Description: Author Bill Poundstone sheds light on the psychology of pricing in the retail world. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 09/07/2011 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/pf/2011/09/01/pf_hd_retail_anchors.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Are there any ethical issues in this report? Do you believe this strategy works? Give one example where, as a customer, you have noticed this strategy at work…. Read more »
Monthly Archives: September 2011
Amazon Tries On New Web Design
Description: Amazon has updated the classic design of its Website with something cleaner, lighter and more tablet-friendly, WSJ’s Stu Woo reports on digits. Source: Marketwatch.com – video report Date: 09/06/2011 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/amazon-tries-on-new-web-design/54CA69F5-BCCA-4D99-915C-91A1438EB76F Questions for discussion: Do you think the new design is superior to the older version? Should Amazon get out of the marketing of… Read more »
The Dangers of Linking Pay to Customer Feedback
Description: What seems like a winning formula can backfire, says Harvard blogger Rob Markey Source: Businessweek.com Date: 09/08/2011 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/management/the-dangers-of-linking-pay-to-customer-feedback-09092011.html Questions for discussion: Summarize the arguments put forward in this article. Do you agree with the conclusions?
Carol Bartz exclusive: Yahoo “f—ed me over”
Description: Here is what Carol Bartz thinks of the Yahoo (YHOO) board that fired her: “These people f—ed me over,” she says, in her first interview since her dismissal from the CEO role late Tuesday. Source: Fortune.com Date: 09/08/2011 Link:  http://postcards.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2011/09/08/carol-bartz-fired-yahoo/?iid=SF_F_Lead Questions for discussion: How would you characterize the way Carol Bartz was treated? Do… Read more »
Alger CEO: Why we stayed in Manhattan after 9/11
Description: The CEO of a New York investment firm explains his decision to lease new space for its headquarters in Manhattan after dozens of employees were killed and its business almost wiped out on September 11, 2001. Source: Fortune.com Date: 09/09/2011 Link:  http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/09/09/alger-dan-chung-september-1/?iid=SF_F_River Questions for discussion: What does this report have to say about the… Read more »
Is your Gibson guitar contraband?
Description: Federal agents raid Gibson Guitar factories looking for rare, protected wood, such as ebony and rosewood from India, costing the guitar manufacturer $1 million in losses. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 09/02/2011 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011/09/02/n_gibson_raid.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: What are the ethical issues in this case? Is Gibson management behaving in a socially responsible… Read more »
H-P: We’re Bringing TouchPad Back
Description: The H-P TouchPad is dead; long live the TouchPad. Due to unexpected, almost cult-like demand for cheap TouchPads after H-P decided to kill its iPad rival, the company has decided to revive the tablet for a limited time. Ian Sherr and Ina Fried discuss on digits. Source: Marketwatch.com – video report Date: 08/31/2011 Link: … Read more »
Skolkovo, Russia’s Would-Be Silicon Valley
Description: A project near Moscow aims to rival the U.S. tech industry, with an “innovation city,” billions in government investment, and a university modeled after Stanford Source: Businessweek.com Date: 09/01/2011 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/skolkovo-russias-wouldbe-silicon-valley-09012011.html Questions for discussion: Do you think this project can be successful? What do you make of the statement by Wilfried Vanhonacker, the business… Read more »
Is the FDA killing innovation?
Description: Investors say the FDA’s approval process of medical devices is inefficient and opaque. The maker of a non-invasive device that’s proven to identify melanomas risks it all to tell the tale. Source: Fortune.com Date: 09/02/2011 Link:  http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/09/02/melafind-fda-innovation/?iid=SF_F_Lead Questions for discussion: What does this report have to say about the affect the FDA approval process… Read more »
Daniel Gross’s Greplin Is One Smart Search Engine
Description: The precocious Israeli coder is co-founder of a startup building the one search box to rule them allâ€â€and to organize your entire online life Source: Businessweek.com Date: 09/01/2011 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/daniel-grosss-greplin-is-one-smart-search-engine-09012011.html Questions for discussion: What does this report suggest about entrepreneurship? Would you invest in this app? What are the difficulties, from a marketing point… Read more »
