Description: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) may spend hundreds of millions of dollars investigating $24 million in alleged Mexican bribes as the U.S. government weighs whether the company or executives also broke the law by covering up an internal probe, former federal prosecutors said. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: 04/24/2012 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-24/wal-mart-bribery-probe-in-u-s-seen-as-examining-coverup-claims.html Questions for discussion: What are… Read more »
Posts Tagged: HRM
Demand Alone Doesn’t Make a Successful Startup
Description: Odysseas Tsatalos’ entrepreneurship story started during his childhood in Greece. Reading about inventors in his encyclopedia, he decided early on that his dream was to one day see himself in print for one of his inventions. While his parents wanted him to become a doctor, Tsatalos travelled to the U.S. and got his Ph.D… Read more »
AMR unions want to take a chance on U.S. Air merger
Description: Labor groups at bankrupt American Airlines said on Friday they support a potential merger with rival US Airways Group Inc in a deal they say would save more jobs than a plan by parent AMR Corp to reorganize as a stand-alone carrier. Source: Reuters.com Date: 04/21/2012 Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/21/us-american-unions-idUSBRE83J0WG20120421 Questions for discussion: Summarize the issues… Read more »
Avon, 125 years old
Description: Avon Products, the iconic door-to-door cosmetic seller, celebrates 125 years in business, Felicia Taylor reports. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 04/02/2012 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011/03/09/n_avon_taylor.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: What does the Avon brand represent to women today? What are the benefits to Avon’s participation in social causes?
Hostess Serves New Batch of Cuts
Description: If negotiations fail, Hostess and its unions will face off in a trial over whether the company can scrap its labor contracts-an example of how wage levels across many once-vibrant industries are falling. Mike Spector reports on Markets Hub. Photo: Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images. Source: Marketwatch.com – video report Date: 04/02/2012 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/hostess-serves-new-batch-of-cuts/A64EE3DD-0867-4DE5-B20B-F85496993B9A Questions… Read more »
Is your company like ‘The Hunger Games?’
Description: (MoneyWatch) Many of us have been there. Your company decided to do “stretch goals,” or, if an executive had recently read a Jim Collins book, “BHAGs” (big, hairy, audacious goals). Someone — often a senior executive — may have encouraged you to “treat it like a game,” and “make it fun.” The tag line… Read more »
Entrepreneurs jump on co-working bandwagon
Description: In 2008, Chad and Sandra Ballantyne moved their marketing and Web design company, Rhubarb Media, into its first office – a 1,300-square-foot space in downtown Barrie, Ont., which they shared with another small company. Source: GlobeandMail.com Date: 04/02/2012 Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-marketing/customer-service/entrepreneurs-jump-on-co-working-bandwagon/article2386076/ Questions for discussion: What lessons are there in this report for entrepreneurs? What are… Read more »
Apple Labor Pact Could Ripple Across China
Description: Manufacturers grappling with rising labor costs and worker demands in China could face further pressure if a critical probe of a major Apple supplier sets a new standard for China’s factory workers, Andrew Dowell reports on digits. Photo: Getty Images. Source: Marketwatch.com – video report Date: 03/30/2012 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/apple-labor-pact-could-ripple-across-china/ED326ADD-8C33-4B32-B463-A4BD5BA1D89C Questions for discussion: Summarize the… Read more »
Apple v. RIM: What Canadian companies can learn
Description: There are few games out there that test one’s strategic thinking better than chess. A well thought-out plan, coupled with the ability to anticipate and out manoeuvre your opponent, invariably leads to the capture of your opponent’s king. Game over. The world of business is essentially built on the same basic principles, but in… Read more »
Best Buy’s moves meet with investor skepticism
Description: Best Buy Co., the largest U.S. electronics chain, swung to a fourth-quarter loss, hurt by charges and lower sales of notebook computers and televisions. Source: Marketwatch.com Date: 03/30/2012 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/best-buy-swings-to-loss-to-shut-50-stores-2012-03-29?siteid=nwtwk Questions for discussion: Summarize the reasons for Best Buy’s financial problems. Do you think they can be resolved easily?
