Boone & Kurtz Contemporary Business Weekly Updates » Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com Discussion Topics for Today's Classroom Mon, 14 May 2012 10:05:47 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Main Street’s uneven recovery http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/05/14/main-streets-uneven-recovery/ http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/05/14/main-streets-uneven-recovery/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 10:04:30 +0000 Brahm Canzer http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/?p=2692 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?
]]> http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/05/14/main-streets-uneven-recovery/feed/ 0 J.P. Morgan shares slump after $2 bln trading loss http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/05/14/j-p-morgan-shares-slump-after-2-bln-trading-loss/ http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/05/14/j-p-morgan-shares-slump-after-2-bln-trading-loss/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 10:02:44 +0000 Brahm Canzer http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/?p=2680 Description:  Bank’s loss is embarrassment for CEO, fodder for regulators

Source: Marketwatch.com

Date: May 11, 2012

Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jp-morgan-shares-slump-after-2b-trading-loss-2012-05-11?siteid=nwtwk  

Questions for Discussions:

  • Summarize the reasons for the loss.
  • What do you believe this event will mean for the company, management, and regulators?

 

 

 

]]> http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/05/14/j-p-morgan-shares-slump-after-2-bln-trading-loss/feed/ 0 Why Delta is buying an oil refinery http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/05/07/why-delta-is-buying-an-oil-refinery/ http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/05/07/why-delta-is-buying-an-oil-refinery/#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 10:05:02 +0000 Brahm Canzer http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/?p=2672 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?

 

]]> http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/05/07/why-delta-is-buying-an-oil-refinery/feed/ 0 7 signs of a dysfunctional boss http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/05/07/7-signs-of-a-dysfunctional-boss/ http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/05/07/7-signs-of-a-dysfunctional-boss/#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 10:01:37 +0000 Brahm Canzer http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/?p=2658 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?

 

 

]]> http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/05/07/7-signs-of-a-dysfunctional-boss/feed/ 0 Put Down the Smartphone and Pick Up a Pencil http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/04/30/put-down-the-smartphone-and-pick-up-a-pencil/ http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/04/30/put-down-the-smartphone-and-pick-up-a-pencil/#comments Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:05:52 +0000 Brahm Canzer http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/?p=2651 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

Link:  http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/put-down-the-smartphone-and-pick-up-a-pencil/784F0652-2269-4061-A5CF-607A22F06B01

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?
]]> http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/04/30/put-down-the-smartphone-and-pick-up-a-pencil/feed/ 0 Wal-Mart Bribery Probe Seen as Examining Coverup Claims http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/04/30/wal-mart-bribery-probe-seen-as-examining-coverup-claims/ http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/04/30/wal-mart-bribery-probe-seen-as-examining-coverup-claims/#comments Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:04:27 +0000 Brahm Canzer http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/?p=2647 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

Link:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-24/wal-mart-bribery-probe-in-u-s-seen-as-examining-coverup-claims.html

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?
]]> http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/04/30/wal-mart-bribery-probe-seen-as-examining-coverup-claims/feed/ 0 Verizon’s Answer to iPhone: Windows http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/04/23/verizons-answer-to-iphone-windows/ http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/04/23/verizons-answer-to-iphone-windows/#comments Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:05:58 +0000 Brahm Canzer http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/?p=2625 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?
]]> http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/04/23/verizons-answer-to-iphone-windows/feed/ 0 Disney Bets on ‘The Avengers’ After ‘John Carter’ http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/04/23/disney-bets-on-the-avengers-after-john-carter/ http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/04/23/disney-bets-on-the-avengers-after-john-carter/#comments Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:03:37 +0000 Brahm Canzer http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/?p=2616 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?
]]> http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/04/23/disney-bets-on-the-avengers-after-john-carter/feed/ 0 AMR unions want to take a chance on U.S. Air merger http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/04/23/amr-unions-want-to-take-a-chance-on-u-s-air-merger/ http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/04/23/amr-unions-want-to-take-a-chance-on-u-s-air-merger/#comments Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:01:00 +0000 Brahm Canzer http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/?p=2608 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.
]]> http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/04/23/amr-unions-want-to-take-a-chance-on-u-s-air-merger/feed/ 0 Nokia: The Finnish RIM http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/04/16/nokia-the-finnish-rim/ http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/04/16/nokia-the-finnish-rim/#comments Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:05:03 +0000 Brahm Canzer http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/?p=2603 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.
]]> http://contemporarybusinessupdates.com/2012/04/16/nokia-the-finnish-rim/feed/ 0