#318: As If I Didn't Have Enough Tim Cook Posts!

The Apple PR machine is hard at work promoting the new CEO. Click here to access a great profile in Bloomberg Business Week.

#317: More Tim Cook - Reimagining Television

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#316: Tim Cook on Keeping Apple Cutting Edge

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#315: Author's Prerogative

I generally try to be a professional and not share my politics with my students. In this particular case, this video is both historical since it was taped in 1995 and bipartisan, so I'm going to make an exception. If we ever want to have a functional Congress, we need campaign finance reform more than ever. It would be a blessing to those who serve to be able to provide the public service they were elected to perform, rather than engaging in constant fundraising. It would certainly be a blessing to our country to enable public servants to engage in the compromise that is so needed to move us forward. As someone who was a political science major as an undergraduate, I have long been convinced that we will never solve some of the real problems facing our country until we solve the money problem and enact meaningful campaign finance reform. The late Ed Bradley interviews 9 distinguished Senators in this segment from the 60 Minutes vault.

#314: Dividends in a Time of Uncertainty

Thought provoking segment from NPR on why companies are accelerating dividend payments this year!

#313: UPS Boot Camp Provides Continuous Improvement for Workers

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#312: Extreme Couponing

Some good couponing tips to help you save at the grocery!

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#311: The Oracle of Omaha

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So much wisdom from Warren Buffett!

#310: A Little Logistics Courtesy of Amazon

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This video shows a policy that is contrary to the LL Bean approach of placing the most popular products closest to the pickers' central location. Of course, amazon.com has FAR more products than LL Bean.

#309: Hack Attack - Protecting Your Identity

Some good advice related to identity theft.

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#308: Relatively Neutral, but Sassy Explanation of the Fiscal Cliff

Discovered via a Jean Chatsky tweet, this NY Magazine article breaks it down for the pop culture fans! Click here to read.

#307: Social Media Highlights Problem Employees

Read here about Walmart's reaction to iPad throwing employees. If happy employees make happy customers, what effect do disgruntled employees have on customer satisfaction?

#306: Manufacturing - America is Still #1

A wonderful short segment on innovation in American manufacturing!

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#305: Tim Cook - Out of the Shadow

A great article that contrasts the leadership styles of Tim Cook with Steve Jobs as Apple moves forward. Click here

to read.

#304: Trademark Protection Extends to Red Soled Shoes

Listen to this short segment from NPR for more on how Christian Louboutin has protected his red soled shoes.

#303: Good News for Community College Grads

Employment for community college grads is surging according to USA Today. Click here for more.

#302: Translating the Fiscal Cliff Into $ and ¢

Whoever becomes President, if Congress doesn't figure out a way to keep us from going off the fiscal cliff, things could get worse and fast! Regardless of election outcome, everyone will likely see their payroll tax holiday from 2011 & 2012 expire, resulting in higher FICA taxes. The key to minimizing the pain is in dealing with the Bush tax cuts. Listen to Jean Chatsky explain in real dollar terms!

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#301: Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook's Billion User Milestone

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#300: Big Firms Overhaul Health Coverage

It's not the ACA that has driven these firms to change health coverage, but increasing employer costs for this important benefit. Click here to read the WSJ article.

#299: Inflation Impacts Costs of Raising Children

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#298: One Way for Social Media to Go Wrong...

.... is to let someone have access to your Twitter account who feels free to post their personal views. Great way to damage your brand in less than a minute! Click here to read how Kitchen Aid laid an egg via Twitter during the Presidential debate.

#297: iFrenzy - Not 100% Continuous Improvement

Although the iFrenzy will stimulate the economy and the hype is enormous with Apple founder Steve Wozniak continuing his tradition of camping out to be one of the first in line to purchase (this time in Australia), not everything is wine & roses for the new phone with the maps app being touted as a significant step down from Google Maps. Nevertheless, Apple continues to lead the way or makes us think they are!

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#296: Dixon, IL - a Follow-Up

I reported on the massive internal control failure in Dixon, IL when a city official was discovered to have embezzled millions over a period of years. Here's a follow up from NBC's Rock Center.

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#295: The iPhone Impact on AT&T & Verizon

The release of the latest iPhone won't just impact Apple's profits. The new phone will also impact the bottom line for AT&T and Verizon as they generate more revenues from the sale of data plans and upgrade fees. Learn more by reading the Wall Street Journal article linked here.

#294: Apple's New Product Launch Helps Launch Economy

Click here to see a short video detailing the impact of the new iPhone5 on both Apple's bottom line and the economy as a whole.

#293: Where Our Tax Dollars Go

Do you ever wonder how your federal tax dollars are spent? Click here to get a breakdown.

