Articles 1 to 10 of 135
Verizon Wireless Jim McGean Takes Your Calls on Managing for Change and Success
Jim McGean, Verizon Wireless president of the South Area and an Emory University alumnus, entered the telecommunications industry when a 2½-pound phone cost $3,000 (plus an additional 75 cents per minute) and was relegated to the car. Twenty-one years later, cell phone service providers boast 95 percent penetration in the U.S., and Verizon is the number two seller of digital music in the U.S. In a recent Q&A with Knowledge@Emory, McGean discusses how Verizon is facing off against Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)-based services, harnessing converging technology and keeping the smart phone relevant in this new world full of “smart things.”
The Changing Profile of African American Politicians
Today’s African American politicians are a different breed from their older counterparts, argues Gwen Ifill in The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama (Doubleday, 2009). This newer generation’s distance from the civil rights movement, their more business-friendly posture, and their considerable educational accomplishments have reduced the separate-but-unequal political structures that once prevailed between black and white politicians. But some veteran black leaders wonder if this younger generation will effectively develop public policies to address structural racism and the concerns of the majority of African Americans. Andra Gillespie, assistant professor of political science at Emory University, also offers insight.
Deloitte Chairman Sharon Allen on Ethics, Decision Making and Career-Life Balance
Deloitte LLP Chairman Sharon Allen has garnered many “firsts” in her life. She was the first woman elected to serve on the $11 billion company’s U.S. board of directors and the first woman to chair its U.S. board. As chairman, Allen is responsible for corporate governance and oversees the organization’s relationships with multinational clients. During a recent visit to Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, Allen discussed three issues that students and alumni could control regardless of the economic environment: decision-making, business ethics and career-life balance.
Flying High: Microsoft's Stephen Elop Balances Future Vision with Present-day Realities
After spending most of his career at companies that competed with Microsoft, Stephen Elop became president of Microsoft's Business Division a little over a year ago. Following his keynote address at the recent Wharton Business Technology Conference, Knowledge@Wharton spoke with Elop about how the company intends to balance its traditional strengths with its goal of moving forward to the next generation of connected software applications. Elop also discussed ways in which the current economic crisis is reshaping Microsoft's business strategy, among other topics.
Coca-Cola's Muhtar Kent on the Economy, Innovation, and Careers
Under the leadership of President and CEO Muhtar Kent, The Coca-Cola Company has overcome arrogance, lack of growth and some bad PR to maintain its position as the world's largest beverage company. Speaking to a packed audience of students, faculty, and luminaries recently at Emory University's Goizueta Business School, Kent admits the current economic picture is challenging, but he doesn't foresee the thirst for non-alcoholic beverages lessening. In fact, with consumers in more than 200 countries enjoying Coca-Cola’s beverages at a rate of 1.5 billion servings a day, Kent says, bad economy or not, that number is going to grow.
Why Difficult Times Require Courageous Solutions
In the midst of any crisis comes the question of how we got here in the first place. It's a question the U.S. is still grappling with, as February saw another 651,000 people nationwide lose their jobs while home prices dropped to their lowest levels since 2004. Could the subprime lending crisis—often seen as the catalyst for America's economic woes—have been prevented? According to Monica Worline, assistant professor of organization and management at Emory University's Goizueta Business School, it is likely that people in the financial organizations at the heart of the crisis were courageous enough to ask questions about their organizations’ lending practices, but their protests were either ignored or never reached top management. As America moves to rebuild, Worline cautions managers that stressing conformity over courage could undermine any progress they hope to make in creating workplaces where these types of crises will not repeat themselves.
Carol Bartz's Challenge at Yahoo: Choose a Path, Build a Team and Do It Fast
New Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz has a long to-do list -- chart the company's strategy, weigh a potential search partnership with Microsoft, boost morale and round out her management team -- and not much time to deliver amid a weak economy that is hurting online advertising, say experts at Wharton.
Can U.S. President Obama Execute His Ambitious Agenda?
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 made it through Congress, but U.S. President Barack Obama now faces another major hurdle: fulfilling the broader promises he made during his campaign. With approval ratings still up, Obama has broad appeal, but can he manage expectations and execute his agenda? Faculty from Emory University's Goizueta Business School and other experts explore the challenges.
Why Even Great Design Needs an Effective Marketing and Brand Strategy
When creativity meets an effective marketing and brand strategy, competitive advantage is enhanced. Recently, Emory Marketing Institute developed a program for members of the Atlanta chapter of AIGA, the professional association for design, to strengthen their skills in marketing and branding. Tapping expertise from Emory's Goizueta Business School, senior level creative directors, design managers, and marketing and promotions officers attended the two-day program, which featured lectures on “connecting business and design.”
The Ideal Leader: Asking the Difficult Questions in Good Times and Bad
According to Mark Dillard, the biggest challenge in trying to create change is success. “If we’re all making money and driving Mercedes, why would we do anything differently?” he asks. “From a leadership standpoint, it requires some courage to ask really difficult targeted questions" that can peel back the gleam of the present and see implications for the future. Dillard, who has managed, developed and delivered leadership development programs for Accenture and The Coca-Cola Company, plans to bring this insight to his new role as director of the Leadership Development Program at Emory University's Goizueta Business School. In an interview with Knowledge@Emory, Dillard discusses the need for effective leadership in business education and in turning around Wall Street and the U.S. economy.
