Description: This interview with Sharon Napier, chief executive of Partners + Napier, an ad agency based in Rochester, was conducted and condensed by Adam Bryant. Source: NYTimes.com  Date: 05/07/2010 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/business/09corner.html?ref=business Questions for discussion: What lessons did you learn by reading this article? Which comment do you think was the most insightful? What would… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives
Innovation, by Order of the Kremlin
Description: AROUND the time that Apple Computer was making it big in California, Andrey Shtorkh was getting a first-hand look at the Soviet approach to high tech: he guarded the fence keeping scientists inside Sverdlovsk-45, one of the country’s secret scientific cities, deep in the Ural Mountains. Source: NYTimes.com Date: 04/10/2010 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/business/global/11russia.html?ref=business Questions for… Read more »
Bargain Rates for a C.E.O.?
Description: LAST year may have been unnerving for chief executives accustomed to all of the familiar ornaments of corporate life: eight-figure pay packages, corporate jets, memberships in select clubs, and on and on. Source: NYTimes.com Date: 04/02/2010 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/business/04comp.html?ref=business Questions for discussion: Do you think CEOs are fairly paid? How would you set compensation for… Read more »
Online video saves business big bucks
Description: Web-conferencing software and cheap digital video cameras are reducing the need for costly business travel. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report  Date: 03/04/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2010/03/04/tm_video_conference.fortune/ Questions for discussion: Summarize the arguments presented favouring the growth of online video. What are the reasons for consumer use of online video? How does this compare to business… Read more »
Is Dell salvageable?
Description: Computer maker’s shares fall more than 5% after the company reports a drop in fiscal fourth-quarter earnings. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report  Date: 02/26/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2010/02/23/f_tm_dell_hp.fortune/ Questions for discussion: Why is Dell’s stock value falling? What would management have to do in order to improve profits? Is Dell a good candidate for merger… Read more »
Buffett’s $50 million credit card blunder
Description: Peddling credit cards isn’t so easy that a caveman can do it. That seems to be the conclusion Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA, Fortune 500) chief executive Warren Buffett reluctantly reached last year, when he shut down a money-losing credit card business he had dreamed up for Berkshire’s Geico car-insurance unit. Source: CNNMoney.com  Date: 02/27/2010… Read more »
GM’s chief gets $9 million
Description: General Motors chairman and chief executive, Ed Whitacre, Jr. will receive a compensation package worth $9 million, the automaker said Friday. Source: CNNMoney.com Date: 02/19/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/19/news/companies/GM_salary/index.htm Questions for discussion: Do you believe this compensation is appropriate in light of GM’s history and connection to TARP? Do you believe there can be negative reaction… Read more »
Stop blaming Big Business
Description: The top-grossing movie in the world, Avatar, is on screens now, and it clearly identifies the most evil force in the universe. It’s business. Source: CNNMoney.com Date: 01/29/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/28/news/economy/business_populism.fortune/index.htm Questions for discussion: Do you agree with the argument presented by the reporter? Do believe attitudes toward “big business†have changes because of the… Read more »
Yahoo CEO Gives Herself B-Minus Grade in First Year
Description: Carol Bartz gives herself a B-minus in her first year as chief executive officer of Yahoo! Inc., saying she could have moved faster to reorganize the company and strike a Web-search agreement with Microsoft Corp. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: 01/08/2010 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a.Nuu2H6FSPY Questions for discussion: How would you grade Carol Bartz and Yahoo!? Explain your… Read more »
More top job changes at GM
Description: Lutz taken out of marketing role, head of engineering becomes president of GM North America. Source: CNNMoney.com Date: 12/04/2009 Link: http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/04/autos/gm_management_changes/index.htm Questions for discussion: What do you think is motivating the many management changes taking place at GM? Explain your thinking. Do you think the changes are seen as positive developments for the firm… Read more »
