Taylor Swift Is the Music Industry

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

Description: Swift’s success is an anomaly in an ailing industry that’s been in decline since 2000.

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: Nov 12, 2014

Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-11-12/taylor-swift-and-big-machine-are-the-music-industry

Questions for Discussions:

  • Summarize the marketing strategy Taylor Swift is applying so successfully.
  • Why do you think she is she succeeding in a threatened industry?
  • How is she demonstrating leadership and entrepreneurship?

How the soda industry met its match in one of America’s most liberal cities

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

Description: On Tuesday, despite a furious and well-financed opposition campaign by the beverage industry, Berkeley became the first city in the country to pass a tax on sugary drinks.

Source: WashingtonPost.com

Date: Nov 07, 2014

Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/11/06/how-the-soda-industry-met-its-match-in-one-of-americas-most-liberal-cities/

Questions for Discussions:

  • Do you think sodas should be taxed as a means to reduce consumption?
  • What do you think of the political struggle between businesses and the public for control of the taxation issues?

Lyft sues ex-exec for allegedly taking secret docs to Uber

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

Description: Lyft is suing its former COO and Uber’s new VP of International Growth, Travis VanderZanden for stealing sensitive documents from the company.

Source: Fortune.com – video report

Date: Nov 06, 2014

Link: http://for.tn/1vQ4Ah2

Questions for Discussions:

  • How can companies maintain control of strategic planning information when executives leave?
  • Do you think this is an ethical issue or an actual legal case with associated damages?
  • How would you handle this at Uber?

Nike breaks ties with Minnesota Viking Adrian Peterson

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

Description: Nike dropped Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson from his contract Tuesday just days after Peterson submitted a no-contest plea for misdemeanor reckless assault.

Source: Fortune.com – video report

Date: Nov 07, 2014

Link: http://for.tn/1u6OC5o

Questions for Discussions:

  • What are the ethical and social responsibility issues involved in these celebrity endorsement cases?
  • What guidance would you suggest to Nike management in managing this complex mine field of decisions?

The Changing Paradigm Of Sports Multimedia Rights Led By Rockbridge Sports

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

Description: There is an arms race in college sports. Those schools with the most money have the best chance of building the best stadiums and facilities and recruiting the best athletes. That means schools are looking to maximize revenue from their sports programs.

Source: Forbes.com – video report

Date: Nov 07, 2014

Link: http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2014/11/07/the-changing-paradigm-of-sports-multimedia-rights-led-by-rockbridge-sports/

Questions for Discussions:

  • How is the management of college sports programs changing from a business point of view?
  • Do you think the typical managerial factors, such as leadership, apply to college sports management as they do in normal businesses?

3,000 Entrepreneurs Say Luck Has Little to Do With Their Success

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

Description: Ask entrepreneurs how they built their businesses and they’ll likely credit talent and hard work. Luck is at the bottom of the list. In a scholarly survey that had 3,000 Swiss entrepreneurs rank the relative importance of six components of success, 78 percent put luck last.

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: Nov 07, 2014

Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-11-07/entrepreneurs-say-luck-has-little-to-do-with-their-success#r=nav-r-story

Questions for Discussions:

  • What does this report say about entrepreneurial perceptions of luck in business?
  • How does culture affect this perception?
  • What does the report conclude about the formula for success?

Prominent Editor’s Exit Is Setback for Amazon Publishing Unit

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

Description: When Amazon hired the novelist Ed Park as a senior editor in its New York publishing office in 2011, it seemed an unlikely match. Mr. Park — a member of New York’s literary elite who had worked for the Poetry Foundation, co-founded a literary magazine and edited The Village Voice’s literary supplement — seemed ill suited to Amazon’s algorithm-driven business.

Source: NYTimes.com

Date: Nov 07, 2014

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/08/business/media/a-major-setback-for-amazons-publishing-unit.html?ref=business&_r=0

Questions for Discussions:

  • What sort of leader does Amazon need?
  • Would a team approach to management make more sense?
  • Was Park a good choice at the time?

How will Tim Cook’s announcement affect Apple?

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

Description: Fortune’s Andrew Nusca and Phil Wahba discuss the tech giant CEO’s decision to publicly come out as gay.

Source: Fortune.com – video report

Date: Oct 30, 2014

Link: http://for.tn/1G0ifu8

Questions for Discussions:

  • What do these analysts have to say about Tim Cook’s announcement?
  • Do you agree?
  • How to do think this issue will affect HR in other large public firms?

Here’s a way to avoid going to the doctor

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

Description: Ron Gutman, Founder of HealthTap, discusses how the mobile platform will revolutionize the way people get healthcare.

Source: Fortune.com – video report

Date: Oct 30, 2014

Link: http://for.tn/13mQbSV

Questions for Discussions:

  • What changes to patient management would have to be made for a doctor to operate with this system?
  • Where are the benefits for patient and doctor?
  • Do you think this system is more likely to be adopted if it is adopted by an insurance provider?

Tony Robbins, The CEO Whisperer

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

Description: When no one was looking, Tony Robbins went from infomercial pitchman to C-suite coach. Now captains of industry and finance pay him seven-figures for his wisdom. Here’s what we can learn for free.

Source: Fortune.com

Date: Oct 30, 2014

Link: http://fortune.com/2014/10/30/tony-robbins-best-advice-executive-coach/

Questions for Discussions:

  • “You want to get someone engaged, you engage,” he exhorts. “That’s your job as a leader. You can’t maximize resources if you don’t have engagement.” What does Tony Robbins mean by this?
  • What do you think of his ideas on leadership?