KnowNOW!

Tags

Intro To Business

Syndication

Recent Posts

Archives

About the Author

Teri Bernstein, MBA, CPA has been teaching full time in the Business Department of Santa Monica College since 1985.  Prior to that, she worked in Internal Audit and Special Financial Projects for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, CBS, Inc., and Coopers & Lybrand (which is now part of PricewaterhouseCoopers).  She attended the University of Michigan and Wayne State University.


  • Productivity stagnation in the internet age

    [View:http://community.cengage.com/GECResource/themes/gew/utility/ :550:0] posted on YouTube , March 9, 2012 The video posted above is just for fun. The humor works because those of us who have used Mac computers are all-too-familiar with the "Rainbow Circle of Death" that signals a computer "time-out." The appearance of the troubling animated icon during a public speech (particularly one as viral as a TED Talk!) should be a warning to all students and marketers getting ready for a presentation. Make sure that your materials are downloaded and working when timeliness counts. And bring that thumb drive as a back-up. But not all computer-related loss of productivity is due to the computer "hanging." Waiting for the computer to recover from whatever triggered its "time-out" is one form of lag-time in the computer world. But there are other ways in which the computer environment has not delivered the efficiencies that were imagined or promised. John Cassidy laid out the history of our internet expectations in his New Yorker article from April 2013. In the late 1990's, economists (including the Fed's Alan Greenspan ) thought that computers and the internet would lead to a growth in productivity and its related growth in salaries and wages. Between 1996 and 2000, labor productivity grew 2.75% annually. After the internet bubble burst in 2000, labor productivity continued to rise: between 2001 and 2004, productivity went up 3.5% annually. 2005: social networking begins; people became "permanently online." But : the productivity growth rate dropped to 1.5% per year. 2011: productivity increase is only 0.6 to 0.7% annually. 2012: productivity DECREASES by 1.9%. So, basically, since 2005 the rates of productivity have been worse than before the Web was a commercial presence. And the trend is getting worse. Of course, this trend is not all the fault of the Rainbow Circle of Death. One cause, according to Business Insider , is insomnia--which is partly the result of late-night internet surfing. But Cassidy cites other reasons in his New Yorker article. He quotes Robert J. Gordon of the Center for Economic Policy Research: " Many of the inventions that replaced tedious and repetitive clerical labor with computers happened a long time ago, in the 1970s and 1980s. Invention since 2000 has centered on entertainment and communication devices that are smaller, smarter, and more capable, but do not fundamentally change labor productivity or the standard of living in the way that electric light, motor cars, or indoor plumbing changed it." In other words, the iPad, the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy may be fun and cool, but they are not "game-changers." They don't really do anything new that is productive. They just make leisure activities more accessible. But not everyone agrees with Mr. Gordon. Kevin Kelly, of Wired , postulated that people 80 years in the future will have this view: "Gordon missed the impact from the real inventions of this revolution: big data, ubiquitous mobile, quantified self, cheap AI, and personal work robots. All of these were far more consequential than stand alone computation, and yet all of them were embryonic and visible when he wrote his paper. He was looking backwards instead of forward.” We'll have to wait and see who is right... Sources: " What Happened to the Internet Productivity Miracle? ," by John Cassidy, The New Yorker, April 2, 2013. " Is U.S. Economic Growth Over? " by Robert J. Gordon, Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), September, 2012. Follow up: How does internet access SAVE you time? In what ways does the internet LOWER your productivity? How does doing work on a computer--aside from the time you spend on the internet--save you time? In what ways does the computer

