More Businesses Are Outsourcing - To Rural and Small Town U.S.A.

This article is very interesting as it talks about an increase in a new trend called “ruralsourcing”. The way this is described is that many businesses are dealing with an increased workload with a greater demand from their customers. While this is great, businesses are still uncertain about the economy and do not want to put themselves in a position that they were before by having to do mass layoffs, so instead they are not hiring full-time employees quite yet. Ruralsourcing though is described as outsourcing jobs, but instead of outsourcing them to India or China, they are being outsourced to small, rural communities local throughout the United States. This is great news, because more jobs are available for more people, instead of sending them over to another country. I can say that I have seen this happen also at my place of employment due to our heavy workload and our owner not wanting to commit to additional full-time employees. We have been outsourcing to other sources, even competitors of ours, all working together. Besides from that outsourcing our employees are working overtime and there have been additional temporaries brought in to assist where capable. But I do question when I look at the dollar figures, how beneficial is this if not taken into account when the job is quoted. Is a profit still being obtained? If this can be a temporary fix I guess at least the customer is happy and still a customer of yours. This trendsetter of ruralsourcing is definitely a win-win situation for all involved and the recovery of the United States economy.

The Culture Of Business

This article basically says that different forms of corporate cultures work in different markets. What works for Microsoft wouldn't work for say Delta airlines, and finding the right culture involves a little trial & error sometimes. I don't really like the fact that the term corporate culture is used as much as it is in todays business environment. To me culture is something that doesn't change. We as intelligent people can adapt to different surroundings and learn from other cultures, especially in a business environment where the way of doing things can change with the market itself. Changing up the direction of a company in order to stay competitive or to gain a new competitive advantage is what a good business is supposed to be able to do, but the focus still is geared towards profits and creating a high functioning, cohesive, team that does things a certain way that works for them, so the culture really wouldn't change, but the focus of the company would. That's why I don't like the term corporate culture, I understand the meaning, but just don't dig it.

Your Hired!!

I usually don't get upset when I read business articles, but this article struck a nerve. Private sector added 201,000 jobs in March.......but that is off the trend of 211,000 jobs per month so now it's a bad thing. Just because March didn't have another 10,000 job openings doesn't mean that it is a bad month. People need to realize that any positive number of created positions is a good thing for the economy. This means that people are no longer collecting unemployment, they now have income to fuel the economy with purchases, and that this is one more person that paying taxes which lessens the weight for everyone else that is working. I realize that 1 person really doesn't make a bit of difference, but when there are 200,000+ new hires every month...it adds up quick. Just think at the end of March there are now 620,000 less people that are unemployed when compared to the beginning of the year. 600,000 people can now dig themselves out of financial troubles or burdens that unemployment placed on them and can now start looking to the future with a positive outlook. 600,000 people are happier now than they were in December.

Investors are idiots. They only look for trends and when they see that numbers are going in the wrong direction suddenly they panic and move their money into safe investments. If investors would just open their eyes and see what these numbers mean for America in the long term they would be investing double in the market than what they currently are.

Positive V. Negative Reinforcement

This article relates a bit to the exercise we did in class on positive and negative reinforcement. Basically, the article states that, in the case of ethics, negative reinforcement works better. Employees are more apt to heed consequences for bad behavior than rewards for good behavior. I think part of this is because of the intangible nature of ethics. It is hard to reward someone consistently for being a good person. What type of reward would you give? How often would you give it? What behavior, exactly, would be rewarded? People grow up knowing that there are consequences for bad behavior, it's a concept they are used to, and it makes sense to keep using that structure in the workplace once they are adults.

Caterpillar CEO: No Plans to leave Illinois

Recent news reports had Caterpillar Corporation threatening to move out of Illinois, because of the substantial increase to state personal and corporate tax rates. These reports were based on a letter that was sent to Illinois Governor Pat Quinn from Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman. In a speech on Wednesday to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Oberhelman stated that Caterpillar is not planning to leave Illinois. This looks like another case of sensationalistic reporting, where statements are taken out of context and facts are distorted to sell copy. Caterpillar is definitely disappointed with the Illinois’ revised tax code, but Caterpillar considers Illinois home. This is good news for my employer who does in excess of $30 million dollars of business with the Illinois based Caterpillar facilities.

