Knowledge@Wharton Audio Articles
Knowledge@Wharton is an on-line resource of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
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Saatchi & Saatchi's Kevin Roberts: 'It's All about Getting to the Future First'
Kevin Roberts has been CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi since 1997, and in the space of 11 years has cemented the ad agency's reputation as one of the most successful and creative companies in the industry. Roberts is perhaps most well known for an idea he came up with called "lovemarks" -- which …
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Jeremy Siegel on Bear Stearns, Rate Cuts and the Looming Threat of Inflation
The ongoing credit crisis in U.S. financial markets has claimed a huge and high-profile victim: Bear Stearns. After being slammed by what amounted to a run on the bank during the week of March 10, the Wall Street investment bank and securities brokerage firm agreed to be acquired -- for $2 a share - …
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Physician and Administrator: How Surgeon Larry Kaiser Navigates Two Different Worlds
Larry Kaiser, chairman of the department of surgery and surgeon-in-chief for the University of Pennsylvania Health System, is responsible for more than 110 surgeons in his own department, and he leads one of the largest thoracic services in the country. Michael Useem, director of Wharton's Center fo …
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Jeremy Siegel on Politicians, Prices and a Potential 'Buying Opportunity of the Decade'
The U.S. Presidential race has reached a critical juncture. The Republicans have a confirmed nominee in John McCain; as for the Democrats, Hillary Clinton has bounced back, while Barack Obama retains a marginal lead in terms of delegates. How the presidential race evolves will be shaped in part by t …
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Philips Lighting CEO Rudy Provoost: Innovation Means Putting Consumers' Needs First
Approximately 19% of the world's electricity bill comes from lighting, according to Rudy Provoost, CEO of Philips Lighting. As such, Philips, the world's largest producer of industrial and consumer lighting products, has a big role to play in the ongoing transformation from incandescent to solid-sta …
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Taking Work-based Learning to the Next Level
In the mid-1990s, a new C-suite title was born when General Electric CEO Jack Welch dubbed Steve Kerr the company's "chief learning officer." Since then, CLOs have sprouted up at major firms in several industries. But what does this new breed of "learning leaders" bring to the table that traditional …
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The Liberian Widows Initiative: A Helping Hand that Stretches from the U.S. to Africa
Kristin King and Kate Brubacher are founding members of Liberian Widows Initiative (LWI), an organization to aid women devastated by the Liberian Civil War. LWI provides small business loans and savings accounts to members of the extreme poor -- Liberian refugee women who struggle to feed their fami …
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Bridging Your Goals with Their Goals: A 'Context-driven Approach to Leadership'
While changing jobs and shifting careers is hardly unusual in today's business world, Russ Palmer is somewhat unique in that he has been the leader of three very different organizations over the past several decades. He was CEO of Touche Ross (now Deloitte & Touche) for 10 years, dean of Wharton for …
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Microsoft and Yahoo: Does It Make Sense (and Will It Work)?
On Friday, February 1, Microsoft announced it was making an unsolicited bid to acquire Yahoo for $44.6 billion in cash and stock, a 62% premium over Yahoo's stock price at the time. Yahoo is officially "evaluating" the offer and, according to reports, is talking to other companies as possible suitor …
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The Global Auto Industry: New Cars, Old Problems
The rise in delinquencies on auto loans is one sign that America's auto industry is in trouble -- along with the rest of the economy. How hard are the auto makers being hit and what should the Big Three do to stem the damage? Meanwhile, the global auto industry has seen some interesting developments …
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It Is a Bird...a Plane...a Recession, Or Is It?
It's been quite a week. Stock markets around the world showed sharp declines on Monday; on Tuesday, the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point. The rate cut helped stem the losses on some indexes, but by January 23, the volatility had returned. The ob …
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How Arab Countries Are Coping with Globalization
At the beginning of 2008, crude prices are at record highs, creating immense wealth for oil-exporting nations in the Middle East. Yet the Arab economies also face what economists call "a demographic bulge of a fast-growing labor force" -- and the challenge of creating enough jobs for the population. …
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Jeremy Siegel on the Interest Rate Cut: The Fed May Be Behind the Curve
For the third time in the past few months, the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee has chosen to cut short-term interest rates by a quarter percent or 25 basis points. The Fed cut its main short-term rate target to 4.25% and the "discount rate" charged on direct Fed loans to commercial banks to …
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The Soul of the Corporation: Managing Your Company's Identity
McDonald's operates the biggest restaurant chain in France. The company's franchisees are French, as are their employees, and they also source their supplies from France. And yet, most people in that country regard McDonald's as an American firm that is undermining the French way of life. That is a …
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Getting a Read on the New Kindle from Amazon
On November 19, Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos announced the launch of an e-book device called Kindle. It weighs 10.3 ounces, costs $399 and can be used without a computer, offering instead a free, high-speed wireless data network from Sprint. Users can download books in less than 60 seconds, as well as …
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The Subprime Drama Continues, but for How Long?
Almost every day, a new twist seems to appear in the subprime crisis drama. This week, the investment arm of the government of Abu Dhabi announced an infusion of US7.5 billion to acquire a 4.9 percent stake in Citigroup, which has been slammed by enormous losses in the credit market. The announcemen …
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Innovation Networks: Looking for Ideas Outside the Company
According to Larry Huston, managing partner of consulting firm 4INNO, future competitive advantage will depend on "innovation networks" -- individuals and organizations outside a company that can help it solve problems and find new ideas for creating growth. A senior fellow at Wharton's Mack Center …
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The State of Business Journalism
Consolidation, cutbacks and competition from the web -- these are the headlines grabbing the attention of business journalists around the world. Concerns about the quality of reporting and information have risen steadily as the industry has undergone dramatic changes. How has global expansion affect …
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What Does It Take to Compete in a Flat World?
When Thomas Friedman wrote his popular book, The World Is Flat, one of its central arguments was that geography might soon become history. The proliferation of information technology and telecommunications networks has integrated the world in ways that were unimaginable in the past -- and this has t …
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A Tremendous Need to Find Talent: Human Resources Challenges on a Global Scale
The 57 members of AHRMIO, the Association for Human Resources Management in International Organizations, range from the UN, UNICEF and OECD to the World Health Organization, the World Bank and the International Labour Organization. Mary Jane Peters, executive director, and Roger Eggleston, president …
Knowledge@Wharton Audio Articles