  • Cyber bank robbery

    [View:http://community.cengage.com/GECResource/themes/gew/utility/ Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news , world news , and news about the economy :550:0] Seven sophisticated cyber criminals, part of a global network, recently stole $45 million from multiple locations in a matter of hours. Here is the basic overview of how investigators are imagining the perpetrators pulled if off: "hackers" invaded global bank information systems; they stole prepaid debit card numbers; they removed the restrictions on the maximum amounts that could be withdrawn; they spread the information to others in their worldwide network; across the world, these criminals coded the account information onto the magnetic strips that are on ATM cards; the thieves began withdrawing money from as many ATMs as possible, before the accounts could be cut off; they operated like a "virtual criminal flash mob"--at coordinated times; the criminal network's trial run was on December 21, 2012 [4500 ATMs, $5,000,000]; on February 19, 2013 they hit 36,000 ATMs, stealing $40,000,000. Arrests have been made, and the suspected ringleader was found murdered in the Dominican Republic between the robbery dates, but the investigation is not yet complete. Bank robbers hold a special fascination in the American psyche. Willie Sutton , who stole (only) $2 million from banks over an infamous 40 year "career" as a bank robber, is credited (perhaps apocryphally ) as answering the question, "Why do you rob banks?" with " Because that's where the money is." It seems as though these modern crooks have the same motivation...but use far more efficient methods. Sources: " In Hours, Thieves Took $45 Million in ATM Scheme ," by Marc Santora, New York Times, May 9, 2013. " $45 million stolen in cyber bank heist ," (video embedded above) reported by Tom Costello and Brian Williams, NBC News Nightly Newscast , May 9, 2013. Follow up: What precautions do you take on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis to ensure that your internet financial presence is secure? What might this instance of cyber-crime mean for business and technology as we move into the future? Research what Willie Sutton really said in his autobiography about why he robbed banks. Do you think that these modern criminals would be influenced by the same feelings? Why or why not?

  • BuzzFeed's "King of Memes" shares somes secrets

    Jonah Peretti in the offices of BuzzFeed; photo by Benjamin Lowy Here is the official story of how BuzzFeed got started. Its founder, Jonah Peretti , was a 27-year old grad student who ordered some customizable Nike shoes on a "break" while working on his master's thesis at MIT. Peretti wanted the word "sweatshop" printed on the shoes; this gave rise to a string of email's with Nike's customer service department. image from 2001 ad for customizable Nike shoes Peretti forwarded the amusing email thread to some friends, who forwarded it to more friends...and soon Peretti had his moment of fame--he was on the Today show talking about labor practices with Nike reps. The "viral" spread of the email was an " internet meme ." Peretti pondered why goofy themes spread like crazy while important ideas did not seem to catch on. He developed BuzzFeed--which is an eclectic mix from the erudite to the ridiculous--to research what catches on and what does not. He applies his evolving theories to both the articles and the ad content on the site. By the way, the articles ARE the ad content. Virgin Mobile USA has posted several articles on BuzzFeed, and noted that one "paid-for-post" for Valentine's Day , "urging consumers to 'break up with their carrier'," produced a "95 percent spike in sales that day,” according to Ron Faris, Virgin Mobile's head of brand marketing. Virgin America has some informative "posts" as well. Detractors have complained that mixing up ads with content violates an important tenet of a free society ( Andrew Sullivan, The Dish ), but it seems to be working for BuzzFeed. Sources: " Does BuzzFeed Know the Secret? " by Andrew Rice, New York Magazine , April 7, 2013. Follow up: What is the BuzzFeed headline today? Will this headline be "going viral" in your opinion? Why or why not? What are the factors that contribute to an internet story becoming a meme? Read the entire article in New York Magazine and check out these sites for more data: Meme01 and Meme02 Who coined the term "meme"? What does it mean? Why are memes important to today's businesses?

  • Literally, it's "Power clothing"--and it may soon be everywhere

    photo by Ken Bennett, Wake Forest University, shows a piece of material that is hooked up to meter David Carroll, of Wake Forest University, has developed a kind of cloth that can charge your cellphone . He calls it "power felt." The material works by using body heat and movement to create electricity. The science behind this is thermoelectrics . We experience a cruder form of thermoelectrics when we hold onto a piece of cold metal and it warms up. What causes the warmth is the movement of electrons. With nanotechnology, Mr. Carroll has made a fabric that can manufacture electricity by converting the movement of bouncing on a carseat or flapping in the wind. The fabric is flexible and relatively cheap. According to Business Insider , " this fabric soon may be stitched into every shirt, lying under every car hood and wrapped around every house ." Where do I invest? Source: " How 'High-Performance Clothing' Will Power Your Phone And Monitor Your Health ," by Robert Ferris, Business Insider, April 16, 2013. Follow up: What other uses have been suggested for this "power felt" other than charging your cell phone?