Why The Decision To Hire A High Paid Sales Rep Failed

This article is about Prometheus hiring a high-paid sales rep to help launch a new marketed data management software. They were trying to pitch this new product to a new client, to do this they hired a senior sales rep to help them do that. In the end the money it cost to get this marketing and product set to sell and to meet with new customers it had already set the company back. The company ended up pulling out and also laying off their senior sales rep. There is some great information in the article and also the interview is very interesting. The link is attached to the title.

International SOS

International corporations have to deal with cultural issues, geographic issues, distance barriers, political challenges and also health and safety issues with compounding logistics and coordination worries. The article presents an interesting business and a specific company, SOS International, which offers services designed to meet these corporate needs. In today's world, this seems to be a company with a definite in demand product. I also found the comments on the importance of getting the right partner in Asia particularly eye opening. The emphasis on "valuing the network above their direct team" and "understand that really our value is this global network" drives home just how "worldly" this company's scope of operation is and how the scope itself is part of the culture. The final comment regarding expatriate benefits and expertise costs in developed countries is revealing.

NY Times To Charge for Online Newspaper

I thought this article was interest, because I personally used to read NY Times on occasion. I think it's interesting that in a world that is becoming more and more online and with more information being free, that they would choose to start charging readers.  I'm not sure whether or not they will be as successful with the new fees. I know they will keep some readers, but I feel like more casual readers will be turned off by the new fees. You can still read up to 20 articles a month for free, which really isn't that much when you think about it. The prices seem pretty high to me too, but then I also don't have a normal newspaper subscription. Again, I just think it's interesting that they are now choosing to start charging fees during a time where information is becoming easier to access.

Harry & David bankruptcy filing

This article was in the USA Today. Talks about the speciality gift store for fruit, nuts and other gourmet items is filing for bankruptcy protection. In the world of consumers keeping an eye on every penny they spend it appears the high end foods offered by Harry & David stores were one of the first things to go from consumer buying. This sounds to me like again a company did not plan well for a tough economy and is going to take the somewhat easy way out. The debts to the banks, vendors, etc. of the Harry & David company will be given the option to take less on what is owed to them or maybe they will not get anything. The method of closing stores could not keep the company from the situation it is now facing. Unsure about what the future holds a new management team has been put in place. Things are not so sweet at Harry & David's right now.

AOL Tries for Some Silicon Valley Cred

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_14/b4222043205512.htm This article talks about the building that AOL purchases and how they hope it will as they say: "AOL hopes its Palo Alto office will generate entrepreneurial energy, create better products, and give it an edge on acquisitions. " The new digs are part corporate office, part startup incubator, and part college community center. The hope for AOL executives is that some of that entrepreneurial energy rubs off on their 28-year-old company. An interesting part of the article was this statement: "While the mother ship has been shedding employees—AOL recently laid off more than 900—Garlinghouse is looking to fill 80 tech positions in Palo Alto, New York, and Virginia. "AOL wasn't building great products, and the brand was reflecting that," he says. "We have to expunge the ghosts of AOL and start fresh." " It shows in this market you have to step out of the box and createn ew ideas to succeed.

Are we using our ‘people data’ to create value?

The article touched on the continued use/growth of human resource analytical software, and how the results directly correlate between people and performance. In my own personal experience, I've worked at a place where they've implemented ERP software, and I felt it had a great impact on the workplace as a whole. Not only did it create a central data source for forms, policies, and procedures; but it also helped to manage and analyze worker performance. Entering information into a system, and having the data analyzed or compared to note trends, problems, and highlights in employee performance are much easier than simply filling out paperwork and filing it.

McInnovation: How a fast food giant sees the world

In doing business globally, a company must know how to promote their products for each different culture. McDonald's is one of those companies that has learned from failure in the past and has become an expert in doing business globally. I found that this article ties into the class very well. We have talked about how businesses fail due to a lack of not finding out more about the culture before taking products overseas and McDonalds is the perfect example of this.

