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?
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?
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?
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?
Put Down the Smartphone and Pick Up a Pencil
April 30, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives
Description: Put down that smartphone; pick up that pencil. Employees are being encouraged by their companies to try visual note-taking to explain complicated concepts to colleagues and clients. Rachel Silverman explains on The News Hub. Photo: Getty Images.
Source: Marketwatch – video report
Date: 04/24/2012
Questions for discussion:
- Summarize the highlights of the report.
- What do you think of these ideas?
- How do you think management and employees would react to a guided shift over to non-technical devices?
- Where would this shift make a great deal of sense?
Wal-Mart Bribery Probe Seen as Examining Coverup Claims
Description: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) may spend hundreds of millions of dollars investigating $24 million in alleged Mexican bribes as the U.S. government weighs whether the company or executives also broke the law by covering up an internal probe, former federal prosecutors said.
Source: Bloomberg.com
Date: 04/24/2012
Questions for discussion:
- What are the ethical and managerial issues in this report?
- How would you handle things if you were in charge at Wal-Mart?
- What are the marketing implications for the firm here and internationally?
Verizon’s Answer to iPhone: Windows
Description: Verizon, fed up with the high costs of offering the iPhone, plans to push smartphones powered by Microsoft’s Windows software, as a counterweight to the popular Apple device. George Stahl reports on digits.Photo: HTC.
Questions for discussion:
- How is the cost of a smart phone spread out through distributors?
- What risk does Verizon face by following this strategy?
Disney Bets on ‘The Avengers’ After ‘John Carter’
Description: In the months prior to the release of Walt Disney’s (DIS)John Carter sci-fi epic, Hollywood debated why the film wasn’t catching fire with potential moviegoers. Maybe it was the ho-hum trailers; a title that didn’t cue viewers that the story took place on Mars; or the departure of the studio’s marketing chief two months before its release.
Source: Businessweek.com
Date: 04/19/2012
Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-04-19/disney-bets-on-the-avengers-after-john-carter
Questions for discussion:
- Why do you suppose ’John Carter’ was a failure at the box office?
- Is it fair for top management to take the blame?
- What do you think of the chances that ‘The Avengers’ will succeed?
- How would you go about promoting this film?
AMR unions want to take a chance on U.S. Air merger
April 23, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives
Description: Labor groups at bankrupt American Airlines said on Friday they support a potential merger with rival US Airways Group Inc in a deal they say would save more jobs than a plan by parent AMR Corp to reorganize as a stand-alone carrier.
Source: Reuters.com
Date: 04/21/2012
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/21/us-american-unions-idUSBRE83J0WG20120421
Questions for discussion:
- Summarize the issues involved in this labor resolution.
- Do you think that each group has made a wise decision? Explain your thinking.
Nokia: The Finnish RIM
Description: Mobile device makers Nokia and Research in Motion continue to struggle against Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android operating system.
Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
Date: 04/11/2012
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/markets/2012/04/11/mkts-bz-nokia-rimm.cnnmoney/
Questions for discussion:
- Do you think there is a strategic solution for either of these firms?
- How much blame lies with management? Explain.