  • Soft skills: taming your email

    image from www.salterbaxter.com Who among us have complained that we do not get enough email? Most of us are sitting on a huge pile of it, which varies from very important to annoying. Every business that each of us connects with seems to have mastered the art of putting us on a mailing list. Even our friends and relatives have us on lists. The mountain of email has to be excavated. Strategies have to be implemented to stay on top of things. Jenna Wortham suggests several strategies, starting with setting aside a few hours with coffee and good music and getting ready to dig in: Get rid of notifications from services such as Facebook and Linked In by changing the settings on those sites. Unsubscribe where you can. Set up filters to redirect emails from friends and relatives who regularly forward things you don't have the time (or the inclination) to read. Use the new Apple Mail feature to give some emails "V.I.P status." Set aside timed email sessions and don't check your email otherwise. Communicate by Messaging or Twitter when possible--for convenience and speed. Purchase an email organizer, such as Sanebox , Mailstrom , Mailbox , or Inbox Pause . Take the time to retrain yourself. I didn't feel so bad when Ms Wortham mentioned that she had 40,000 unread emails, which an app she'd purchased had identified as a "normal" amount of traffic. No wonder most of us feel overwhelmed! Source: " How To Lighten The Crush of Email ," by Jenna Wortham, New York Times , April 10, 2013. Follow up: How many emails are in your work inbox? How about at home? What are your current strategies for managing your email? Regular weeding? Read-it-and-toss? Discuss what works, what doesn't, and how you'd like to improve things. What are the downsides of some of the suggestions in the article--for example, of filtering or using an outside program?

  • "Zero TV": problem or opportunity?

    image from cbsnews.com The woman in the image above is watching "TV." She isn't doing it in the traditional way--she is streaming a TV show on her computer. "Zero TV" refers to this type of TV viewer--not one who eschews television (banning it on intellectual or educational grounds). Nielsen , the rating statistics leader, began to look at the viewer category "Zero TV" in its quarterly report ending this past March. Nielsen plans to incorporate this category into its Fall analysis, so that these watchers can be factored into ad rates. But are these viewers watching the ads? Viewers like the young woman pictured worry creators of TV content. TV show producers can only make money through the sales of ad time, or licensing their cable product. How will usage be measured accurately and revenue streams accurately reflect usage? That is not the only way things are changing. David Brancaccio's piece on Marketplace reveals that some users are reversing this situation again. The new way of getting content? Mobile TV . Users download material directly from TV satellites, bypassing the internet. These users are also bypassing the living room, and watching on their smartphones, tablets or laptops. Behavior changes are already changing the marketplace, partly because watching living room TV today is such a hassle! I think that TV + cable box + DVR + DVD player + ROKU + OnDemand + remotes for all of them + surround sound can be too much to deal with. When is someone going to think of a way to make money to simplify all of this? Sources: " Broadcasters Worry about Zero TV Homes , " by Ryan Nakashima, PhysOrg News , originally copyrighted by The Associated Press ( AP ), April 7, 2013. " Why Go Through The Internet to Watch TV on the Go? " by David Brancaccio, Marketplace , April 8, 2013. Follow up: Do you watch any television? Do you do it through a TV set or on your computer? Even if you are using a TV, do you watch when the show is broadcast, or on some kind of record-and-time-delay? Do you skip commercials? Have you ever watched pay-for-view TV for free, "illegally"? Discuss the ethical issues involved. Discuss the revenue models for traditional television. Consider the demographic differences. Can you think of how content producers will have to change to accommodate new viewing habits? How is Antennas Direct different from either option discussed above, according to the AP article?

