For advertising, a user experience revolution

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 5 Managing Technology and Information.

Description:  Lynn Teo is impressed. “It’s funny,” she says, “how just one gesture can make such an impact.”We’ve met at the cafe of the Crosby Street Hotel in lower Manhattan. It’s a few days before Thanksgiving, and the dining room already bustles with extra guests. Noting the noise and my tabletop recorder, Teo asked the hostess for a quieter table. The woman lead us to a private drawing room. Teo’s fascinated by consumer behavior, and clearly revels in observing her own “user” experience. She notes how our hostess’s gesture has ensured her future patronage to this cafe.

Source:  SmartPlanet.com

Date: Nov 26, 2012

Link:  http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/report/for-advertising-a-user-experience-revolution/654?tag=nl.e662&s_cid=e662

Questions for Discussions:

  • What is “UX”?
  • How should companies incorporate UX into their planning?
  • How should creative work by ad agencies incorporate UX?
  • Does UX call for unconventional organization structure and management?

Pepsi’s fat blocking soda hits Japan

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: A new soda, Pepsi Special, has just been launched in Japan and contains dextrin, a dietary fiber thought to have fat blocking properties.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: Nov 20, 2012

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/11/20/japan-fat-blocking-soda.cnnmoney/

Questions for Discussions:

  • Who do you think the target market would be for this product?
  • Do you think it would be well received in North America?
  • How would you market this product in North America?

I Can Has Cheezburger heads to TV

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: The team behind the humor website known for posting cute cat pics with goofy captions is getting a reality series on Bravo.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: Nov 20, 2012

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2012/11/20/t-i-can-haz-cheezburger.cnnmoney/

Questions for Discussions:

  • Describe the concept for this “reality show”.
  • Who would it appeal to and for which reasons?
  • Do you think the program will succeed?
  • What other shows could emulate this model?

How Facebook and Twitter changed disaster relief

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives.

Description:  Thanks to social networks, grassroots relief efforts scaled quickly and efficiently in Sandy’s aftermath, giving them a bigger presence in many places than even the established aid agencies.

Source: Fortune.com

Date: Nov 23, 2012

Link: http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/11/23/social-media-sandy/

Questions for Discussions:

  • How has social media changed disaster relief?
  • Is there a way to better control the use of social media so that only positive outcomes are achieved?

Danny Kim’s Motorbike Won’t Wipe Out

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description: Daniel Kim decided to reinvent the motorcycle eight years ago, soon after a car nearly crushed him. He was welding a Land Rover sport-utility vehicle, laying on a mechanic’s sled under its 500-pound chassis, when the chassis fell off its frame stands.

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: Nov 21, 2012

Link:  http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-21/danny-kims-motorbike-wont-wipe-out#r=nav-f-story

Questions for Discussions:

  • What makes this design unique?
  • Do you think it can sell at the price mentioned in the article?
  • What are the typical entrepreneurial characteristics displayed by Danny Kim?

 

How HP’s Disastrous Deal Blows a Hole in Consulting

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 5 Managing Technology and Information, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description:  HP lost $8.8 billion on acquisition gone bad. Are high-priced consultants and accountants like KPMG and Deloitte to blame?

Source:  TheDailyBeast.com

Date: Nov 21, 2012

Link:  http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/11/21/how-hp-s-disastrous-deal-blows-a-hole-in-consulting.html

Questions for Discussions:

  • Who is at fault for this situation?
  • What does this report say about the value of consultants and their effort at due diligence?
  • What is the lesson for management to learn when engaging in mergers or acquisitions?

Mobile apps hunt down holiday deals

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: CNNMoney goes holiday shopping using apps to determine our destinations.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: Nov 16, 2012

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2012/11/16/mobile-apps-holiday-deals.cnnmoney/

Questions for Discussions:

  • In what ways do you think these apps will change the way people shop?
  • How important is price in the consumer’s buying process?

More bad news for PC makers

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description: Dell’s latest results were awful, sending shares of the struggling stock even lower. A similar fate likely awaits Hewlett-Packard next week.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: Nov 16, 2012

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/investing/2012/11/16/investing-hp-dell.cnnmoney/

Questions for Discussions:

  • Explain the reasons for stock market declines of Dell and HP?
  • What could turn these stock values around?
  • Would you be an investor in these firms?

Sober Advice for Startups From Cisco’s Co-Founder

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives.

Description:  After Sandy Lerner and Len Bosack started Cisco Systems (CSCO) in 1984 to sell routers developed at Stanford, 70 or 80 venture capitalists passed on the company. While many had concerns about the technology, “a number of them said, you’re never going to get funding with me in the mix as a founder,” Lerner told an audience of entrepreneurs and aspiring founders at a Women 2.0 conference in New York today.

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: Nov 14, 2012

Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-14/sober-advice-for-startups-from-ciscos-co-founder#r=nav-fst

Questions for Discussions:

  • What is the essence of the criticism aimed at venture capital firms?
  • Do you think Sandy Lerner was unfairly treated?
  • What are the risks inherent in following her advice to maintain ownership control?

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos: The ultimate disrupter

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description:  He’s a pro-customer, tightfisted risk-taker who is conditioning Wall Street to embrace his erratic earnings. If you’re running a business with high margins — watch out.

Source: Fortune.com

Date: Nov 16, 2012

Link:  http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2012/11/16/jeff-bezos-amazon/?iid=SF_F_River

Questions for Discussions:

  • What does the article say about Jeff Bezos’ management thinking and style?
  • Why has Amazon succeeded?
  • What does the Amazon brand represent?