#292: When Quality Matters Most - No Room for Error

When it comes to health and safety, there's no room for error and quality procedures to ensure positive outcomes take on new importance. This video from CBS Sunday Morning reinforces this point with regard to bus safety.

#291: Social Media Ethics

Should firms be able to delete negative comments on their social media sites? Read this article from nbcnews.com to help you decide.

#290: The Value of Intellectual Property - Apple Style

Click here to read NBC's article about Apple's victory in their lawsuit against Samsung for patent infringement. Sometimes the intangibles on the balance sheet are worth far more than their stated values!

#289: Procter & Gamble - More Than the Sum of Its Parts?

Click here to read an interesting article from USA Today on the pros and cons of a possible break-up for Procter & Gamble.

#288: Non-financial Performance Measures

A good example of non-financial performance measures for airlines - think balanced scorecard!

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#287: The Future of Shopping

This article describes the future of shopping with some interesting and radical changes ahead. Lots of challenges and opportunities for the retail industry!

#286 Chipotle: Rewriting the Book on Fast-Food Marketing

Click here to read a short article from Fast Company on how Chipotle's approach to marketing their food is based on quality, healthy ingredients, not the usual priced based strategy used by most fast-food companies. Below is a You Tube video that Chipotle has used to communicate their commitment to natural ingredients. Coldplay's "The Scientist" is covered by Willie Nelson.

#285: How the ACA will affect hospitals

I'm not sure if the ACA is the perfect solution to the nation's health care problems, but this CBS Sunday Morning video shows how hospitals are preparing for implementation and what some of the existing problems are. This is an issue worth watching.

#284 Portfolio Risk Calculator

Click here to link to CNN's portfolio risk calculator, a helpful tool in steering your asset allocation.

#283: Neiman Marcus Refuses Returns

There must be more to this story than what this video reveals. While many retailers have established strict return policies, NM is typically very generous with theirs and this kind of publicity is certainly not good for them.

#282: What You Should Know About Campus Debit Cards

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#281: The Long and the Short of Fiscal Policy

An excellent article from the Wall Street Journal advises on how to balance the short term economic goal of job growth with the long term goal of fiscal restraint. Very interesting!

#280 Mickey Drexler (See Also #17)

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The JCrew magic continues through a unique marketing plan based largely on catalog distribution. Mickey Drexler is a well matched leader for this company. This video previews the CNBC special profiling him which will likely be available on either Hulu or CNBC in the near future after it airs several times during regular CNBC programming.

#279 Facebook IPO Falls Short

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Proving that not everything they do is golden, this video sums up how revisions on revenue estimates were only shared with Morgan Stanley's premiere clients and smacks of an unfair playing field.

#278 Car Insurance More Costly for Low Income Drivers

This article details how more affluent, educated drivers benefit from lower auto insurance rates.

#277 Social Security Statements Online

Review your Social Security statement online to ensure you have been credited for the correct amount of contributions. Learn how in this story from USA Today.

#276: Apple Circumvents Taxes Legally

An interesting article from the New York Times via msnbc describes how Apple and other tech companies exploit our current tax code. Of particular note is how they avoid state income taxes. Someone (likely several someones) is very good at tax strategy for this company!

#275 Dixon, IL Taken by Comptroller

Read or listen to this story from NPR regarding a $30 million dollar theft by the city's comptroller and then ask yourself how this 6 year fraud went undiscovered. If you have a good answer, please share as this is just an incredible oversight by all who had fiscal responsibility! http://www.npr.org/2012/04/19/150901002/illinois-town-treasurer-accused-of-embezzling-30m

#274 Does It Pay to Belong to Warehouse Clubs?

Copy and paste the link to read an article from msnbc about the practicality of belonging to warehouse clubs such as Sam's and Costco. You may be surprised at the author's premise with regards to cost savings! http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/22/11308000-does-it-pay-to-be-a-warehouse-club-member?lite

Hillary's Story - An Important Message

I've known this sweet family for many years. Hillary was a bubbly, fun hairdresser who did my daughter's hair for prom. Her life has changed so much since her accident, but she is still making a difference for others as she shares her message about distracted driving. I hope you'll make time to watch this and think about the dangers of distracted driving.

#273: Where Your Tax Dollars Go

Interesting graphic from MSNBC

#272: Sergio Marchionne, Chrysler's Dynamic CEO

This segment from 60 Minutes is a great leadership profile for QMS students! His open leadership style really speaks volumes.

#271: Quick Tips from Suze

#270: Why Cash is Losing Its Currency

Very interesting segment from CBS Sunday Morning. Sometimes I forget how dirty cash is - germ spreader!

#269 Clothing Costs: Adding It Up

From CBS Sunday Morning, an excellent video showing the basics of cost plus pricing in developing a high end product for the clothing market.