  • An argument AGAINST out-sourcing

    image from chicagocreativedesign.com Double Encore is a company that is betting everything on home-grown apps. They develop for Apple (not for the android market), and they employ all their own developers. They are a Colorado-based technology company with a special relationship with Apple...and--THEY DON'T OUTSOURCE. Their policy is contrary to the industry trend. The Computer Economics Annual Outsourcing Study recently reported that information technology outsourcing was up by 23% in 2012. But Double Encore is bucking the trend. Here are some of the reasons: quality control can only be monitored in a controlled environment their office is an environment of "experience, creativity, and unwavering ambition" their commitment to their clients is based on originality--not on "knock offs" outsourcing contributes to lower salaries for engineers...which then contributes to a smaller pool of talent willing to work for sub-par salaries they've seen the poor results from their clients failed outsourced products, which have to be cleaned up Double Encore is marketing itself from this quality niche. Its policies also set the standard for its human resource management. Does it sound like a good place to work? Sources: " Why We Don't Outsource [Seriously, Stop Calling Us] ," by Emily Grossman, Double Encore Blog, March 24, 2013. Follow up: What do you think of the Double Encore idea that "Genius doesn't go on sale. It just leaves the market"? What does it mean, with respect to outsourcing policies?

  • Planet Money: get the app...and get the story behind business decisions

    image from National Public Radio Planet Money is a National Public Radio news-magazine about financial matters. The audio articles are short and interesting tidbits--often focusing on business decisions that don't make headlines, but are important to business practices in both large and entrepreneurial companies. They also do pieces that help the listener put financial headlines into an more understandable context. For example...The article I've linked to is about a business decision made by Sloan-Kettering Hospital, a top-rated cancer facility that values its cutting-edge reputation. When a new drug became available to treat colon cancer, they evaluated the efficacy of the new drug vis-a-vis an older drug that was available at half the cost ($11,000 per month vs. $5,500 per month). The clinical results of the drug were the same: a 1.4 month increase in lifespan. Sloan Kettering made the decision to NOT USE the newer drug, based on cost. Because a cost-based decision is very unusual in the arena of top-ranked cancer hospitals, two Sloan-Kettering colleagues teamed up to explain their decision in an New York Times op-ed piece, " In Cancer Care, Cost Matters ." If there had been a difference in outcomes that favored the more expensive drug, however, they would have opted to use it, or provide it as an option to patients. In this particular case, they made an unusual business decision, and protected their reputation by being transparent about it in a widely-read newspaper. At any rate, stories about Amish entrepreneurs, con men and the transportability of money have also run recently in the NPR series. For people interested in business, Planet Money is a great resource. Sources: Planet Money: the app from iTunes and National Public Radio . Follow up: Download the app and use it. Now access Planet Money via the URL on your laptop. Notice anything different? What effect does the difference have on your assessment of the app? Discuss some of the articles with your business school colleagues. What were the most interesting? What did you learn?

  • Gadgets and gizmos

    image of the Jawbone Jambox published in the NYT The bluetooth speaker pictured above does things that your iPhone or other smartphone can't do. But think of all the things that you used to tote around--or wear--that have become redundant for the savvy owners of a smartphone with apps. Watches? General-use digital cameras? What has happened to the usage and the market penetration of those "must-haves" in decades past? Still, because a smartphone can't do everything, there are new business and marketing opportunities for add-on gadgets. Anyone who has tried to listen to music on their iPhone without earbuds knows that "Speakerphone" just doesn't come close to decent audio quality. The speaker pictured above (and several competitors) offer a bluetooth (wireless) connection to laptops, iPods or smartphones. Other useful add-ons include: a MacBook Air for more efficient and effective Word processing and internet surfing (the article's author has some opinions about the relative usefulness of iPads or other tablets for these tasks) ; a really great (expensive) router (to connect all of your devices, and ensure that they run fast and reliably); a hard drive connected to the internet, for convenient storage and back-up ( e.g . Synology N.A.S . ); and a back-up battery for the phone. Of course, these are the suggestions for this month. The product mix at this time next year is likely to be quite different. Source: " Gadgets You Need, Even If You Have A Smartphone " by Brian X. Chen, New York Times , March 6, 2013. Follow up: If you have a smartphone, what pieces of equipment do you no longer have any need for? Try to think of at least five. How important is "having the latest gadget" to you in your business life? How about as you perceive yourself, or relate to your friends and family? Which of the items in this article are of interest to you personally? Which do you think might become mainstream sellers? Comment on the overlap and dissonance between your two lists.

