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Apple Reportedly in Talks to Buy Universal Music |
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| Topic: Business |
9:51 am EDT, Apr 11, 2003 |
In a pairing that would alter the architecture of the music business, Apple Computer Inc. is in talks with Vivendi Universal to buy Universal Music Group, the world's largest record company, for as much as $6 billion, sources said. Apple Reportedly in Talks to Buy Universal Music |
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It Adds Up (and Up, and Up) |
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| Topic: Business |
2:53 pm EDT, Apr 10, 2003 |
Research suggests that the appetite for [communications] services has not reached its limit: American families are spending only about half as much as they say they would be willing to pay for technologies that would perfectly meet their needs. ... What all these emerging services have in common is a business model based on subscriptions that are billed monthly or yearly. What the most successful services will share is an appeal that will quickly evolve from intriguing to compelling to essential. The future will not be advertised. It Adds Up (and Up, and Up) |
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Why Hierarchies Thrive | Harvard Business Review, March 2003 |
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| Topic: Business |
6:07 pm EST, Mar 16, 2003 |
Hardly anyone has a good word to say about hierarchies. They routinely transform motivated and loyal employees into disaffected Dilberts. Yet, the intensity with which we struggle against hierarchies only serves to highlight their durability. In this article, organizational behavior expert Harold J. Leavitt presents neither a defense of human hierarchies nor another attack on them. Instead, he offers a reality check, a reminder that hierarchy remains the basic structure of most, if not all, large, ongoing human organizations. That's because although they are often depicted as being out of date, hierarchies have proved to be extraordinarily adaptive. Over the past 50 years, for example, they have co-opted the three major managerial movements--human relations, analytic management, and communities of practice. Hierarchies also persist because they deliver real practical and psychological value, and they fulfill our deep need for order and security. Despite the good they may do, however, hierarchies are inevitably authoritarian. You can find the print edition of HBR at your local bookstore or newsstand. Why Hierarchies Thrive | Harvard Business Review, March 2003 |
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Reinventing Tommy: More Surf, Less Logo |
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| Topic: Business |
10:32 am EST, Mar 16, 2003 |
In the glossy pages of magazines, young men and women frolic on a beach, wearing unlogoed T-shirts and short shorts, their aura that of sun and surfboards. In their relaxed, vaguely privileged demeanor, this photogenic crowd presents an undeniable contrast to the urban image of the same brand a decade ago, when the models wore their hair in dreadlocks and swaggered down the street, bold and cool, with a big "Tommy Hilfiger" on their oversize sweats. Now the dreadlocks are gone from the advertisements -- and the big red, white and blue "Tommys" are pretty much gone from the streets. The Tommy Hilfiger Corporation has announced that it is moving away from its logo ... "It's more about going away from the logo than changing the demographic." "Pattern Recognition" is already making an impact on fashion. Reinventing Tommy: More Surf, Less Logo |
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The founder of Visa on Corporations |
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| Topic: Business |
1:40 am EST, Mar 11, 2003 |
Command-and-control organizations, Hock says, "were not only archaic and increasingly irrelevant. They were becoming a public menace, antithetical to the human spirit and destructive of the biosphere. I was convinced we were on the brink of an epidemic of institutional failure." Decius wrote:
] This is a starting point for some extremely rich and interesting ideas. The author of the article, M. Mitchell Waldrop, also wrote the book _The Dream Machine_, which I logged back in October 2001. (Search my blog for dream machine.) The founder of Visa on Corporations |
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Pony Adds to Its Maverick Image |
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| Topic: Business |
11:50 pm EST, Feb 23, 2003 |
What's next in advertising? "We were talking to the folks at Pony for a long time to see if we could create something interesting ... and this one was perfect for us. We target some of the same people, and Pony is known for sort of hip campaigns, so it made sense." Here's a preview of the next leaflets to be dropped in Iraq ... The caption: "Surrender now and win free Pony sneakers and DVDs. Hurry! Offer ends soon." Pony Adds to Its Maverick Image |
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When Economics Shifts From Science to Engineering |
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| Topic: Business |
10:33 am EDT, Aug 29, 2002 |
Hal Varian writes in today's NYT. Economists think of themselves as scientists; their primary goal is to understand how the economy works. But scientific knowledge is not their only goal ... Economists are increasingly being called on to give advice about how to design new economic institutions. ... [Now,] economics looks more like engineering than it does pure science. When Economics Shifts From Science to Engineering |
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The Technology Secrets of Cocaine Inc. | Business 2.0 |
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| Topic: Business |
10:37 pm EDT, Jul 31, 2002 |
Colombian cartels have spent billions of dollars to build one of the world's most sophisticated IT infrastructures. It's helping them smuggle more dope than ever before. ... High-tech has become the drug lords' most effective counter-weapon in the war on drugs -- and is a major reason that cocaine shipments to the United States from Colombia hit an estimated 450 tons last year, almost twice the level of 1998. ... "If they want it, they buy it." ... Recently, the cartels have built their own submarines. ... The mainframe was loaded with custom-written data-mining software. ... Cartel leaders have sent members of their own families to top US schools. The talent and tools are among the best that money can buy. I've discussed this issue before, and here is a recent article that explains why keeping certain research results out of _Science_ and _Nature_ is not a very effective defense strategy. If the cartels can spend billions on IT, they can surely do a little biotech on the side. They can use the results to improve their products, and they can also license the technology to others who may lack the necessary research infrastructure. The Technology Secrets of Cocaine Inc. | Business 2.0 |
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