Rolling Up Their Sleeves, as a Team

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

Description: AS a 14-year-old Boy Scout who went on backpacking trips in western Massachusetts, Gihan Amarasiriwardena couldn’t find a fleece jacket that would protect him from the wind. His solution was to make his own wind-blocking coat from scratch, using plastic garbage bags, spray-on adhesive and fleece.

Source: NYTimes.com

Date: May 18, 2013

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/business/at-ministry-of-supply-teamwork-in-making-high-tech-apparel.html?ref=business

Questions for Discussions:

  • Are there developing opportunities in the apparel industry that depend on innovation, new technologies, and niche markets?
  • What does this report say about the value of entrepreneurial collaboration?

The Gap is cool again?

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

Description: Despite a sluggish economy, the Gap is expecting strong sales and earnings. Investors are impressed.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: May 10, 2013

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/investing/2013/05/10/investing-buzz-gap-old-navy-banana-republic.cnnmoney/

 Questions for Discussions:

  • Why is the Gap popular again, according to the report?
  • Do you think there a other reasons?
  • How significant is the role of new management in this story of revised success?

 

Women CEOs at Berkshire Say They Share `Bond’

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

Description: Mary Rhinehart, Susan Jacques and Cathy Baron Tamraz, chief executive officers of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiaries Johns Manville, Borsheims and Business Wire, respectively, talk about working with Berkshire Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett and succession planning at the company. They speak with Betty Liu on Bloomberg Television’s “In the Loop.” (Source: Bloomberg)

Source: Bloomberg.com – video report

Date: May 10, 2013

Link: http://bloom.bg/12g03ax

Questions for Discussions:

  • What does this report reveal about the corporate culture at Berkshire towards women in top management jobs?
  • Do you think naming a woman to succeed Buffett would be influential?

 

Some Retailers Say More About Their Clothing’s Origins

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

Description: The revolution that has swept the food industry is expanding to retail: origins matter.With fair-trade coffee and organic fruit now standard on grocery shelves, consumers concerned with working conditions, environmental issues and outsourcing are increasingly demanding similar accountability for their T-shirts. The issue has been brought to the forefront by the garment factory collapse in Bangladesh, which killed more than 800 people.

Source: NYTimes.com

Date: May 08, 2013

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/business/global/fair-trade-movement-extends-to-clothing.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1368281426-oc4Zq3mVG3yRJ+6NLnCSRw

Questions for Discussions:

  • What are the difficulties for developing a standard index of socially responsible manufacturing for the apparel industry?
  • What components do you believe consumers would want to see in the Higgs index?
  • Do you think the apparel industry will adopt a standard code acceptable to consumers?
  • What percentage of the consumer market do you think would be motivated to shop for “fair trade” apparel products?

Whatever happened to these Fortune 500 companies?

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

Description: Here are seven companies from the first Fortune 500 that have since been merged, split up, or put out to pasture.

Source: Fortune.com

Date: May 06, 2013

Link: http://money.cnn.com/gallery/leadership/2013/05/06/500-where-are-they-now.fortune/index.html

Questions for Discussions:

  • What does this report tell you about the successes and failures of big companies and their managements?

Despite Wear, True Religion Finds a Buyer for $835 Million

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

Description: True Religion Apparel (TRLG) may be a little tattered, but it’s still a handsome asset for TowerBrook Capital Partners, which plans to buy the luxury jeans company for $835 million.

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: May 10, 2013

Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-10/despite-wear-true-religion-finds-a-buyer-for-835-million#r=hp-lst

Questions for Discussions:

  • What does this report say about the high-end fashion market?
  • Do you think the changes in management will undermine future success of the firm?
  • Do you think the purchase was a good one?

 

Why General Mills opposes GMO labeling

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

Description: General Mills CEO Kendall Powell says that genetically-modified food is safe and does not need a special label.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: May 03, 2013

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2013/05/03/n-general-mills-gmo.fortune/

Questions for Discussions:

  • How should top management deal with this issue?
  • Do you think it is good strategy to oppose GMO labeling?
  • What message should top management be communicating to consumers and how should they do this?

What makes a great board of directors

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

Description: Fortune’s Geoff Colvin talks about how the success of a company depends on the relationship between the CEO and the board.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: May 03, 2013

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2013/05/03/fortune-500-geoff-colvin-photo-essay-board.fortune/

Questions for Discussions:

  • What makes for a great board of directors?
  • What does this report tell you about the role of the board of directors?
  • What can happen when the board is weak?

Bangladesh tragedy pressures retailers

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

Description: After a building collapse in Bangladesh killed over 400 workers, retailers are under pressure to improve overseas manufacturing standards.

Source:  CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: May 03, 2013

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2013/05/03/n-retail-in-bangledesh.cnnmoney/

Questions for Discussions:

  • Who is responsible for assuring proper working conditions of foreign workers?
  • Should the industries involved set up standards for monitoring working conditions in the supply chain?
  • Is this a role for governments alone?

Whole Foods Local Forager Elly Truesdell Is a Grocery Tastemaker

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

Description: The dairy cows smell. All farm animals do, of course, but these particularly pungent Holsteins have just come in from the rain. TheyÕre huddled in open stalls inside a white wooden barn at Cella Brothers in Wallingford, Conn., swishing their tails, chewing on bales of hay, and remarking on the terrible weather with a series of disappointed moos.

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: May 02, 2013

Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-02/whole-foods-local-forager-elly-truesdell-is-a-grocery-tastemaker#r=hp-lst

Questions for Discussions:

  • Describe the supply chain at Whole Foods and the role of the forager?
  • How different is this role from regular buyers for food stores?
  • How else is management at Whole Foods different from regular food stores?