Home Depot looks to Silicon Valley for growth

Home Depot looks to Silicon Valley for growth
http://gigaom.com/2012/01/20/home-depot-looks-to-silicon-valley-for-growth/

Think outside the cube

Think Outside the Cube: Why the Office Isn't the Best Workspace
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dailymuse/2012/01/20/think-outside-the-cube-why-the-office-isnt-the-best-workspace/

The secrets Apple keeps

Undercover meetings! Stealth product developments! The world's most successful company is obsessed with privacy. In his new book, Fortune senior editor-at-large Adam Lashinsky finds out what it's really like to work at Apple and how its secretive behavior pays off.

 http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/01/18/inside-apple-adam-lashinsky/?iid=SF_F_LN

The Top 10 Trends in CSR for 2012

This article is by Tim Mohin, director of corporate responsibility for Advanced Micro Devices and author of the forthcoming book Changing Business From the Inside Out: The Treehugger’s Guide to Working in Corporations.
Here are the biggest developments to watch for this year in the ever growing and changing world of corporate social responsibility.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2012/01/18/the-top-10-trends-in-csr-for-2012/

3 Things Carnival Must Do Now to Manage the Costa Crisis

Shares of Carnival are dropping significantly after the cruise company’s worst accident—the Costa Concordia running aground off the coast of Italy (Carnival is the holding company for Costa Cruises).  We know that eleven people are dead and more than twenty are still missing.  I can’t imagine how terrifying it must have been for those 4,000 passengers scrambling to get off board.  Now we’re learning the Captain may have abandoned ship before all the passengers were off.  The deaths, the accident, the cowardly captain have all turned this mess into a major crisis for the Carnival brand and that’s why it’s up to Carnival’s top leadership to act aggressively and quickly to restore Carnival’s reputation as one of the best cruise lines in an extremely safe industry.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2012/01/18/3-things-carnival-must-do-now-to-manage-the-costa-crisis/

The pain of sustainability

Most consumers want companies to engage in sustainable business practices. In a recent public opinion poll we conducted, more than 83% of respondents said they thought companies should try to accomplish their business goals while trying to improve society and the environment. But companies continue to struggle to implement sustainable approaches to doing business. Why? Here’s a short list of reasons:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/csr/2012/01/18/the-pain-of-sustainability/

Fake malaria drugs, handbags, and wine

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jan/14/business/la-fi-china-counterfeit-wine-20120115:

China's resourceful knock-off artists have uncorked a lucrative business: phony high-end wines. Bootleggers douse the market with fakes, refilling bottles from famous chateaux with inferior vintages.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16588153:

Fake and poor quality anti-malarial drugs are threatening efforts to control the disease in Africa and could put millions of lives at risk, scientists say.

http://online.wsj.com/article/AP206f7e30ce9e4458a37d0ad7fcc94963.html:

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Authorities say a routine commercial vehicle inspection in Wyoming has turned up about $5.7 million worth of counterfeit handbags, jackets and shoes.

Texting is killing real business communication

"Whether it's a business or personal interaction, multiple studies show that as much as 50-65% of the communication is nonverbal. That means that people who are addicted to text messaging and email may be sending only half the message, and receivers often misinterpret even that half."

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/01/17/texting-is-killing-real-business-communication/?iid=SF_F_LN

The last Kodak moment?

Technological change: The last Kodak moment?
http://www.economist.com/node/21542796

Customer Service Playing Bigger Role as Marketing Tool

http://adage.com/article/news/customer-service-playing-bigger-role-marketing-tool/230838/

Rise of the new groupthink?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/opinion/sunday/the-rise-of-the-new-groupthink.html?ref=opinion

Americans to make German engines at Japanese automaker's Tennessee plant

http://timesfreepress.com/news/2012/jan/15/decherd-does-daimler/

Benefits without the boss

Benefits Without the Boss
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203436904577155033944977086.html

Crowdsourced management reviews?

Crowdsourcing Management Reviews for Better Management
http://blogs.hbr.org/hill-lineback/2012/01/crowdsourcing-management-revie.html

What's your influencing style?

What's Your Influencing Style?
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/01/whats_your_influencing_style.html

Why innovation strategies fail

Why New Innovation and Revenue Growth Strategies Fail - Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkotter/2012/01/12/why-new-innovation-and-revenue-growth-strategies-fail/

Apple's Supply Chain

http://mobile.businessweek.com/magazine/apples-supplychain-secret-hoard-lasers-11032011.html

Three Types of People to Fire Immediately

http://www.businessweek.com/management/three-types-of-people-to-fire-immediately-11082011.html?campaign_id=rss_topStories

Steve Ballmer reboots

Steve Ballmer Reboots - Businessweek
http://mobile.businessweek.com/magazine/steve-ballmer-reboots-01122012.html

Goofy CEO

“Goofy” CEO Andrew Mason on “60 Minutes” This Week
http://allthingsd.com/20120112/goofy-ceo-andrew-mason-on-60-minutes-this-week/

McKee Survives Market Uncertainty

"The essential difference is the one between family ownership and public ownership," Gloekler said. "We don't have to make hasty decisions to satisfy stockholders. We can sit back and take the market hit because we know it's going to swing back around."

http://timesfreepress.com/news/2012/jan/12/mckee-survives-market-uncertainty/

Why Best Buy is Going out of Business...Gradually

Electronics retailer Best Buy is headed for the exits.  I can’t say when exactly, but my guess is that it’s only a matter of time, maybe a few more years.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrydownes/2012/01/02/why-best-buy-is-going-out-of-business-gradually/

The most popular American companies in China

The primary reason, it is often argued, that China is an important market for many large U.S. companies is that its population has doubled since the early 1960s. But the whole picture is actually more complex than that. China’s real appeal to American corporations is that the huge population growth has been coupled with a sharp expansion of the middle class. As a result, the Chinese market probably will become more important to consumer goods and technology companies in the next few decades than the U.S. is today.

 http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/03/9927101-the-most-popular-american-companies-in-china?ocid=twitter

If the Boss is a Teleworker, Employees Are Less Satisfied

Workers whose bosses telework from remote locations get less feedback, feel less empowered, and are less satisfied with their jobs than workers whose bosses are on-site, according to a study of more than 11,000 corporate employees by Timothy D. Golden of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Allan Fromen of GfK Custom Research.

http://web.hbr.org/email/archive/dailystat.php?date=010912

HBR: Why CSR's Future Matters to Your Company

More and more, companies are building long-term commitments to corporate social responsibility (CSR). In 2012 the rise in consumer activism and mobility, the Occupy movement, 24-hour accountability (thanks to social media), and global resource depletion will force every enterprise, large and small, to make CSR a focal point. Four particular areas stand out among many.

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/01/why_csrs_future_matters_to_you.html

HBR: IBM focuses HR on change

IBM Focuses HR on Change
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/01/ibm_focuses_hr_on_change.html

HBR: Think about different things

Don't Think Different, Think About Different Things
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/01/dont_think_different_think_abo.html

Tim Cook: "Money is not a motivator for me"

When Apple's proxy filing revealed new CEO Tim Cook's total compensation for 2011 was almost $400 million, many people (at least in our comments) were freaking out.Regardless of how you slice it, Cook will be making a lot of money over the next 10 years.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/tim-cook-lives-in-a-relatively-dumpy-little-house-2012-1#ixzz1jCJHf3Qj