#268 Dos and Don'ts of Debit Cards

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I preach this message all the time and was happy to see this segment on the Today Show during spring break!

#267 Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Cash?

Click on the title to link to an msnbc article on how Apple will use its growing hoard of cash to establish a quarterly dividend payment and to institute a stock repurchase program. While the dividend payments should send the price down a bit, the buyback will buoy the price among investors. Relevant to our stockholders equity chapter ACC 201 students!

#266 Ford Avoids Disaster by Keeping Suppliers Afloat

Click on the post title to access an article from the WSJ regarding how Ford worked within its organization and with other automakers to keep their vital suppliers afloat during the economic crisis of 2008-9.

#265: Avoiding Bank Fees

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#264: Wages for Young Adults Lose Ground

Click on the post title to read an msnbc article about real dollar losses in wages for young adults. The news isn't good for college grads or high school grads, but the message still remains that the pain is less for those with a college education.

#263: Facebook Privacy Issues for Potential Employees & Student Athletes

Click on the post title for access to an msnbc article on privacy issues related to Facebook. While it's not directly related to my classes, there's a strong link for business law and to business employability classes. At what point does the personal become public if you've set privacy restrictions on your Facebook account? This discussion will go beyond this week!

#262: Just For the Joy of Sharing

Ahhh.... a bit of British history!

#261: 8 Reasons Why Gas Will Hit $5 This Year

Click on the thread title to read this article from MSNBC. Just as Wall Street has worked its way back to 2008 levels and unemployment has ticked lower, this bump in the road to recovery is likely to hit Americans hard in multiple ways as fuel price increases filter down through increased prices for consumer goods.

#260: The Graveyard Shift

Great illustration of JIT included in this segment!

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#259: Why Pinterest Is So Addictive

Click on the title of the post to reference this article from Fast Company.

Business students should consider the power of social media not only from the user perspective, but from the perspective of companies that are reaching millions with a message that isn't always intended. Where businesses used to control their message through purchased advertising in print and media placements, more and more businesses are now reaching potential customers through You Tube, facebook, Twitter,
blogs, and, now, through Pinterest. Pinterest is considered to be one of the friendlier environments because of the nature of its use. Users may post products on their "want" lists and books and movies are recommended to others. Locally, Paducah Bank has created a Pinterest site. Speaking from experience, it is a little addictive, but I'm not personally in need of Pinterest rehab at this point!

#258: Automakers Shift Gears, Embrace Joint Ventures

Click on the title for this entry to read an interesting article from MSNBC on how cooperation among competitors leads to a "win-win" among auto manufacturers. Dr. Deming would love this!

#257: Power To The People

Technology helps to mobilize the masses in response to proposed political, social, and business changes in ways we couldn't imagine 5 years ago.

#256 Facebook Prepares for IPO

It looks like Facebook's planned IPO is destined to be big news leading up to the actual offering in May as financial commentators debate whether it's revenues merit all the hype and whether they can maintain their promise of privacy in their efforts to grow those revenues.

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#255: Some Thoughts on Responsible Consuming

From the NPR show PRI's The World, Peter Thomson comments on how America's gadget addicted consumers can promote responsible labor practices in China and elsewhere. Click on the post title to read his comments.

#254: Some Great Tax Tips from Jean Chatsky

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#253: U-turn For the Car Industry

A great segment from CBS Sunday Morning showing the importance of committing to both managing costs and maintaining quality as key to the recovery being experience by the U.S. auto industry. Also provides great examples of agility/lean production and commitment to providing products customers want!

#252: Capital Gains Tax Rates - Good or Bad?

Click on the segment title above to read a transcript of a segment on NPR's All Things Considered discussing Presidential candidate Mitt Romney's self-disclosed AVERAGE tax rate. You can also find a link to the audio for this segment here. Keep in mind that for a wealthy man like Romney, his AVERAGE rate and his MARGINAL rate are two different things. The preferential rates for capital gains (and currently for dividends under the Bush tax cuts) are controversial and have been for many years. I think we should all give it some thought. For example, while I agree with Warren Buffett that the rich should pay more in taxes, I want my retirement income to be taxed at the lower capital gains rates when the time comes. Hard to have it both ways, isn't it?

#251: Groupon - Accounting Trickery?

While Groupon had a very successful IPO, they've come under fire for unconventional accounting practices. Watch and learn!

#250: Follow Up to #249

NBC follows up on the videos in #249 in case you are "late to the party" with regard to retirement savings. Great advice! Note particularly the percentage figures needed for retirement savings in each decade.

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#249 Retirement Readjustment

Some advice for the non-traditional student who will be thinking of retirement in the next 5-15 years.

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