Stay ConnectedThe Knowledge at Wharton feed features standout episodes from across the Wharton Podcast Network. Discover timely conversations and expert insights on business, markets, leadership, innovation, and the forces shaping the global economy.
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Copyright: © 2013 The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
In recent years GE has faced severe business challenges -- the company’s $200 billion market cap is half of what it used to be. Still an area of enormous strength is the way the company identifies and builds leaders. Much of the credit goes to GE’s corporate learning programs executed through a learning facility in Crotonville N.Y. As business becomes more global how is leadership development at GE changing? How does GE use technology to teach leadership? What impact will the influx of the Facebook generation have on the way leadership is taught? Susan Peters -- GE’s chief learning officer and vice president for executive development and a speaker at the upcoming Wharton Leadership Conference on June 16 -- discussed these questions and more with Knowledge at Wharton.
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In the run-up to this week’s announcement of the European Union’s $960 billion stabilization plan Wharton management professors Mauro Guillén and Saikat Chaudhuri and Jean Salmona founder and chairman of the editorial board of ParisTech Review participated in an interview with Knowledge at Wharton on likely outcomes from the financial crisis facing Greece some of its sister countries and the European Monetary Union more generally. How did events spin so out of control? How will the politics of the crisis affect the Eurozone’s economic performance? Guillén Chaudhuri and Salmona addressed these and other questions on May 7 just before the huge financial support package was announced.
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The recession and pullback by American consumers have dealt serious blows to the retailing landscape. Yet while some big names have gone under Polo Ralph Lauren has emerged relatively unscathed from the wreckage according to company president and chief operating officer Roger Farah who recently spoke on campus during the University of Pennsylvania’s Fashion Week an event co-sponsored by Wharton. He attributes the company’s revival and continued growth -- which includes a major push into the Asia-Pacific region -- to a combination of ”left brain” discipline and ”right brain” creativity.
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Once dubbed the ”Celtic Tiger” for its transformation from an economic laggard to a growth powerhouse Ireland is now suffering from a stunning reversal of fortune. What once helped drive its economic surge -- a booming real estate market -- has now become the country’s bane. Wharton faculty and other experts weigh in on whether it’s fair to lump Ireland with Europe’s other sick economies such as Greece and what needs to happen for the country to regain its former glory as a magnet for international investment.
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After losing $60 billion in the last decade -- and billions more recently when a cloud of volcanic ash grounded flights across Europe -- airlines are looking to consolidate as a way to return to profitability amid continued struggles with high fuel prices competition from low-cost carriers and a limited customer pool that shriveled even more during the recession. But experts are skeptical about the ”bigger is better” strategy. Many observers say the carriers have proved downright flighty at following through on making changes that improve operations and put the customer first.
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What if you could print a perfect-bound volume for as little time as it takes to brew a cup of coffee? That is the premise behind the Espresso book machine which turns digital PDF files into paperbacks in minutes. Jason Epstein and Dane Neller chairman and CEO respectively of On Demand Books in New York the company behind the Espresso book machine believe their technology has the potential to transform book publishing. Epstein who was editorial director of Random House for 40 years recently wrote a widely read essay in The New York Review of Books about the impact of digital technology on publishing. In an interview with Knowledge at Wharton and Stephen J. Kobrin editor of Wharton School Publishing Epstein and Neller discuss their views on where the publishing business is headed.
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Goldman Sachs is the Wall Street mega-firm whose money-making prowess leaves many impressed envious or suspicious. Now the firm’s reputation is on the line as it fights a fraud suit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over a single deal in 2007 the sale of a complex ”synthetic collateralized debt obligation” called Abacus 2007-AC1. The deal lost investors $1 billion but produced $1 billion in profits for Goldman’s collaborator Paulson & Company a hedge fund betting the housing bubble would collapse. Experts at Wharton and elsewhere analyze the financial legal and ethical issues raised by a case that has riveted both Wall Street and Main Street.
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To find the hottest restaurant bar or concert venue in town many young adults are no longer checking in with their friends. They’re ”checking in” virtually via Foursquare a location-based social networking site. While Foursquare is being touted as the Next Big Thing experts say the true potential lies in companies knowing exactly where customers are and pitching offers or services based on the spots these customers frequent. The challenge for Foursquare and others observers suggest is transitioning beyond buzz and finding uses for geo-targeting that are both profitable and practical.
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Your company has developed a new product that you think will be a winner. A lot of money has been poured into research and development analysis of the competition and advertising. But there is one key element you may have overlooked: What do you charge for the product? Wharton marketing professors Jagmohan Raju and John Zhang say companies frequently don’t put anywhere near as much thought into pricing as they should. In their new book Smart Pricing Raju and Zhang argue that firms ought to engage in innovative pricing to achieve maximum profitability and they show how companies like Google are doing just that.
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The Dow has closed above 11 000 the European Union is bailing out Greece and the U.S. economy seems to be perking up. Is the future as bright as it looks? In fact it looks pretty good says Wharton finance professor Jeremy Siegel. While the Dow’s 11 000 close doesn’t mean much to professional market watchers it can give ordinary investors a psychological boost. According to Siegel the U.S. economy is in a self-sustaining recovery no longer dependent on government stimulus. And while the housing market could take years to make up recent losses the economy -- and stocks -- should do well he said in an interview with Knowledge at Wharton.
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