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

Description: Next time you want to curse in front of your boss at work, maybe you should consider shutting the @#$& up. In a new CareerBuilder survey, 64 percent of employers think less of an employee who repeatedly uses curse words, and 57 percent are less likely to promote someone who swears in the office. Employers cite questions about the worker’s professionalism, lack of control, lack of maturity, and seeming lack of intelligence.

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: July 26, 2012

Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-07-26/cursing-at-work-harms-your-at-no-percent-and-career

Questions for Discussions:

  • What does this report say about the cultural acceptance of this behavior?
  • Are you surprised?
  • How should management handle this behavior?

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

Description: Facebook Inc. (FB) plunged to a record low after its first earnings report as a public company showed a slower sales gain and narrower profit margins, failing to allay concerns over growth that have dragged down the shares.

Source: Bloomberg.com

Date: July 27, 2012

Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-27/facebook-falls-after-report-fails-to-quell-concerns-over-growth.html

Questions for Discussions:

  • What are the marketing, managerial, and financial concerns for the company?
  • How does the emerging “mobile” environment conflict with the current Facebook business model?
  • Do you believe Facebook will succeed in the emerging mobile environment?
  • What strategies should management be considering?

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

Description: Struggling artists and performers sick of waiting on tables find a perfect business in child care.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: July 20, 2012

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/fortune/2012/07/20/f-sitters-studio.fortune/

Questions for Discussion:

  • What is the competitive advantage?
  • How would the management of this business be different than at any regular daycare center?
  • What are the unique HR considerations?

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

Description: Co-founders Steve Hafner and Paul English discuss the future of the online travel website on the day of its IPO.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: July 20, 2012

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/markets/2012/07/20/investing-kayak-ipo.cnnmoney/

Questions for Discussions:

  • Describe how Kayak works.
  • How is it better than other online travel websites?
  • How would you design an app for the mobile user?
  • How would you manage this brand?

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

Description: Conglomerate eyes growth in oil service sector

Source: Marketwatch.com

Date: July 19, 2012

Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ge-sharpens-energy-focus-forms-new-units-2012-07-20

Questions for Discussions:

  • Describe the new organization structure.
  • What is the thinking behind this design?
  • Do you believe it is an improvement?

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

Description: The Yahoo! (YHOO) board of directors was leaving nothing to chance. The Internet company is known throughout Silicon Valley as a leaky ship whose internal deliberations often turn up on blogs or in other media outlets. So when the company’s four-member chief executive search team met Google (GOOG) veteran Marissa Mayer for the first time last month, their precautions evoked a John le Carré novel. No one inside Yahoo was told, and the interview was conducted 10 miles away from headquarters in the Palo Alto offices of law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: July 18, 2012

Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-07-18/help-us-marissa-mayer-dot-you-re-our-only-hope

Questions for Discussions:

  • What is Mayer’s mission, according to the report?
  • Do you think she can succeed?
  • Is her gender an important factor in this management role? Explain your thinking.

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

Description:  Google Inc. GOOG -1.46%is close to a deal to pay $22.5 million to settle charges related to its surreptitious bypassing of the privacy settings of millions of Apple Inc. AAPL -0.36%users, according to officials briefed on the settlement terms

Source: eMarketer.com

Date: July 18, 2012

Link: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1009198&ecid=a6506033675d47f881651943c21c5ed4#11Ii0MFIHpRsgQie.99

Questions for Discussions:

  • Summarize the key strategic promotional thinking by app developers.
  • Are you surprised that the subscription model pays best of all? Explain why this would be so.

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

Description: Arne Sorenson, CEO of Marriott, says the U.S. has a lot to gain if it caters to foreign tourists with relaxed visa and customs processes.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: July 13, 2012

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/07/12/n-marriott-tourists.cnnmoney/

Questions for Discussion:

  • How does the visa application process affect the tourist industry in the U.S.?
  • How can it be modified while maintaining current security levels?
  • What are the other operational notes worth mentioning that can help improve the tourist travel experience in general, and with Marriott in particular?

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

Description:  Macy’s has won an injunction Against Martha Stewart Omnimedia to stop it from selling similar merchandise in J.C. Penney stores. Dana Mattioli has details on The News Hub. (Photo: Getty Images)

Source: Bloomberg.com – video report

Date: July 13, 2012

Link: http://live.wsj.com/video/macy-wins-against-jc-penney-on-martha-stewart/3140F6FA-9677-4199-88D7-E243EF64D7A9.html

Questions for Discussion:

  • Summarize the issues for all sides in this dispute.
  • Is there a winner here?
  • Why did this situation arise in the first place?
  • What lessons are there for managers when planning strategies?

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

Description: There’s an excellent Japanese restaurant in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. The place has been around for years and still draws a crowd, a trendy mix of tattooed hipsters and business-casual professionals. Black-clad waiters with spiky hair shuttle plates of sashimi, which is pricey but worth it, judging from the reviews on Yelp. On weekend nights, customers might be directed to their tables by the most absurdly overqualified maitre d’ on earth: Andrew Mason, who is also the chief executive officer and founder of Groupon (GRPN).

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: July 12, 2012

Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-07-12/the-education-of-groupon-ceo-andrew-mason

Questions for Discussions:

  • What are the managerial lessons being learned?
  • Could problems have been avoided?
  • Is this a leadership story?
  • Do you believe the company can rebound?