This Year, All Publishers Go Mobile

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

Description:  Mobile readership offers publishers new circulation revenue sources.Media businesses have already gone through a first wave of digital transition, and in the last few years, mobile has been the next frontier. Publishers have been tasked with deciding whether to offer their content on the smaller-screen devices—and how.

Source:  eMarketer.com

Date: Jan 25, 2013

Link: http://www.emarketer.com/Article/This-Year-All-Publishers-Go-Mobile/1009628#SaggI3u7zDCHOQad.99

Questions for Discussions:

  • Summarize the changes taking place in the online publishing field.
  • Are you surprised by the successes to monitize online publishing?
  • Do you think management should offer online content by subscription alone in order to optimize revenues?
  • What other distribution models would you suggest to build a customer base as well as revenues?

P&G CEO in the hot seat

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

Description: Activist investor Bill Ackman says it’s ‘unlikely’ that Bob McDonald is the right person for the job.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: Jan 14, 2013

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/investing/2013/01/14/investing-ackman-proctor-and-gamble-bob-mcdonald-ceo.cnnmoney/

Questions for Discussions:

  • What does this report tell you about the relationships between the board of directors, CEO, and major investors?
  • Do you think R&D should be centralized?
  • Would you restructure P&G?
  • Would you acquire or dispose of any divisions?

Video: Lee’s Music puts focus on innovative guitar manufacturing with Riversong Guitars venture

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

Description:   Lee’s Music was simply a retail store with a specialist repair arm until Lee’s son, Mike Miltimore, came up with an innovative technique for building stronger, better guitars in a fraction of the time. The company has big plans for its patent-pending design, and is tooling up a manufacturing plant to scale up production. Danny Bradbury caught up with Mr. Miltimore to get the details on Riversong Guitars, a new family venture.

Source: FinancialPost.com – video report

Date: Jan 14, 2013

Link:  http://business.financialpost.com/2013/01/14/lees-music-puts-focus-on-innovative-guitar-manufacturing-with-riversong-guitars-venture/?__lsa=4927-98e6

Questions for Discussions:

  • What is the innovative design feature that gives the firm competitive advantage in the manufacturing process?
  • Describe the layout and facilities at the firm.
  • How can management use the Internet to generate brand awareness and build a sales distribution network through retailers?

Mars Incorporated: A pretty sweet place to work

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

Description:  From free candy to pet-friendly perks, working at America’s third-largest private company is a toothsome gig. An exclusive look at the secretive empire of Mars Incorporated.

Source: Fortune.com

Date: Jan 17, 2013

Link:  http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2013/01/17/best-companies-mars/?iid=F_Jump

Questions for Discussions:

  • What are the main reasons Mars Incorporated ranks among the top businesses to work for?
  • How would you summarize a description of the management organization and style of the firm?

Fix This/Food and Agriculture

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

Description:  It’s clear the food crisis will only become more acute when you consider climate change, population explosion, volatile markets, and lax safety standards. Four experts discuss ways to ensure a growing world doesn’t go hungry.

Source:  Businessweek.com

Date: Jan 15, 2013

Link: http://www.businessweek.com/reports/innovation/fix-this-food-and-agriculture#r=hpf-s

Questions for Discussions:

  • Review the articles in this special report and summarize the arguments presented that explain why there is concern and how it can be managed.
  • What role do you see for business and government managers?
  • How can supply chain management be modified to help?

Mobile users look to phones to instill habit

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

Description:  January is the month when many New Year’s resolutions stand or fall. This year, people are bringing a new ally to the fight to keep their resolve: their smartphones. A December survey by Prosper Mobile Insights found that more than one in four US smartphone or tablet owners—24% of men and 30% of women—planned to use their smart mobile device to help them keep on track with their resolutions.

Source:  eMarketer.com

Date: Jan 15, 2013

Link: http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Mobile-Helps-with-New-Years-Resolutions/1009603#oQXmAFIdW5G256bH.99

Questions for Discussions:

  • What does the list say about the how people are using mobile devices?
  • How different are men and women?
  • What are the business opportunties for mobile application development?

The battle over Herbalife

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

Description: An inside look at Herbalife’s business model and the $1 billion bet hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has against it.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: Jan 11, 2013

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2013/01/11/n-herbalife-bill-ackman-queens.cnnmoney/

Questions for Discussions:

  • Compare the organizational structure of Herbalife to a pyramid selling organization.
  • Do you believe Herbalife is a conventional distributor of products?

Meet Amancio Ortega: The third-richest man in the world

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

Description: After Gates and Slim comes Amancio Ortega, who built the world’s largest fashion empire, Zara. He’s difficult to know, impossible to interview, and incredibly secretive. An exclusive portrait

Source: Fortune.com

Date: Jan 08, 2013

Link: http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2013/01/08/zara-amancio-ortega/?iid=F_F500M

Questions for Discussions:

  • What does this article tell you about the entrepreneurial character of Amancio Ortega and the top management of Zara?
  • To what do you attribute the global success of Zara?

The Dunbar Number, From the Guru of Social Networks

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

Description:  A little more than 10 years ago, the evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar began a study of the Christmas-card-sending habits of the English. This was in the days before online social networks made friends and “likes” as countable as miles on an odometer, and Dunbar wanted a proxy for meaningful social connection.

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: Jan 10, 2013

Link:  http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-10/the-dunbar-number-from-the-guru-of-social-networks#r=nav-fst

Questions for Discussions:

  • What is the Dunbar Number?
  • Do you think the theory makes sense?
  • How should managers employ this concept in the organization structure and function of the firm?

 

4 possibilities for new Facebook products

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

Description:  Investors are eager to hear what Mark Zuckerberg and company are up to at Facebook Inc., driving up the social network’s shares to their highest level in nearly six months.

Source:  Marketwatch.com

Date: Jan 09, 2013

Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/4-possibilities-for-new-facebook-products-2013-01-09?link=mw_story_world

Questions for Discussions:

  • What do you think of the strategic choices described in the article?
  • Which would you recommend to management and explain why?
  • What other product options do you think would be good longer term choices for the firm?