Yearning for Penney

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

Description: Commentary: How to make a buck on downward mobility

Source: Marketwatch.com

Date: 10/06/2011

Link:   http://www.marketwatch.com/story/yearning-for-penney-2011-10-06

Questions for discussion:

  • Do you agree with the assessment presented in the report?
  • Which strategy would you advise management to pursue?

 

 

BullHorn: Battle of the tech heavyweights

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

Description:   Apple or Amazon? IBM or HP? Three out of the four are knock-out stocks. Can you guess who has the glass chin?

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: 09/27/2011

Link:  http://money.cnn.com/video/markets/2011/09/27/mkts_bh_tech_heavyweights.cnnmoney/

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the highlights reported for each firm.
  • Do you agree with the conclusions reported?
  • What advice would you suggest to management of any of the firms mentioned?
  • If you could buy shares in only one of the firms mentioned, which would it be?

Amazon Kindle Fire vs Apple iPad: Who’s on Top?

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

Description:  Amazon’s new Kindle Fire, which will offer magazine content and streaming videos, takes aim at Apple’s tablet dominance. How does the Kindle Fire stack up against the iPad 2? Should Apple be worried? Stu Woo and Dan Gallagher join digits.

Source: Marketwatch.com – video report

Date: 09/29/2011

Link:   http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/amazon-kindle-fire-vs-apple-ipad-who-on-top/5C6B6F81-7958-4EDF-93D3-41DD5322F910

Questions for discussion:

  • Do you think the Fire can win a place among the competition?
  • How significant do you think the price is for consumers?
  • How can Amazon generate additional revenue from the sales of the Fire?

Diamond prices, latest frontier in industry battle

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

Description: Inside the cloistered world of the diamond business

Source: Marketwatch.com

Date: 09/30/2011

Link:   http://www.marketwatch.com/story/diamond-prices-latest-frontier-in-industry-battle-2011-09-30

Questions for discussion:

  • Why is it difficult to establish a standardized pricing method for diamonds?
  • How are diamond prices established before reaching the retail market?
  • Which system do you believe is a better reporting service?

Cable’s ESPN Dilemma: Wildly Popular—but Costly

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

Description: As the Disney-owned network pays more for sports content, cable bills may rise

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: 09/29/2011

Link:   http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/cables-espn-dilemma-wildly-popularbut-costly-09292011.html

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the problems described in the article.
  • What are the possible solutions?

Diamond-Crusted Vertu Phone Defies Slump

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

Description:  When Mohammed Al-Haj, a 27-year-old marketing executive in Abu Dhabi, hinted to his girlfriend that he wanted a new cell phone for his birthday, he wasn’t after the latest Apple Inc. (AAPL) or Android device. He wanted a Nokia.

Source: Bloomberg.com

Date: 09/29/2011

Link:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-28/nokia-s-6-800-diamond-crusted-vertu-phone-defies-slump-to-win-sales-tech.html

Questions for discussion:

  • Explain the customer’s behavior in this report?
  • Is there any product that could not have a “luxury” focus at the high end of the market?
  • What signal does this report send to other cell phone manufacturers and luxury goods producers?

HP’s decade of mistakes

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

Description:  The firing of CEO Leo Apotheker is just the latest in a 10 year series of strategic and ethical stumbles for the tech giant.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: 09/22/2011

Link:  http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2011/09/22/t_hp_apotheker_mistakes.cnnmoney/

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the failings of HP’s management?
  • Which do you think was the most damaging to the overall management of the firm?
  • What would you advise the firm to do at this time?

Did H-P Board Blow it by Selecting Whitman?

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

Description:  WSJ Heard on the Street columnist Rolfe Winkler discusses how Meg Whitman might impact Hewlett-Packard as a corporation now that the board of directors has selected her as the company’s CEO.

Source: Marketwatch.com – video report

Date: 09/22/2011

Link:   http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/did-h-p-board-blow-it-by-selecting-whitman/D28479BC-4537-4B91-A697-73B13622DC13

Questions for discussion:

  • Do you think the board of directors at HP has made a good decision by hiring Meg Whitman?
  • Do you believe there is a problem with the board of directors?

Is Netflix doomed? Remember Krispy Kreme?

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

Description: Commentary: The world has changed for Netflix

Source: Marketwatch.com

Date: 09/20/2011

Link:   http://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-netflix-doomed-2011-09-19?siteid=nwtwk

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the problems facing Netflix today?
  • What strategic changes would you recommend to the firm?

The Russian Twins Behind Hit iPhone App Cut the Rope

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

Description: Efim and Semyon Voinov are hiring more engineers and expanding their brand into comics and stuffed animals

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: 09/22/2011

Link:   http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/the-russian-twins-behind-hit-iphone-app-cut-the-rope-09222011.html

Questions for discussion:

  • How are these brothers similar to other entrepreneurs?
  • Are there differences in comparison to other entrepreneurs?
  • Do you think their story is any different than others developers?
  • Describe their business?