Unpaid jobs the new norm?

I found this article interesting in regards to companies using interns instead of paying a salary to advance their own business goals. It is good there is the Fair Labor Standards Act to hopefully discourage and fine businesses that take advantage of workers.

Although working as an intern while completing schooling can be a learning experience and help an individual's future growth, I think a business gaining from an intern should pay at least a minimum wage. An unpaid intern position should be limited to the number of weeks a person would work without pay.

The web-based company the article mentioned that hired 50 unpaid interns to get a project off the ground seems to be illegal, but the interns gained experience, were willing to do the work without pay, now have a reference, and have experience on their resume. I certainly hope this is not the start of the new norm.

Here, Tweeting is a Class Requirement

In an article recently published by the Wall Street Journal it talks about many big consumer product companies heading back to school. But, they are not heading back to school for their own personal education; instead they are using classes to help promote their company image and/or products. Some of these companies include Sprint Nextel Corporation, Levi Strauss & Co. and Mattel Inc. They are sponsoring college classes and graduate-level research to get help with their online marketing. With their donations to these colleges they are in return receiving advertising, research, promotion of their company and a local Internet push. The sponsoring businesses are using these classes to increase their online presence with social networks such as Facebook and Twitter through these college students who are more greatly involved with the online networks than their company was.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476604576158643370380186.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Europe lags behind US in productivity

This article touched on how Europe is currently behind US in productivity. The two main contributors to this gap are regulations and a monopolization of businesses. Thus the author feels deregulating and increasing competition would help to bring Europe closer in competition with the US. There are some interesting graphs within the article that highlight the specific industries and trends of production growth throughout the late 90's into the early 2000's. What I'm uneducated in is how much regulation there is within the US government on businesses, so while the article is interesting-I don't have a true comparison of where the US is at in productivity and the contributors as to why we are successful.

Nestlé's Recipe for Juggling Volatile Commodity Costs

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_13/b4221029399707.htm?chan=magazine+channel_news+-+companies+%2B+industries

This is an article about a company that has mangement that is prepared for anything.
Quote from Nestlé CEO Paul Bulcke:

"There's no business school that can prepare you for that," says Bulcke, now 56 and Nestlé's chief executive officer. "What you learn there is how to reconnect the dots very fast."

Bulcke is again using the quick-response skills he honed in Latin America, this time to cope with the volatility in food and raw material costs that's buffeting the world's largest food and beverage company.

IT Supplies Not Disrupted By Japan Quake

Since the quake in Japan my employer has not felt any purchasing disruptions for technology products. Instead what we are seeing is that the price of the product is slowly rising. On any given week we will order roughly 10 new laptops to replace aging laptops within the organization. All of our products are Dell, which in fact many parts are made in Japan. This has caused a rise in price for the laptops and now we are starting to see a longer lead time before we receive product. I found this article interesting since Yes IT supplies have not been disrupted, but the article fails to mention that the end user will be paying more. I have also noticed that it is now taking longer to receive replacement products for damaged laptops. In the past if a motherboard fails I would have a replacement product within two days delivered to me. Yesterday, I placed an order for a replacement board and I was quoted a lead time of one week.

If a person wants a product they can still buy it, but it will cost them more. Japan's quake did not stop the flow of products to the end user, but now companies are scrambling to find other suppliers of parts in order to fulfill their customers needs. Different suppliers will be more than willing to manufacture parts for anyone, but there will be a higher cost associated with the part.

Short term I don't foresee Japan's quake causing to many problems with IT related products, but long term be ready to pay the extra money since many of these products are now being made elsewhere.

Arizona Senate Rejects 5 Bills on Immigration

I found this article dated 3/17 about the Arizona Senate rejecting 5 bills on immigration. This article dovetails with our discussion last week in class. It appears that the economic boycotts initiated when Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed the immigration law in April 2010 have had an impact. Even republican leaders who had previously supported more stringent immigration law have asked for a “timeout” to allow Arizona to recover economically. The legal struggles will continue, but for the time being, the left has won in Arizona.

AT&T/T-Mobile Violate Antitrust Laws?

