‘Chevy Guy’ Becomes Part of GM’s Official Marketing Stuff

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

Description: If anybody is left who hasn’t heard about Chevy Guy—the regional manager whose bumbled presentation of car keys to Madison Bumgarner, the World Series Most Valuable Player, has become a media phenomenon—General Motors (GM) is working on it. The automaker has begun including the Chevy Guy’s accidental catchphrase “and stuff” in its advertising.

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: Oct 31, 2014

Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-31/chevy-guy-becomes-part-of-gms-official-marketing-stuff

Questions for Discussions:

  • Do you think that this was a GM public relations management error or a calculated effort to launch a publicity campaign?
  • Why do you think it has gone viral?

‘A stick and a carrot at the same time’: Why Costco pays twice the market rate

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

Description: The business case for Costco’s high wages

Source: FinancialPost.com

Date: Oct 30, 2014

Link: http://business.financialpost.com/2014/10/30/a-stick-and-a-carrot-at-the-same-time-why-costco-pays-twice-the-market-rate/

Questions for Discussions:

  • What does the report say about the Costco relationship with employees.
  • How important is pay to an employee?
  • Why is the Costco approach being recognized as a model to follow by some but not by all business leaders?

Domino’s recipe for success

Posted by & filed under International Business, Management.

Description: Domino’s Pizza is hot again, and we don’t just mean the pies. Customers love it, and investors are eating it up.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: Oct 23, 2014

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/investing/2014/10/23/dominos-pizza-is-hot-again.cnnmoney/

Questions for Discussions:

  • What has management done to improve financial performance at the firm?
  • How important is online service development for a business like Domino’s Pizza?

Watch Mark Zuckerberg speak Chinese

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

Description: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg surprised a university crowd in Beijing by speaking and answering questions in Mandarin.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: Oct 23, 2014

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2014/10/23/mark-zuckerberg-speaks-chinese.cnnmoney/

Questions for Discussions:

  • What impact do you think Mark Zukerberg’s presentation had on his audience and the management at FaceBook?
  • Describe his leadership style as illustrated by this clip.

Why cyber security is more than an IT issue

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

Description: Fortune’s Nina Easton discusses how companies should manage a cyber security breach.

Source: Fortune.com – video report

Date: Oct 24, 2014

Link: http://for.tn/1xhFf1C

Questions for Discussions:

  • What does this report say about the issues surrounding cyber security?
  • Do you think the panel members believed it was under control at their respective firms?

YouTube Content Creator Channels Help Marketers Get in on the Right Action

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

Description: US YouTube revenues to rise 39.2% this year to $1.13 billion

Source: eMarketer.com

Date: Oct 20, 2014

Link: http://www.emarketer.com/Article/YouTube-Content-Creator-Channels-Help-Marketers-on-Right-Action/1011321/11#sthash.mC0xkzzQ.dpuf

Questions for Discussions:

  • What does this report say to managers about using YouTube to reach targeted audiences?
  • Do you think the shift to online advertising is superior to regular televised distribution?
  • What entrepreneurial opportunities are suggested by this report to content providers?

Amazon Employees, Not Investors, Will Have to Pressure Jeff Bezos to Slow Down

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

Description: Thursday’s quarterly earnings report from Amazon (AMZN) spooked Wall Street. The 95¢ per share loss for the third quarter was worse than even the 74¢ loss analysts had expected.

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: Oct 23, 2014

Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-23/amazon-employees-not-investors-will-have-to-pressure-jeff-bezos-to-slow-down#r=hpt-ls

Questions for Discussions:

  • Why did Amazon stock plunge?
  • Do you think these initiatives to develop new business will eventually pay off?
  • Why is poor stock performance a motivational concern for management as well as investors?

Chasing Wallpaper Dreams

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

Description: Elizabeth Rees, who grew up in the printing industry in the Midwest, came up with a new type of removable wallpaper.

Source: NYTimes.com – video report

Date: Oct 15, 2014

Link: http://nyti.ms/ZFje1O

Questions for Discussions:

  • What is different about Chasing Paper wallpaper?
  • How important was Rees’ family in her entrepreneurial journey?
  • Do you think the Internet made success easier?

Tinder’s popularity grows in India

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

Description: Young Indians in cosmopolitan cities are embracing the dating app Tinder, which is growing its user base in India by more than 1% every day.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: Oct 15, 2014

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2014/10/15/india-dating-app-tinder.cnnmoney/

Questions for Discussions:

  • What drives users of Tinder?
  • Do you think Tinder can be popular globally?
  • Do you think anything special about Indian culture is influencing its rate of adoption?

More people prefer a male boss

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

Description: In the 1950s, Americans were asked, “If you were taking a new job and had your choice of a boss, would you prefer to work for a man or a woman?”

Source: CNNMoney.com

Date: Oct 17, 2014

Link: http://money.cnn.com/2014/10/17/smallbusiness/prefer-male-boss/index.html?iid=H_SB_News

Questions for Discussions:

  • What does the report say?
  • Are you surprised?
  • How should HR and management in general respond?