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The Fairness Issue: How to Cope with the Flood of Foreclosures
Is the cavalry coming to rescue troubled homeowners? Despite soaring foreclosure rates, President Bush and other Republicans have not made this a top priority. But this could soon change: President-elect Barak Obama and fellow Democrats say reducing foreclosures is crucial to attacking the financial crisis. As one expert notes: "The financial sector weaknesses all originate in the housing market. If we don't solve the housing problem, then the weaknesses in the financial sector are going to continue to multiply."
The Net Impact of Netbooks? It Depends on Who Uses Them for What
Small, inexpensive netbooks -- portable computers smaller than notebooks but dependent on the Internet for file-storage and software -- are likely to have a disruptive impact on the PC industry, but there are many questions to resolve, experts say. Will netbooks poach sales of laptops? Are they replacements for smartphones? How will a weak economy affect sales? Will the devices increase the popularity of cloud computing? Stay tuned as this new technology continues to evolve.
As Layoffs Spread, Innovative Alternatives May Soften the Blow
Just how bad will the economy get? For employers facing tough decisions about layoffs, the question is far from rhetorical. If the current economic turmoil is contained sooner than expected, premature layoffs could be a disaster. If not enough employees are laid off and the recession continues, the company's bottom line could suffer. What options do employers have when it comes to cutting payroll without adversely affecting the talent pool, employee morale or the future of the company?
Jeremy Siegel's Advice to Banks: Lend That Money Now
Before the stock market and the broader economy can return to something that looks like normal, banks must start to lend the billions they are getting from the U.S. Treasury's Troubled Asset Recovery Program, says Wharton finance professor Jeremy Siegel. In an interview with Knowledge@Wharton, he also discusses the government's rescue of Citigroup and the proposed bailout of the U.S. auto industry.
View from Mexico: A 'Longer and More Complicated Recession' Lies Ahead for the U.S.
Most Americans aren't used to dealing with financial panics. The same can't be said for Mexico, whose emerging economy suffered calamitous shocks as recently as the 1990s. Pedro Aspe, Mexico's Secretary of Finance from 1988 to 1994, brought a perspective born of experience to his recent Wharton Leadership Lecture, during which he discussed the causes for the U.S. recession and its impact on the global economy.
In the Global Crisis, Coke CEO Muhtar Kent Sees Headwinds -- and Tailwinds
Although companies around the world are clearly feeling the impact of the economic crisis, Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent insists that he will remain focused on moving the company toward an ambitious goal: Increasing global annual revenues for the firm and its more than 300 independent bottlers from $650 billion now to more than $1 trillion by 2020. During a recent Wharton Leadership Lecture, Kent talked about his three decades in the beverage industry, the "new equilibrium" facing global brands, the challenges of dwindling energy supplies and the opportunities he sees in emerging markets, among other topics.
Want to Crank Up Corporate Venture Capital Performance? Consider Matching Independent VC Pay Packages
Big firms launch venture capital units to help keep their competitive edge. But to be successful, they must set up the right incentive packages for their VC staff -- not a trivial task. Firms often structure internal VC staff salaries the same way they compensate corporate staffers not charged with taking such risk, says Wharton management professor Gary Dushnitsky. These firms should consider compensating their internal VCs like independent VCs, giving them a stake in the future returns of the ventures in which they invest, Dushnitsky says in a new research paper.
When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Don't Skimp on Their Ad Budgets
With corporate managers under enormous pressure to control costs and maintain liquidity in the current credit crisis, advertising budgets often appear to be a dispensable luxury in the struggle to survive. According to Wharton faculty and marketing experts, that attitude can result in short-term gains, but long-term trouble.
Finding Opportunities amid the Wreckage
At a time when many bulge bracket investment banks are drowning as a result of the financial crisis, Moelis & Co. is swimming against the tide. Founded in July 2007 by Kenneth D. Moelis, a Wall Street veteran, the Los Angeles-based firm has been busy hiring. In just about 15 months, it has recruited more than 150 people, including some 100 bankers, besides opening offices in Chicago, New York and Boston. How will the continuing financial turmoil affect the fledgling investment bank's business? What opportunities can investors find amid the wreckage? In an interview with Knowledge@Wharton, Moelis discussed these issues and more.
Digital Network Group's Innovative IT Approach to Mentoring Both Students and Non-profits
Jim Smith and Vikrant Kothari each had ambitions to start a company whose focus would be on using information technology as a way to help solve social problems. But it wasn't until they met in Wharton's MBA Program for Executives that their idea came together in the form of the Digital Network Group. Two affiliates under the Digital Network Group umbrella include one targeted to helping non-profits develop innovative and long-term IT strategies; the other is a service program that shows how IT and mentoring can help disadvantaged young people, from middle school on up, become productive members of society. Smith and Kothari spoke to Knowledge@Wharton about these initiatives.
