Weak Sales and a Large Write-Down Give H.P. a Loss

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Description:  The pressure is building for Meg Whitman to make a miracle happen. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Aug 22, 2012 Link:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/23/technology/weak-sales-hurt-hp-in-quarter.html Questions for Discussions: Summarize the financial condition at HP and the industry in general. What can management do to affect change in a positive direction? Is this a leadership issue?

Why Self-Awareness Is Crucial for Entrepreneurs

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Description: Richard J. Harrington’s entrepreneurship experience includes starting a plumbing supply business with his brother and nearly three decades of helping transform a Canadian holding company into what is now Thomson Reuters (TRI). Today he is executive chairman at Cue Ball, a venture capital firm in Boston. I spoke recently to Harrington, 65, about his… Read more »

Overcoming obstacles is all about balance

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Description:  COMMENTARY Some things naturally complement each other. I don’t know why; they just do. Movies and popcorn. Peanut butter and jelly. The Three Stooges. Tuna fish and mayo. The New York Yankees. Okay, so I’m a little biased. When it comes to your career, work-life balance, that sort of thing, there’s a certain combination… Read more »

Is Social Media Marketing at a Saturation Point?

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Description:  Nearly nine in 10 US companies with at least 100 employees will use social networks for marketing activities this year, eMarketer estimates. With so many companies tapping social networks to build brand awareness, gain new customers and keep current ones loyal, how much room is left for growth? Source: eMarketer.com Date: Aug 17, 2012… Read more »

Sanofi’s Shock Therapy Enrages the French

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Description: Among the major French companies that have triggered protests at home this summer by announcing job cuts, Sanofi (SNY) stands out for its audacity. France’s biggest drugmaker plans to slash its research and development staff in Toulouse and Montpellier and is shifting its focus across the Atlantic to Cambridge, Mass. Source: Businessweek.com Date: Aug… Read more »

Email and Social Marketing: A Winning Combination

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Description:  As president of digital marketing agency MediaWhiz, a Hyper Marketing Inc. agency, Ed Kats is responsible for overseeing everything that goes into helping clients drive profitable digital marketing programs. Kats spoke with eMarketer’s Lauren Fisher about the online marketing tactic that holds the majority of successful digital marketing campaigns together: email marketing. Source: eMarketer.com… Read more »

Colleagues complaining? Why you need to tune it out

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Description: Incessant exposure to negativity isn’t just a drag — it’s actually bad for your brain, researchers say. Here are some ways to protect yourself. Source: Fortune.com Date: Aug 09, 2012 Link: http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2012/08/09/colleagues-complaining-why-you-need-to-tune-it-out/?iid=F_F500M Questions for Discussions: What are the highlights in this report? How would you minimize negativity?

Where Free Speech Goes to Die: The Workplace

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Description: In America you can say pretty much whatever you want, wherever you want to say it. Unless, that is, you’re at work. Simply put, there is no First Amendment right to “free speech” in the workplace—potentially perilous for many employees in a polarized political year with a tight presidential race. Source: Businessweek.com Date: Aug… Read more »

Police Chief’s $204,000 Pension Shows How Cities Crashed

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Description:  Stockton, California, Police Chief Tom Morris was supposed to bring stability to law enforcement when he was appointed to the job four years ago. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: July 31, 2012 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-01/police-chief-s-204-000-pension-shows-how-cities-crashed.html Questions for Discussions: Explain the crisis facing these cities in terms of financial mismanagement of budgets and cash flow estimations? Is there… Read more »

Andreessen: U.S. design means U.S. profits

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Description: Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen says concern about China manufacturing is overblown because as long as things are designed in the US, that’s where the profits stay. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: July 25, 2012 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2012/07/20/bst-andressen-china.fortune/ Questions for Discussion: Summarize the key arguments made by Marc Anderesen. Do you agree with his analysis?… Read more »