  • Unlock my phone, please!

    image from abcnews.go.com ---- OR ---- The Federal Communications Commission ( FCC ) testified in Congress this week in favor of legislation that would require phones to be "unlockable" and therefore portable from one carrier to another. These phones could also be used internationally. Unlocking phones would likely lead to more competition: better prices and features for consumers. The restriction against locking phones was put into place by the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress. Its purpose was to protect the "intellectual property" of the manufacturer: the software inside the phone. The penalties for violation of this rule could be pretty steep under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act : a $500,000 fine and 5 years in prison. Nevertheless, after the initial period of contract service obligations, there are arguments to be made for the freedom to move to another carrier. The contract period allows service providers "selling" an iPhone with a real retail price of $649 to be sold for $199 with a two year contract. During that two year period is when the service provider makes back its money, and then its profit. photo by Michael Nagle for the NYT: Julius Genachowski, Chairman of the FCC After that period, trade organizations--and now the FCC--feel that unlocking the phone is feasible and fair. Source: " FCC Backs Consumers In Unlocking of Cell Phones " by Edward Wyatt, New York Times , March 4, 2013. Follow up: What kind of phone do you have, and who is your carrier? What changes would you make if you had the freedom to move your phone itself to a different carrier? How have intellectual property protections under copyright law been violated recently with respect to other copyrighted works? Have you been "guilty" of any of these violations? What are the risks of the erosion of these protections?

  • "Working from work" instead of "working from home"

    From Robert Mankoff, cartoon editor of the New Yorker , "Here’s a great Kim Warp cartoon that Mayer could have used to get her point across a lot more effectively than that clunky memo": Marissa Mayer, the CEO of Yahoo, surprised her employees (as well as the broader community of office workers) when she announced last week that Yahoo employees would no longer be allowed to work from home. The importance of "workplace collaboration" was seen as essential to increasing productivity. The announcement was particularly baffling because Mayer is a new mother, and as such was assumed to be a champion of schedule flexibility. Nevertheless, some research has shown that many important conversations arise out of unplanned casual interactions, or "serendipity." Jerry Davis, a business professor at the University of Michigan, noticed that the most productive day of the week was "Free Food Fridays," where "lunch is the bait, and shoptalk the byproduct." It remains to be seen what effect, if any, the change in Yahoo policy has on employee productivity, retention and morale. Sources: " Experts Boil Telecommuting Decisions Down To Flexibility Vs. Serendipity " by Yuki Noguchi, Morning Edition, National Public Radio, February 28, 2013. Cartoon by Kim Warp from the March 4, 2013 issue of the New Yorker . Follow up: Have you ever "worked from home"? How did that go? If you have never had a job where this was possible, try to be objective about your own productivity with respect to studying or writing papers: Are you more productive at home, or in the library? How about a study group? Do you agree with Robert Mankoff about the relative effectiveness of the business communication used by Ms. Mayer? What are good business techniques for conveying what may be taken as "bad news"? *

  • A "superpower" for everyone...

    [View:http://community.cengage.com/GECResource/themes/gew/utility/ :550:0] Video produced by Code.org, starring Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, et. al. This video was produced by Code.org , to promote the idea of learning how to write computer programs. Listening to the men and women on the video--it seems like fun. Lots of today's programming can be done with logic, organization, and problem solving skills rather than higher-order mathematics. Considering how important these skills are in the marketplace, it is baffling that programming isn't a graduation requirement for a college degree. I have a little experience with this. Back in 1973, "Intro to Computing" was a programming class, not a class to become a skilled application user. We learned a Fortran language called WATFiV. Our programs had to be typed onto punch cards and dropped off at the computing center to be run, and then debugged if necessary, then run again. Writing the programs was like solving a puzzle, and actually very satisfying. My first job at Coopers & Lybrand (long before it combined with Price Waterhouse) was to use their closet-sized punch card computer to run "What-if" scenarios for limited partnership prospectuses. Basically, the programs I wrote and adapted were just a more clumsy version of what, a few years later, was Lotus 1-2-3 and then Excel. In 1983, I bought my first PC, and have been a "user" ever since. Today, there are several computing frontiers--apps, biomedical, transportation, mobile everything, computing everywhere. A lot of the money to be made in the future will be made by knowing how to not only use computers, but more importantly to control what they do . That's computer programming. Source: " What Most Schools Don't Teach " by Code Org, YouTube , February 26, 2013. Follow up: Have you ever taken a programming class? What computer language? What kinds of programs did you write? If you don't know a computer language, do you know another language besides English? How will you enhance your ability to communicate world-wide 25 years from now? Do you have an idea for an app? What have you done to get it working and in the marketplace?

