A Marketer’s Homage to the Soda Can

Posted by & filed under International Business, Management.

Description:   PepsiCo (PEP) recently announced that it will add an additional $500 million to $600 million to its roughly $2 billion advertising budget to support its soda brands in 2012, in an attempt to catch up with the heavy spending (and sales gains) of archrival Coca-Cola (KO). Meanwhile, Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) recently upped… Read more »

Pass the Books. Hold the Oil.

Posted by & filed under International Business, Management, Organizational Behavior.

Description:    Thomas Friedman: EVERY so often someone asks me: “What’s your favorite country, other than your own?” Source:  NYTimes.com Date: 03/10/2012 Link:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/opinion/sunday/friedman-pass-the-books-hold-the-oil.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=thomas%20friedman&st=cse Questions for discussion: Summarize Thomas Friedman’s arguments about the development of wealth around the world. Do you agree with his assessments?

In Europe, Goldman letter deepens banks’ trust deficit

Posted by & filed under International Business, Management, Organizational Behavior.

Description:   British politicians visiting Wall Street would once have been only too happy to have their photograph taken with the head of Goldman Sachs. This week in New York, Prime Minister David Cameron met Goldman Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein and other bankers in private. Source:  Reuters.com Date: 03/16/2012 Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/16/us-banks-image-idUSBRE82F0RR20120316 Questions for discussion: What are… Read more »

SXSW’s hottest new apps

Posted by & filed under Management, Organizational Behavior.

Description:  Social discovery apps like Highlight and Sonar are getting buzzed about but come with privacy concerns. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 03/10/2012 Link:  http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2012/03/10/ts-sxsw-highlight-sonar.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Do you think these apps will become popular? Where are they likely to be used? Is there a business use for these apps in business settings,… Read more »

Designing a $100 solar-powered tablet

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Description:  Fuseproject founder Yves Behar shows off the One Laptop Per Child project’s latest invention. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 02/23/2012 Link:  http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2012/02/23/t-ts-nextlist-olpc.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: How do you think the creative product development process differs at a not-for-profit business like Fuseproject? How do you think this product will affect development at for-profit manufacturers?… Read more »

A new jobs program for people trapped in unemployment

Posted by & filed under Management, Organizational Behavior.

Description:   The chances of finding a job are grim for the four million long-term unemployed in the U.S., but Joe Carbone is looking to change that in his Connecticut town. Scott Pelley reports. Source:  MoneyWatch.com Date: 02/19/2012 Link:  http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7399352n&tag=contentBody;storyMediaBox Questions for discussion: Summarize the problems faced by the long term unemployed. Why does this paid-internship… Read more »

Auto Makers Target Indonesia for Expansion

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Description: Indonesia is being embraced as a major expansion market for car manufacturers, but will the country’s infrastructure bottlenecks hinder their progress? WSJ’s Deborah Kan discusses with Eric Bellman. Source:  Marketwatch.com – video report Date: 02/10/2012 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/auto-makers-target-indonesia-for-expansion/9A237207-68FA-4E09-B687 Questions for discussion: Describe the connection between corporate investing and government investing in infrastructure? What are the… Read more »