard
Description: Typo, a startup backed by Ryan Seacrest, makes a keyboard that snaps on to iPhones, but the company is being sued by BlackBerry for patent infringement. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Jan 09, 2014 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2014/01/08/t-typo-iphone-keyboard.cnnmoney/index.html Questions for Discussions: What other entrepreneurial opportunities exist for hardware attachments to smartphones? Do you think management… Read more »
