Disney bets big on Avengers and wins
May 14, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources
Description: Disney CEO Bob Iger says a growing number of silver screens across the globe is helping drive the success of ‘The Avengers.’
Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
Date: May 09, 2012
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/05/09/n-co-avengers-iger.cnnmoney/
Questions for Discussion:
- What are the reasons for the success of this film and the company as a whole?
- How are global marketing strategies becoming more important to the firm’s success?
Main Street’s uneven recovery
Description: For some small business owners in Sayville, New York, Main Street feels like a “ghost town.”
Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
Date: May 11, 2012
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/05/10/n-making-it-on-main-street.cnnmoney/
Questions for Discussion:
- What does this report have to say about economic recovery on Main Street?
- How important is small business managerment to explaining why some businesses are coping better than others?
Integrated Marketing: If You Knew It, You’d Do It
May 14, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management
Description: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, is such a cliché that it has spawned its own cliché: If it ain’t broke, break it. Unfortunately, that’s just what many companies do unwittingly to their branding programs, playing into the hands of public enemy No. 1 in today’s marketing environment: fragmentation.
Source: Busineweek.com
Date: May 10, 2012
Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-10/integrated-marketing-if-you-knew-it-youd-do-it
Questions for Discussions:
- What is the fundamental strategic issue addressed in this article?
- How does the author suggest it can be resolved? Do you agree?
J.P. Morgan shares slump after $2 bln trading loss
Description: Bank’s loss is embarrassment for CEO, fodder for regulators
Source: Marketwatch.com
Date: May 11, 2012
Questions for Discussions:
- Summarize the reasons for the loss.
- What do you believe this event will mean for the company, management, and regulators?
Toyota RAV4 EV: Will anyone buy it?
May 14, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management
Description: For anyone arguing recently that electric cars don’t stand a chance in the U.S. mass market, I would have offered one end-all example: the battery-powered Ford Focus at $40,000.
Source: Marketwatch.com
Date: May 11, 2012
Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/toyota-rav4-ev-will-anyone-buy-it-2012-05-11
Questions for Discussions:
- Who do you think is the likely customer for this product?
- Is there a global customer?
- How could Toyota rationalize the price gap between the electric and gas models?
Why Delta is buying an oil refinery
Description: Delta Air Lines tries to take out the middle man by purchasing a Pennsylvania oil refinery, but it could prove to be a risky investment.
Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
Date: May 01, 2012
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/05/01/n-delta-oil-refinery.cnnmoney/
Questions for Discussion:
- Why did Delta do this?
- What are the risks?
- Do you think it was a good decision?
Rattner: General Motors is undervalued
May 7, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources
Description: Steven Rattner, former ‘auto czar’ for the Treasury Dept., says the government should hold its GM stake until the stock rises further.
Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
Date: May 02, 2012
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/markets/2012/05/01/mkts-rattner-gm-government.cnnmoney/
Questions for Discussion:
- What is the basis for this evaluation of GM?
- Do you agree with this assessment?
Groupon, the Deal That Keeps Getting Cheaper
May 7, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources
Description: Is Groupon (GRPN) too good of a deal to be true?
Source: Busineweek.com
Date: May 01, 2012
Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-01/groupon-the-deal-that-keeps-getting-cheaper
Questions for Discussions:
- Summarize the views expressed in this report.
- Why has the stock value fallen?
- Do you believe the stock will move up, down or stay the same over the next year?
The ‘Smartphone Class’: Always On, Always Consuming Content
May 7, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management
Description: Consuming content in frequent, small portions means more touchpoints for marketers
Source: eMarketer.com
Date: May 02, 2012
Link: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1009014&ecid=a6506033675d47f881651943c21c5ed4
Questions for Discussions:
- Summarize behaviors of smart phone users.
- Do you think these behaviors will become common across all users?
- How should business strategists who distribute mobile content deal with this research?
7 signs of a dysfunctional boss
May 7, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives
Description: (MoneyWatch) COMMENTARY I’m going to go out on a limb here and say the word “dysfunctional” probably describes more people than the word “normal” does. When it comes to CEOs and executives, it’s almost certainly true.
Source: CBSNews.com
Date: April 25, 2012
Link: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-57420393/7-signs-of-a-dysfunctional-boss/?tag=nl.e857
Questions for Discussions:
- Summarize the descriptions of CEOs presented in the report.
- Do you believe they are accurate?
- Do you agree with the reasoning presented by the author?
