Café customers pay by the minute

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

Description: Customers of this London café can have as many drinks and snacks as they want as long as they make them and clean up by themselves.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: Jan 15, 2014

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2014/01/15/n-london-cafe-charges-by-the-minute.cnnmoney/index.html

Questions for Discussions:

  • Why do you think this concept works?
  • To what sort of customer do you think it appeals?
  • Are there other entrepreneurial start-ups that could use the same or similar business model where customers make micro-payments on time rather than actually buying any particular product or service?

Inside The Cheesecake Factory culture

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

Description: Employees who ‘ooze hospitality’ are in hot demand at The Cheesecake Factory where perks like BMWs for its general managers have helped it land on Fortune’s list of 100 Best Companies to Work For.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: Jan 17, 2014

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2014/01/17/inside-the-cheesecake-factory.cnnmoney/

Questions for Discussions:

  • What did you learn about management and employee development, training, motivation and leadership?
  • Is there one thing that is outstanding?

Can Daniel Dienst Turn the Martha Stewart Empire Around?

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

Description: On Oct. 29, the newly appointed chief executive officer of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO), Daniel Dienst, spoke publicly for the first time during an earnings conference call. It was not a cheery occasion. During the third quarter, the company had lost $4.3 million. Falling publishing revenues had once again eclipsed growth in merchandising. Moving forward, Dienst said, he was prepared to make tough decisions that should have been made long ago. His lack of experience in retail and media would be an asset, he argued, not a liability. “I’m not burdened by history,” he said.

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: Jan 16, 2014

Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-16/daniel-dienst-martha-stewart-living-omnimedias-great-turnaround-hope#r=hpt-tout

Questions for Discussions:

  • Summarize the managerial problems facing Daniel Dienst.
  • What does the report say about his orientation to solving these issues?
  • What would you advise him to do?

How to Suppress the Apology Reflex

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

Description: Confidence, at least in the American workplace, means never having to say you’re sorry. I know that now, but early in my career I found myself apologizing over and over as my confidence and self-worth were tested on every level — from my job function to performance reviews, from networking to winning clients.

Source: NYTimes.com

Date: Jan 18, 2014

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/jobs/how-to-suppress-the-apology-reflex.html?ref=business&_r=0

Questions for Discussions:

  • What does the author say about self-worth and presentation in the workplace?
  • Do you think this is a major issue in business today?

 

The $20 book that companies are betting could save them $100,000 or more

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

Description: CBS, Michael Dell, and others are giving David Agus’s A Short Guide to a Long Life to their employees to encourage good health.

Source: Fortune.com

Date: Jan 17, 2014

Link: http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2014/01/17/the-20-book-that-companies-are-betting-could-save-100000-or-more/?iid=SF_F_River

Questions for Discussions:

  • What is the message to managers and employees?
  • How should management encourage employee compliance in wellness programs?

Typo, the iPhone cover with a keyboard

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

Description: Typo, a startup backed by Ryan Seacrest, makes a keyboard that snaps on to iPhones, but the company is being sued by BlackBerry for patent infringement.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: Jan 09, 2014

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2014/01/08/t-typo-iphone-keyboard.cnnmoney/index.html

Questions for Discussions:

  • What other entrepreneurial opportunities exist for hardware attachments to smartphones?
  • Do you think management at Typo can leverage the publicity with Ryan Seacrest or that it is irrelevant?

Facebook barely scratching the surface of revenue, sales chief says

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

Description: It’s still early days in the Wild West of digital marketing. At CES, Fortune’s Jessi Hempel sits down with top execs from Facebook, Ford, and Adobe to learn why.

Source:  Fortune.com

Date: Jan 07, 2014

Link: http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2014/01/07/facebook-barely-scratching-the-surface-of-revenue-sales-chief-says/

Questions for Discussions:

  • What do the buisinesspeople in this aricle have to say about generating revenues?
  • Do you agree with the predictions?

What Wi-Fi’s Popularity Means for Cell Phone Carriers

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

Description:  David Morken holds a Moto X smartphone out for inspection. “This,” he says, “is a Wi-Fi device.” Morken runs Republic Wireless, a national carrier based in Raleigh, N.C., that offers unlimited calls and texts for $5 per month, $40 if you want unlimited data. Republic keeps its prices low by avoiding something most carriers see as essential: It hasn’t built a cellular network. For customers on the road, the company rents network capacity from Sprint (S). All other Republic calls, texts, and data use Wi-Fi, which Morken says handles about 50 percent of its calls and texts and 90 percent of its data. “Wi-Fi is eating the world,” he says. “Why ignore the biggest network in the world?”

Source:  Businessweek.com

Date: Jan 02, 2014

Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-02/what-wi-fis-popularity-means-for-cell-phone-carriers#r=read

Questions for Discussions:

  • Why can Republic offer services at such low prices?
  • Are you surprised by the limited use of cell bandwidth?
  • What strategies should the managers of the big cell phone carriers be developing?

The mega-corporation is dead; long live mega-networks

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

Description:   Is the world’s economy increasingly being dominated by a handful of corporations, or are things becoming more competitive?

Source:  SmartPlanet.com

Date: Jan 05, 2014

Link: http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/the-megacorporation-is-dead-long-live-mega-networks/?tag=nl.e660&s_cid=e660&ttag=e660&ftag=TRE4eb29b5

Questions for Discussions:

  • What is the meant by the term “mega-network”?
  • Do you think that this is the reality today?

NPR: Planet Money’s T-Shirt Project – ‘Our Industry Follows Poverty’: Success Threatens A T-Shirt Business

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

Description:  NPR’s Planet Money team is making a T-shirt and following the shirt around the world as it gets manufactured — from the farms where the cotton is grown to the factories where the shirts are sewn together. NPR presents the entire series of stories about the fascinating world behind that T-shirt at http://www.npr.org/series/248799434/planet-moneys-t-shirt-project . In the segment on Columbia, NPR reports that Colombia’s economy has been growing, and wages have been rising. That’s good for the country as a whole, but it may wind up driving away the T-shirt industry.

Source:  NPR.org

Date: Dec 06, 2013

Link: http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013/12/04/247360787/our-industry-follows-poverty-success-threatens-a-t-shirt-business

Questions for Discussions:

  • The link above presents the story of how T-shirt manufacturing for Jockey brand is becoming uncompetitive. Summarize the reasons for the loss in competitiveness based on price.
  • What are the options available to manufacturers in Columbia?
  • Is the Columbian experience any different than that of American clothing manufacturers?