I personally think this merger is a terrible thing, for consumers at least. The acquisition will lead to higher prices for users and will limit the number of options available for cellular phone choices. There was a reason for the break up of Bell Systems in 1974 due to the anti-trust laws. There was finally competition and choices. Now we're just heading back to the same old system of one large company holding all the power. Except this time AT&T also does TV, internet, home and cell phones.

Zippo hopes to spark sales by branching out

Expanding a company with a strong brand name is risky. With Zippo’s product driven by people who smoke and with the push of not smoking, I think it is a good decision to broaden their product line.

I found it interesting they plan to start many of their new products overseas before introducing the product to the United States. It is wise to market to Asia because they are a key smoking target, this will develop the brand name and then branching out will catch on. I think they may be going too diverse; from leisure clothing to watches to cologne….I don’t think their product should be so vastly different, and they should stick to the brand core.

Google Asia Boss Searches for Local Style

This article is about Google's President that runs the Japan and Asia-Pacific Operations. It is basically an interview done by the Wall Street Journal. They ask the boss about Google's relationship with China, things they have done wrong in an international market, and adjustments they are making to their international department to make it work better overseas. Currently they are working on expanding their company overseas and doing so they have had to make adjustments to their American company overseas and standards. One of the topics discussed is that they have generally required their employee's to speak English, but that has been one of their issues with staffing their international company. They now are allowing for their employees to not speak english. It is a very interesting interview, not only about Google itself, but also about the mistakes they have learned from and what they are doing to make their international business better. If you click on the title it will take you to the article!!!

CEO's welcoming demeanor

by GregHardt:
The CEO is the captain of the ship and a major variable in company culture. It is refreshing to read about a humble, welcoming and resourceful CEO. How can these skills be incorporated into the boardroom successfully? Why don't more companies adopt this management phylosophy? I think one of the reasons is that this mindset as applied to business is not easily taught, developed or learned. Instead, this is to a large extent based on your personality and character. Few are willing to work at being "nice" to employees yet those that do often are leaders of companies and employees who are "loyal beyond reason" to the cause whatever that cause may be. This is better than the "us versus them" mentality that is so prevalent.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/profile/2010-11-22-wyndhamceo22_ST_N.htm

Hartland Boy Invents Reusable Decals for Legos

I found this article about an 11 year old boy from Hartland, Wisconsin that invented reusable decals that you can use on Legos or other building bricks. Greyson MacLean took his product to the Toy Fair 2011 in New York City. Well, sort of. He actually was not able to attend because he is not old enough, you have to be 18 years of age to set up a booth. His parents and other relatives took his product there for him.
Greyson calls his new product Brixstix, which he first launched in January of this year. They are now in more than 50 store in 20 states. Retailers in other countries have shown interest and the family has been in contact with International distributors.
I think that it is awesome that an 11 year old is doing this. I do feel that he has had some help and motivation from his family, but that is alright. If he has his family encouraging and helping him along the way then he will have an easier time succeeding and continuing as he grows into adulthood.
His kind of thinking and motivation will only improve our future.

http://www.jsonline.com/business/118282384.html

Getting Overseas Funding for a Business

This video is about going overseas to get funding for a business, MVP RV's, that cannot recieve funding in the U.S. This partnership helped to save the job of MVP RV's employees as well as attempt to bring this lifestyle to a new location. Do you think that getting financing from another country for a business a stay afloat is a good idea?

Going Virtual: Can It Work for Your Business?

This article talks about someone that works exclusively via the web. Can that work for a lot of businesses that have a store front currently? Many companies are now remotely operating their business in the managing of their business and the organization of the business. Some companies are even strictly just via the Internet. Amazon is a great example of a company that exclusively only sells their products online. They do however have a headquarter location physically located in Arizona. Would this work for a lot of other companies? Some companies have even began to set up their employees virtually by having them work remotely, thus saving in the physical location needed. But, I question, what will these changes do to the economy and how great of a loss of jobs will be seen with more companies moving towards these types of business organizations?


http://gigaom.com/collaboration/going-virtual-can-it-work-for-your-business/

With Fifth Third Out, Banks Have Repaid 99% of TARP

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704261504576205142438418336.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

I found this article to be interesting. This talks about how banks have repaid 99% of TARP funds that were given to them during the recession. What this means for businesses is that banks no longer have the burden on their shoulders to repay the government and instead will be able to borrow more money to individuals or re-invest their money within their organization. For the banking industry this is great news. For the private sector this is also great news. With interest rates at an all time low, business should be able to easily secure a loan and reinvest with their organization. There is no reason that a business should not take advantage of this opportunity to help their-selves grow and succeed.

