http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/10/19/n-starbucks-schultz-india.cnnmoney
This video featured Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, talking about the company's recent expansion into India. In the beginning of the video, he talks about how Starbucks had always been interested in expanding to India but how they needed a partner to be successful in such a unique market. This partnership is what has allowed them to enter successfully into the Indian market and market successfully to the Indian people. He also discusses the preference of the Indian consumer toward chai tea, rather than coffee, and the marketing barrier that that presents.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Hostess and Unions- Business
http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/11/16/n-hostess-ceo-twinkies.cnnmoney/index.html?iid=HP_LN
This is an interesting video featuring the CEO talking about how unions helped to lead to the demise of Hostess. They cite "crazy work rules" that led to high inefficiency, such as requiring a different individual to perform seemingly related tasks such as transporting the product and placing it in the store. The CEO says that union leadership was rigid in their opinions, unwillingly to compromise and refused to return calls. This is an example of how unions are not always a good idea.
This is an interesting video featuring the CEO talking about how unions helped to lead to the demise of Hostess. They cite "crazy work rules" that led to high inefficiency, such as requiring a different individual to perform seemingly related tasks such as transporting the product and placing it in the store. The CEO says that union leadership was rigid in their opinions, unwillingly to compromise and refused to return calls. This is an example of how unions are not always a good idea.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Training- Business
http://www.management-issues.com/2012/11/1/opinion/training-is-a-profit-center--not-an-expense.asp
This is an article from management-issues.com about training. This article explains how training, while commonly viewed as a valuable activity, is mainly perceived by managers to be an expense rather than a benefit because of their inability to calculate actual returns from the time and money spent on this process. Many profit-focused managers will view training in terms of its opportunity costs, or what is forgone by training employees. This would include the loss of profit that could have been generated had the employee been working rather than training, the expense of the salary that the worker is getting paid to be trained rather than to be working, the financial and physical resources that could be devoted to other revenue-creating activities, etc. This article outlines how managers can attempt to measure the benefit of training and see how it actually helps the company in the long run, although it may seem to be the opposite in the short run.
This is an article from management-issues.com about training. This article explains how training, while commonly viewed as a valuable activity, is mainly perceived by managers to be an expense rather than a benefit because of their inability to calculate actual returns from the time and money spent on this process. Many profit-focused managers will view training in terms of its opportunity costs, or what is forgone by training employees. This would include the loss of profit that could have been generated had the employee been working rather than training, the expense of the salary that the worker is getting paid to be trained rather than to be working, the financial and physical resources that could be devoted to other revenue-creating activities, etc. This article outlines how managers can attempt to measure the benefit of training and see how it actually helps the company in the long run, although it may seem to be the opposite in the short run.
Audi Commercial- Marketing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw9ZeXB2uKs
A funny Audi commercial highlighting their powerful headlights.
A funny Audi commercial highlighting their powerful headlights.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
"Don't Expect a Marijuana Boom"- Business
http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/08/smallbusiness/marijuana/index.html?iid=Lead
An interesting article on CNN about the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington. While many people assume that the legalization of pot will lead to large growth in the industry, strict federal and local laws still hinder many aspiring dispensaries from succeeding. Other hurdles that these potential businesses face is lack of available financing, due to the fact that banks want to avoid being involved in or associated with the drug industry, and a very high 25% tax rate.
An interesting article on CNN about the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington. While many people assume that the legalization of pot will lead to large growth in the industry, strict federal and local laws still hinder many aspiring dispensaries from succeeding. Other hurdles that these potential businesses face is lack of available financing, due to the fact that banks want to avoid being involved in or associated with the drug industry, and a very high 25% tax rate.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Unemployment and The Election (Business)
With the upcoming election and the slowly dropping unemployment rate and jobless claims figures, there is a lot of speculation about whether or not the perceived connection between President Obama and these economic indicators will influence the election. It can be quite hard to discern whether the fluctuations in these rates point to actual economic improvement, or if they are just arbitrary revisions. When reading a recent issue of Bloomberg Businessweek, I read piece that suggested that a better indicator of the health of the economy is the actual employment, rather than UNemployment rate. This makes sense because of the fact that, after a certain number of weeks of unemployment, individuals are removed from the statistics and no longer considered part of the work force, meaning that they are not considered as "seeking employment" because they have been unemployed for so long. While Obama has long been a proponent of job creation, the general consensus is that the new job creation in both the private and public sectors is barely enough to keep up with the rate of population growth. These figures are essential to business because they indicate the overall health and strength of the economy. When jobless claims and the unemployment rate drop, it is a good sign that companies are confident and therefore hiring is up. It also leads to increased consumer confidence, which boosts sales. Overall, if these rates continue to perform favorably, business owners may be more likely to vote for Obama.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Yahoo (Marketing)
http://money.cnn.com/2012/09/26/technology/yahoo-strategy/index.html
This article from CNN talks about how the new CEO at Yahoo, Marissa Mayer, has recently released her plans for a turnaround of the company, which is quickly losing market share to search giant Google. Yahoo is facing an issue shared by many formerly successful internet companies, which is how to compete with Google, Amazon and Microsoft. Mayer seems to be focusing on how to answer the question "what is Yahoo?" and define the company. This is an essential part of marketing- the idea of defining a distinct product and presenting that image to potential consumers. It is impossible to market a product when the product itself is unclear, which seems to be Yahoo's issue. Previously they were a search engine and email server, but now that those two markets are being largely cornered by Google, Yahoo must define itself in a different light in order to succeed. Mayer's goals seem admirable, however Yahoo is unlikely to triumph over the competition is receives from Google.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)