Description: Amazon Web Services is the Titanic of cloud hosting, designed with backups to the backups’ backups that prevent hosted websites and applications from failing. Source: CNNMoney.com Date: 04/22/2011 Link: http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/22/technology/amazon_ec2_cloud_outage/index.htm Questions for discussion: Explain the design of cloud computing? Why would this appeal to both users and service providers? What do you think the… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Part 1 Business in a Global Environment
At Swatch, an Enviable Problem: An Excess of Eager Customers for Its Products
Description: BASEL, Switzerland  Nick Hayek, the chief executive of the Swatch Group, is facing a problem many of his corporate counterparts might envy: he’s doing too much business. Source: NYTimes.com Date: 04/22/2011 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/23/business/global/23swatch.html?ref=business Questions for discussion: Summarize the reasons for the firm’s success? How should it deal with the current imbalance in production?… Read more »
Amazon introduces cheaper Wi-Fi Kindle with ads
Description: Amazon.com is slashing $25 off the price of a new Wi-Fi-only Kindle electronic reader. The catch: to get a Kindle for a new low price of a $114, you must purchase a version with sponsored screensaver ads and special offers. In all other respects, the new Kindle is identical to the Kindle now selling… Read more »
Why Toyota partnered with Microsoft
Description: Toyota President Akio Toyoda says that the Microsoft partnership will help the consumer have a ‘dialogue’ with her car. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 04/07/2011 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011/04/07/n_toyota_microsoft_toyoda.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: How does this partnership between these two industries make sense? Can you see other inter-industry partnerships taking place? What are the social and… Read more »
Johnson & Johnson Settles Bribery Complaint for $70 Million in Fines
Description: A wide-ranging government investigation of corrupt overseas marketing practices by drug and device makers scored its first major victory Friday when Johnson & Johnson admitted bribing European doctors and agreed to pay $70 million in civil and criminal fines. Source: NYTimes.com Date: 04/08/2011 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/09/business/09drug.html?ref=business Questions for discussion: Summarize the facts of this case?… Read more »
Disney, China Will Invest $4.4 Billion in Shanghai Resort
Description: Walt Disney Co. (DIS) and its state-owned China partner will invest about $4.4 billion building a resort in Shanghai, the entertainment company’s second amusement park in the world’s most-populous nation. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: 04/08/2011 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-08/disney-breaks-ground-on-4-4-billion-shanghai-resort-in-china-market-drive.html Questions for discussion: Do you think Disney will do well with this venture? What are the factors supporting… Read more »
The Megabus Effect
Description: After decades of decline, the bus is the U.S.’s fastest-growing way to travel, led by curbside service from Megabus, BoltBus, and others. Source: Businessweek.com Date: 04/07/2011 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_16/b4224062391848.htm Questions for discussion: What does this report have to say about the current business models for transportation? What are the competitive advantages for this firm?… Read more »
TV ads targeted to you
Description:  Information sent from your cable box about your viewing habits allows advertisers to target ads more effectively. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 03/30/2011 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2011/03/30/t_tv_advertising_target.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Do you think television viewers will collaborate with the effort to deliver smarter advertising to them? What incentives could encourage compliance? Why is this technology… Read more »
How E-Books Are Coming Full Circle, Thanks to Tablets
Description: E-readers may evolve into multipurpose devices that can surf the Web, show movies, play music, and perform other tricks Source: Businessweek.com Date: 03/28/2011 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2011/tc20110325_523054.htm Questions for discussion: What does this report have to say about the evolution of ebooks and the related technologies? Where do you think this will all lead in terms… Read more »
Moving boxes made of recycled trash
Description:  One company in Orange County, Calif., mines landfills and converts consumer trash into reusable, eco-friendly moving boxes. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 03/25/2011 Link:  http://money.cnn.com/video/smallbusiness/2011/03/24/sbiz_green_box.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: What are the ethical and social responsibility issues associated with this business from the company’s point of view as well as their customers’? Should government… Read more »