Japan Quake Tests Supply Chain From Chips to Ships

I read an article about worldwide supply chain problems caused by the Japanese earthquake and ensuing tsunami. This natural disaster destroyed ports that handle approximately 7% of Japan’s industrial output and damaged the electrical infrastructure. This disaster will have a global impact on the supply of high-tech components, especially semi-conductors, as well as, steel, polysilicon, and wafer material. South Korea seems to have the most to loss, as they depend on Japan for steel to support their shipbuilding industry, LCD glass, silicon wafers, and other materials for making semi-conductors. The impact of this disaster will also affect the U.S. solar energy business, the European car industry, and Japan’s auto industry.

This article illustrates how interdependent the countries of the world are in the manufacturing of products. One seldom considers the complexity of manufacturing an automobile, but the bill of materials for an automobile consists of thousands of items. The supply chain for these components spans the globe. Typically, automobile manufacturers only hold a few days inventory of components, so they are quickly dead in the water if the supplier cannot perform. It only takes one missing component to prevent the car from moving to the end of the assembly line. If a supplier’s business is severely damaged and no contingent suppliers are available, the automaker could experience long-term part shortages. This will eventually generate shortages for the consumer, which can cause the consumer to purchase a competitor’s product. It is ideal to have a contingency plan in place just in case the unthinkable happens.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/14/us-japan-quake-supplychain-idUSTRE72D1FQ20110314

senior debt

I found the following article to be very interesting and a bit scary - I wonder where the money will come from.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/credit/2010-11-21-senior-debt_N.htm?csp=obinsite

About one third of the seniors surveyed for this article carry their mortgage debt into retirement.

Many are not worried about their debt and continue to rack up debt, they feel it is too late to do anything. The feel privileged, continue to vacation and entertain -- do these people have a conscience? Where is there moral goodness? Some don't talk about debt because of pride and some are scared; 75% went into debt because of medical expenses and funeral expenses.

With over 38.5 million Americans over the age of 65, this is becoming a huge problem. Should lending agencies continue to allow mortgages after a certain age; or would this be discrimination? Should credit card agencies tighten the limits? Maybe the new Health Care Reform will reduce the medical expenses on individuals....but this money too must come from somewhere.

Japan's Crisis and the Auto Industry

I know this is a very new and uncertain topic, but the thought of how the disaster in Japan effects the rest of the world and the business world is very interesting.  I know questions have already been raised about how the nuclear crisis will influence the nuclear power situation in the rest of the world. In this article, however, I found it intriguing the way in which Japan's crisis could effect the auto industry. The loss of thousands of vehicles, parts, raw materials and factories will greatly influence the world's new supply. It also stated that Japan manufactures the batteries central to US car producers hybrid cars. It's just amazing how one country's struggles influence the rest of the world.

Fear of Escalating Drug Violence Delays Fresh Fruit & Vegetables from Mexico

This is an article that caught my attention this week regarding the problems Mexican farmers are having getting fresh fruit and vegetables shipped into the US. The problem is with the drug wars going on in all of the border towns between Mexico and the US. This is not only a concern for any of us who enjoy fresh fruit and vegetables here, but it is a major concern for Mexican farmers. Mexico's #1 farm export to the US is fresh tomatoes.

China's Facebook Syndrome

hi everyone,
I posted an interesting article about Facebook and how censorship hinders access to China's online markets. Chinese social network can tap U.S. capital markets, but American social networks can't tap Chinese consumer markets. Does that sound fair?

Week 2

Post your week 2 articles and comments to this thread