Chertoff on the Government's Role in Managing Risk -- Both Natural and Man-made
Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff, in a recent Wharton Leadership Lecture, addressed areas in which regulation -- in moderation -- can reduce risk in the marketplace. Such measures, he said, can mitigate risks posed by a wide range of threats, from hurricanes to terrorism and even global financial meltdowns.
General Mills CMO Mark Addicks and His Imaginary Friends
Josh and Charlie are not real, but they help General Mills chief marketing officer Mark Addicks see his customers' wants and needs. At a recent Wharton Marketing Conference, Addicks said the imaginary kids are called "brand champions." Their job -- to help executives build a marketing campaign, but also to create an enthusiastic community and promote an entire lifestyle around a consumer product.
Sports Executive Dave Checketts on Ambition, Passion and 'Difficult People'
As Dave Checketts, chairman of New York-based sports ownership group SCP Worldwide, tells it, mastering the art of the confrontation took him years. He learned by tangling with some real intimidators, including a nose-to-nose battle of wills with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani at Madison Square Garden in 1996. During a recent Wharton Leadership Lecture, Checketts noted the key role that passion plays in the sports business -- or any other.
'Globality': Why Companies Are Competing with Everyone from Everywhere for Everything
Tata Motors, Embraer and Good Baby make vastly different products, but they have one thing in common: They are among a new breed of emerging-market companies that are reshaping global business. In GLOBALITY: Competing with Everyone from Everywhere for Everything, authors Harold L. Sirkin, James W. Hemerling and Arindam K. Bhattacharya contend that the old model of globalization is evolving into a new phase in which "challengers" from rapidly developing economies such as Brazil, India, China and Russia are competing with incumbent Western giants and growing at a staggering 30% per year. In this video special report, Sirkin, a senior partner and managing director at The Boston Consulting Group, and Wharton faculty discuss the factors that are contributing to this shift and what it means for companies hoping to compete in the 21st century.
Checked Growth: How Burberry's Angela Ahrendts Is Steering the Company through a Volatile Economy
Since arriving at Burberry Group in January 2006, CEO Angela Ahrendts has seen the Burberry brand "purified," its luxury line diversified, its retail reach extended, and its global organization centralized and connected with a new SAP-based IT backbone. Now Ahrendts is banking on these changes to weather the global economic downturn. The company is "re-forecasting almost every week," she noted during her keynote presentation at the recent Wharton Women in Business Conference.
Dear President-elect Obama: Here's How to Get the Economy out of the Ditch
President-elect Barack Obama must lead a nation mired in a worsening recession and burdened by the costs, both financial and human, of two wars and rising debt. Wharton faculty offer some counterintuitive advice: Now may be the time for the government to spend a lot of money.
Luxury Brands: Marketing the Upscale During a Downturn
Chasing aspirational 16-year-olds and new money in emerging markets is "out," while pampering the wealthiest and most loyal customers is "in," according to luxury retailers at the recent Wharton Marketing Conference. Said one panelist: "The core for a luxury brand is a customer with very considerable wealth."
Why an Economic Crisis Could Be the Right Time for Companies to Engage in 'Disruptive Innovation'
While globalization has witnessed the decline of U.S. dominance in manufacturing, energy and even finance, one thing had long been presumed unassailable: a willingness to engage in transformative, or "disruptive," innovation. But with the economy in a tailspin, will business, government and academia shy away from the risk-taking and short-term costs that come with the territory of innovating? Wharton faculty and practitioners offer their views on why companies these days should be more interested than ever in trying out radical new ideas.
Job Survival Advice: Don't Fear the Whitewater
Change is the new status-quo, and success at work will require agility, talent and the ability to learn from -- rather than fear -- failure, according to Gregory Shea, adjunct professor of management at Wharton, and business writer Robert Gunther. The two recently co-authored a book titled, Your Job Survival Guide, a Manual for Thriving in Change.
Women Executives on Work/Life Balance: Flexibility, Networks, Outside Interests
A panel of successful women acknowledged that striking a perfect balance between work and personal life is rarely possible for a first-year associate on Wall Street, but they also agreed that balance is achievable over time if the right priorities are established. Executives from Wachovia Securities, JP Morgan, Goldenridge Capital, Morgan Stanley and UBS offered anecdotes and advice at a recent Wharton Women in Business Conference.
