Medicare Bills Rise as Records Turn Electronic

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Description:  When the federal government began providing billions of dollars in incentives to push hospitals and physicians to use electronic medical and billing records, the goal was not only to improve efficiency and patient safety, but also to reduce health care costs. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Sep 21, 2012 Link:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/22/business/medicare-billing-rises-at-hospitals-with-electronic-records.html?_r=1&hp Questions for Discussions: What are… Read more »

When Moms Who Run Businesses Take Maternity Leave

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Description:  Kristen McAlister has moved up hiring timelines, increased administrative support, and written reams of instructions for her nine employees at Cerius Interim Executive Solutions, the staffing company she co-owns. Despite all the preparation, she worries how the Irvine (Calif.) business will fare when she gives birth in late December. Source: Businessweek.com Date: Sep 20,… Read more »

American Retailers Face Challenges in Expanding to Canada

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Description:  Nordstrom and Target are about to open stores in Canada, J. Crew and Tory Burch just did so, and Ann Taylor and Kate Spade are scouting locations. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Sep 14, 2012 Link:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/15/business/american-retailers-expanding-to-canada.html?ref=business Questions for Discussions: Summarize the challenges facing American retailers entering the Canadian retail market. What are the factors that… Read more »

How Crayola crayons are made

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Description: For over 100 years, Crayola has mixed and molded crayons in the hopes of encouraging creativity in children. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Aug 29, 2012 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/smallbusiness/2012/08/29/sbiz-hwgs-crayola-crayons.cnnmoney/ Questions for Discussions: Why do you think crayons and Crayola brand in particular have endured for so many generations? Describe the manufacturing process that was… Read more »

Death to PowerPoint!

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Description: No matter what your line of work, it’s only getting harder to avoid death by PowerPoint. Since Microsoft (MSFT) launched the slide show program 22 years ago, it’s been installed on no fewer than 1 billion computers; an estimated 350 PowerPoint presentations are given each second across the globe; the software’s users continue to… Read more »

Tony Hayward Gets His Life Back

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Description:  IF there’s a public villain of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill — one person who, rightly or not, will be remembered for the deadly blowout, the black slick and all that followed — it’s probably Tony Hayward. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Sep 01, 2012 Link:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/02/business/tony-hayward-former-bp-chief-returns-to-oil.html?ref=business Questions for Discussions: What does this report have… Read more »

Obama’s small biz solar star fades

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Description: A small solar business, once the leading light of President Obama’s green jobs program, is now caught in an international trade dispute. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Aug 24, 2012 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/08/23/n-obama-solar-star-not-shining.cnnmoney/ Questions for Discussions: Summarize the history of this start-up business. What are the lessons to be learned about the globalization of… Read more »

How AT&T gets new ideas to your phone

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Description: AT&T created a unique innovation pipeline for its 250,000 employees to streamline their ideas towards production Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Aug 23, 2012 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/magazines/fortune/2012/08/23/f-l-att-idea-pipeline.fortune/ Questions for Discussions: Describe the innovation process at AT&T. What lessons are there to be learned by managers when designing innovation processes and product development?

Apple Patent Victory Seen Spurring Wider Range of Smartphones

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Description: Apple Inc. (AAPL) scored a clear victory in its patent dispute with Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) yesterday, increasing pressure on smartphone makers around the world to create handsets that stand apart from the iPhone and deliver more choices for consumers in a $219.1 billion market. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: Aug 25, 2012 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-25/apple-patent-victory-seen-spurring-wider-range-of-smartphones.html Questions… Read more »

Why Progressive defended a client’s killer

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Description: Progressive Insurance tried to use twitter to calm public outrage in a controversial death case, but it only made things worse. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Aug 17, 2012 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/08/16/n-progressive-insurance-social-media.cnnmoney/ Questions for Discussions: Summarize the legal issues in this case. What lessons are there for management that does not recognize the public… Read more »