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?
Apple Profit Rises 94% on Growing Global IPhone Demand
April 30, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources
Description: Apple Inc. (AAPL) profit almost doubled last quarter, reflecting robust demand for the iPhone in China as well as purchases of a new version of the iPad tablet, allaying the concerns that fueled a 12 percent two-week slump in the stock.
Source: Bloomberg.com
Date: 04/24/2012
Questions for discussion:
- Summarize the financial results reported and the reasons for them.
- How do you explain Apple’s success?
- Do you believe this rate of growth is sustainable?
- Would you be a buyer today?
Video Is a Rising Star Among Content Marketers
April 30, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management
Description: Companies have long emphasized the role of content for providing customers and prospects with useful information and meaningful insight, and the rise of digital distribution and production channels over past years has certainly propelled content marketing to new heights and investments.
Source: eMarketer.com
Date: 04/23/2012
Link: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008991&ecid=a6506033675d47f881651943c21c5ed4
Questions for discussion:
- Why do you think video content has risen so much in popularity?
- Why do you suppose written content is in decline?
- How might the international distribution of online communication be influencing this phenomenon?
Demand Alone Doesn’t Make a Successful Startup
April 30, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources
Description: Odysseas Tsatalos’ entrepreneurship story started during his childhood in Greece. Reading about inventors in his encyclopedia, he decided early on that his dream was to one day see himself in print for one of his inventions. While his parents wanted him to become a doctor, Tsatalos travelled to the U.S. and got his Ph.D in Computer Science.
Source: Sprouter.com
Date: 04/25/2012
Questions for discussion:
- What sort of special managerial controls would be needed to make this system more palatable?
- Which businesses would be more interested in using this sort of system?
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?
No grimacing for McDonald’s investors
April 23, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources
Description: With a boost from strong earnings, McDonald’s isn’t the only fast food co. on the up and up. Chipotle and Yum! Brands are following suit.
Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
Date: 04/20/2012
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/markets/2012/04/20/mkts-bz-fast-food.cnnmoney/
Questions for discussion:
- Compare the financial results for the firms mentioned in this report?
- How do you explain their performance?
- Would you be a buyer or seller of any of them?
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?
Five Ways to Turn Your Website into a Sales Machine
April 23, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management
Description: Your online presence is a vital part of any sales strategy. But is your website the sales powerhouse it should be?
Source: Entrepreneur.com
Date: 04/16/2012
Link: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/223348
Questions for discussion:
- What do you think of these recommendations?
- What other suggestions would you make?
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.