  • Tech company "tax dodgers" avoid tax on $225 Billion

    image from PUNCH , March 10, 1982 There is a fine line between tax avoidance and tax evasion. The line that divides the two is drawn by the "letter of the law." Nevertheless, those laws have been influenced by corporations lobbying for benefits that they can legally take. And, according to research done recently, it looks as though several very profitable Silicon Valley firms are benefiting from laws that allow them to avoid taxes by "permanently reinvesting" cash overseas: This arrangement seems to some observes to be a lose-lose deal for middle class American taxpayers. Not only is part of the nation's potential revenue foregone by this law, the reinvestment in foreign countries prevents growth investment in American jobs and communities. None of the tech companies agreed to comment for the researchers or the follow-up press reports. Sources: " Apple's not the only US Giant Dodging Taxes: Report " by David Brancaccio, audio interview, Marketplace Tech Report , American Public Media, February 25, 2013. " Silicon Valley Firms Shelter Assets Overseas; Slash US Tax Bill ," by Matt Drange, The Bay Citizen , February 13, 2013. Follow up: How does the concept of "business ethics" play into aggressive tax practices such as shifting income overseas to avoid taxes? Check out the definitions of "tax avoidance" and "tax evasion" using the internet or other resources. According to the Bay Citizen article, what other tax benefit did tech companies get as a result of the "fiscal cliff" deal?

  • If your watch was a computer, would you wear it?

    image from businessinsider.com This is NOT the Apple prototype... I'm from a generation that wears watches. I have owned successive Seiko watches from the time I got my first full-time job. But my young adult daughters? No way! They use their smartphones to tell time. ...but they also lose their smartphones, because they are not strapped (conveniently) on their wrists. All this might change. Apple is currently "experimenting with wristwatch-like devices made of curved glass," according to sources who wish to remain anonymous, due to confidentiality agreements. It is definitely possible: last year Corning Incorporated solved the engineering problems around the development of bendable glass. This product, called Willow Glass , would be a major component of the technology used in the wristwatch computer. Willow Glass by Corning The idea of a wristwatch computer has been around for a long time--from the comics of my youth to James Bond movies. Google's take on a wearable computer is different: the Google eyeglasses . But it seems as though Apple's take would involve the special Willow Glass that could be form-fit around a human wrist. We'll see. Of course, observers are already calling it the iWatch . Source: " Disruptions: Where Apple and D Tracy May Converge " by Nick Bilton,, New York Times BITs , February 10, 2013. Follow up: Do you wear a watch? If your smartphone were styled to be worn on your wrist, would you do it? How would you market a wrist-mounted smartphone? Do you think your potential market is more with watch-wearers like me, or with younger folks? How might a wrist-mounted computer be used differently? Do you think the people who leaked the information about this potential product acted unethically in disclosing this information? Why or why not?

  • Match.com parent plans to acquire Tutor.com

    image from tutor.com website IAC (InterActiveCorp) , the parent company of Match.com plans to acquire Tutor.com . This acquisition seems to be a very good fit. Match.com has successfully helped people find love through online dating for several years. Tutor.com has been matching up "nearly 3,000 tutors with students since 1998." One difference between the companies is that Tutor.com's business primarily matches tutors with institutions that have students--the contract is with with the university or library--rather than directly with the student. One of the changes proposed by IAC is to improve the web interface and marketing, and sell directly to students. It is estimated that IAC paid slightly less that $40 million to acquire Tutor.com. Source: " IAC Is Set to Announce Acquisition of Tutor.com " by Amy Chozick, NYT Media Decoder, January 7, 2013. Follow up: Read about IAC. What other companies does it own? How many of these companies are in the "match-up" business of some kind? What is IAC's focus or mission? What does it cost to get a tutor through Tutor.com? How does it work. How might you go about determining whether these services were worth the money? Compare it with any other tutoring experiences you may have had.
1 2 3 4 5 Next >