The parent company for SkyMall filed for bankruptcy protection on January 23, 2015. SkyMall was the entertaining catalogue of everything you never thought about buying, but was in the seat pockets of every plane. As Farhi said, “the value added to this grotesque shlock was SkyMall’s enthusiastic descriptive copy. SkyMall’s writers never let on that… Read more »
Posts Tagged: business strategies
Military Contracting Failures: A $1.5 Trillion Mistake
The F-35 is being produced by 1,200 suppliers. Seen as the fighter jet of the future, it has trouble flying at night, its engines have exploded during takeoff, and early models suffered structural cracks. Questions: 1. Why is the military still pursuing the production of this pink elephant? Why doesn’t technology become less costly for… Read more »
Marriott to pay $600,000 to Resolve WI-FI-Blocking Investigation
In March 2013, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) received a complaint that the Marriott convention center at the Gaylord Opryland location in Nashville, Tennessee was in violation of Section 333 of the Communications Act. After an FCC investigation substantiated unlawful use of containment features, Marriott agreed to pay $600,000. Questions: 1. What did the FCC’s… Read more »
Capitalism is Broken?
Camp Bow Wow, a dog-sitting chain, makes its workers sign non-compete agreements that bar them from plying any of the “trade secrets” they learn walking dogs at any other animal day care centers for up to two years. Questions: 1. Do you think that these quasi-feudal non-compete contracts should be illegal for everyone other than… Read more »
Let’s Have Pizza!
According to the New York Times, the uptick in pizza sales in Brooklyn at Domino’s Pizza is due to stolen credit card numbers being used to order to see which cards were still active and could be used for bigger purchases. Questions: 1. Explain why the article called this a blend of high-tech fraud and… Read more »
That’s the Walmart Way!
An Oklahoma City Walmart is asking employees to donate food to help their coworkers make ends meet during the holiday season. The company drew criticism for similar employee food drives a year ago. Besides incurring a total public assistance cost of $6.2 billion per year, Walmart has been criticized for running a corporate charity called… Read more »
Investment Bankers: Less trustworthy than prison inmates?
According to The Atlantic, a new paper in Nature takes a scientific approach to the accusations of dishonesty in the banking industry. Participants in the study indicated that they thought bankers would be more dishonest than prison inmates in over-reporting successful coin flips. Questions: 1. According to economist Marie Claire Villeval, what are the implications… Read more »
New Class Action Lawsuit
Zillow, the number one online real estate website, is facing a $5 million class action lawsuit for intimidating employees to skip meals and work long hours without pay. Questions: 1. Who was Zillow’s top competition and how much did Zillow pay to buy the company? 2. Would this acquisition be reported on the Statement of… Read more »
Medical Malpractice Reform: Will it save money?
According to the New York Times, many people believe that medical malpractice reform is the key to removing waste from the health care system and making the practice of medicine better. But a growing body of evidence shows that belief is most likely mistaken. Questions: 1. What is the rationale for malpractice reform as cost… Read more »
Attack of the SuperCookies!
What is your privacy worth? Most people would say A LOT! According to Craig Timberg, Verizon and AT&T have been quietly tracking the Internet activity of more than 100 million cellular customers with what critics have dubbed “supercookies.” These supercookies cannot be erased and can even get around the “private” or “incognito” settings on your… Read more »