Posted by & filed under Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 5 Managing Technology and Information.

Description:  ALL right, class, here’s your homework assignment: Devise an app. Get people to use it. Repeat. That was the task for some Stanford students in the fall of 2007, in what became known here as the “FacebookClass.” No one expected what happened next. The students ended up getting millions of users for free apps that they designed to run on Facebook. And, as advertising rolled in, some of those students started making far more money than their professors.

Source: NYTimes.com

Date: 05/07/2011

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/technology/08class.html?pagewanted=1&ref=business

Questions for discussion:

  • Why is this method of developing new products so successful?
  • Do you think it is contributing to the creation of a “bubble”?
  • Could this start-up model work in other fields of business?

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

Description:  iPhone users outside the Apple store during the launch of the white iPhone 4 say the iPhone’s location tracking does not scare or bother them.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: 04/28/2011

Link:  http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2011/04/28/t-tt-iphone-privacy-mos.cnnmoney/

Questions for discussion:

  • Do you think this event is a serious public relations problem for Apple?
  • Judging from these interviews, how do you think the market will react to the story?
  • Do you think the response could be different in other markets outside of North America where concerns about privacy and government intrusion are viewed differently?

Posted by & filed under Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: From knock-off rings to t-shirts, William and Kate’s wedding has all the making of $1 billion marketing event.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: 04/28/2011

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011/04/25/n_royal_souvenirs.cnnmoney/

Questions for discussion:

  • Why does this event present such a great opportunity for sales promotion marketers?
  • How else does this event promote business activity?
  • What other ideas could work?

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 5 Managing Technology and Information, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description: Research In Motion Ltd. lost much of its remaining support on Wall Street Friday after the company took down its estimates for the May quarter, leaving some to wonder whether the wireless-device maker can win back support from investors who have been burned by the stock this year.

Source: Marketwatch.com

Date: 04/29/2011

Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/can-rim-win-back-investors-after-missteps-2011-04-29

Questions for discussion:

  • Why did RIM’s shares fall so drastically?
  • Do you think it is justified?
  • How much is this due to poor management decision-making?
  • Would you be a buyer of RIM now?

Posted by & filed under Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: The likes of Jake Steinfeld and Gunnar Peterson have created a micro industry of personal trainers as celebrated as the celebrities they train.

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: 04/28/2011

Link: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_19/b4227065670730.htm

Questions for discussion:

  • What is the secret to becoming a celebrity trainer?
  • How does marketing yourself as a celebrity come into this strategy?
  • Can anyone become a celebrity trainer?

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: Congress returns next week to a flaring brawl over oil industry profits and tax breaks, with both parties hoping to capitalize on growing public ire at high gasoline prices.

Source: NYTimes.com

Date: 04/29/2011

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/30/business/30gas.html?ref=business

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the reasons for concern over rising gasoline prices?
  • How do rising fuel costs affect businesses and consumers?
  • What is the cause of higher prices?
  • How can demand be reduced individually or collectively?

Posted by & filed under Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description:  When most successful athletes endorse a brand, they usually lend their faces and names to commercials and print ads, and show up to smile and shake hands with fans for public appearances. They choose brands that align well with their image — for example, Wayne Gretzky and Skechers or Serena Williams and Gatorade. They do not usually decide to actually write and direct the commercials themselves.

Source: NationalPost.com

Date: 04/30/2011

Link: http://business.financialpost.com/2011/04/30/point-of-sale/

Questions for discussion:

  • What do you think is motivating Steve Nash to get involved in marketing at this time?
  • Do you think he possesses any special skills or understanding about marketing that he may have gained through his career in sports?
  • How is he able to create “person marketing” for products?

Posted by & filed under Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description:  EADS, the parent company of Airbus, is using a new type of nylon that may revolutionize how planes are made.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: 04/22/2011

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2011/04/22/t_tt_powered_nylon.cnnmoney/

Questions for discussion:

  • Who are the target customers for this firm?
  • How does consumer behavior affect development of new applications of this material?
  • What other products would benefit from manufacture with this material?
  • Do you think products made with this material would sell higher, lower, or at the same price?

Posted by & filed under Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: Forget Bookshelves. For the first time ever, electronic book sales in the U.S. have exceeded print versions.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: 04/22/2011

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011/04/22/n_cmr_ebooks.cnnmoney/

Questions for discussion:

  • Why are ebooks growing in popularity among consumers as well as publishers and hardware manufacturers?
  • Do you think the print-market will disappear eventually?
  • How should publishers consider pricing ebooks in comparison to print versions?

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 5 Managing Technology and Information.

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 impact of the loss of service is likely to be for Amazon and for other firms providing the service?