April 8, 2007
by Oliver
Comments Off on Berlin trip
During Eastern we made a short trip to Berlin. Hence we would like to illustrate our impressions; of couse we would like to offer some recommendations.
(Berlin Mitte, next to Berlin cathedral)
April 4, 2007
by Oliver
1 Comment
Recently I have started to analyse the options to “upgrade†my analogue SLR camera. To be more precisely: to buy a digital SLR camera. Actually that should be a simple decision. We have a Minolta SLR (Dynax 700 SI) that we bought in Canada more than a decade ago. Over time we have added some accessories and by now we own a set of lenses, a battery grip, and a remote control. It is a very reliable camera system, which shots brilliant pictures. To keep it short and simple: nice stuff.
In 2006 KonicaMinolta sold the camera business to Sony Corporation. Since then, Sony is providing customer service. In mid-2006 Sony introduced its “first†DSLR, the “Sony alpha 100â€. The big benefit for all former Minolta users: They can use their lenses. A photograph magazine described the situation – taking into account the technical features of the DSLR – “the camera is a no-brainerâ€.
That sounds fine, but it is not that simple.
Why? Since it is a now a Sony product. Sometimes Sony enters a new product segment very quickly. Sometimes Sony withdraws from this particular market very quickly, too…and leaves you alone with your product. Continue Reading →
March 29, 2007
by Dagmar
3 Comments
Today at the gym I briefly scanned a news magazine and came across some very different articles. The first was about people who have started to call themselves the Digital Bohemian – freelancers and project workers in the digital media world. The article was fairly enthusiastic. I don’t have any personal experience what life as a Digital Bohemian is like. However, if you read this article you would like to become one as soon as possible: They deliberately chose not to have a permanent employment and are perfectly happy with the freedom their freelance and project work gives them. The article gave the impression as if the Digital Bohemian would spend most of their time in cafes sipping their latte macchiato while posting something on their blogs via their wireless LAN notebook. And the best thing – they make money with that.
Don’t take me wrong. I don’t doubt that this is possible. Nevertheless – the next article had something like a similar message. Continue Reading →
March 28, 2007
by Dagmar
Comments Off on Locust to take over VW?
Only yesterday I wrote about my doubts what strategic reasons Porsche might have for their VW takeover bid. Today German news service Czerwensky intern provided an interesting explanation:
There are rumours that Cerberus Capital Management, a billion Dollar hedge fund, considers to take over VW.
Well this actually would be a good reason for Porsche and even more for Ferdinand Piech to act as quickly as they did. A hedge fund would most probably break up VW group, which consists of a broad range of valuable automotive brands, and sell it piece by piece. I already explained why this can’t be in the interest of Porsche and Piech.
Cerberus already hired former VW top manager Wolfgang Bernhard. Czerwensky put it really nicely: “… and we all thought they want to buy Chryslerâ€.
So let’s see what happenes.
March 27, 2007
by Dagmar
3 Comments
OK, Porsche’s announcement to increase its share in VW is not really new any more. However, I have spent the last few days thinking about the strategic rationale behind that (among other things, of course). And still, I did not make up my mind. I am not sure if this is a smart or dumb move from Porsche.
By now I have come across a bunch of commentaries and analyses in various newspapers, which read as follows:
March 26, 2007
by Oliver
1 Comment
Due to “web 2.0†developments the balance of power between organizations and customers has changed…and it is very likely that these changes will progress and give more power to the costumer. Blogs, video communities and “worth of mouth†offer various (good) options for interactions between consumers.
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1) We have to keep in mind that the average consumer faces 3.000 (!) advertising stimulus per day. (Source: Tropp, Jörg; Reichel, Dennis (2007): Die Zukunft hat längst begonnen, In: diebank, volume 4, page 63)
Therefore we can assume that these ways of consumer-to-consumer marketing (blogs etc.) will become very important. Truth and that what we hope do be truth (do you remember Lonelygirl15?) as well as recommendations and viral marketing activities have become very important. Why believe in commercials when you can find hundreds of former customers who describe their experience with a certain product and service? In the last couple of year companies, e.g. online stores and travel agencies, have introduced this feature in their own service range.Â
March 25, 2007
by Dagmar
Comments Off on A Gala Tribute to Global Copycats
Naseem Javed, global authority on naming and branding, has submitted a very interesting piece of thought about Global Copycats to our Management Portal. Naseem directs our attention to a phenomenon that is so widespread and commonplace these days, that we hardly notice it and surely don’t think about it very much – the stealing and copying of original ideas, brands, images and other intellectual property. I guess it is worth thinking about these things from time to time.
Naseem discusses three reasons why the global copycats have taken over and I agree with all of them. This issue really caught my attention and so I would like to add my own thoughts to Naseem’s reasons:
March 20, 2007
by Dagmar
2 Comments
The UK arm of global fast food chain McDonald’s has started a new campaign to get the publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary to revise their definitions of the term „McJob“ (I read this on page 1 of today’s Financial Times). Here is why this makes perfect sense from a strategic perspective and why I don’t like it anyway (also with a bit of strategic thinking in mind).
Brief background: The Oxford English Dictionary describes a McJob as “an unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, esp. one created by the expansion of the service sectorâ€. Agreeably, this is not positive publicity for the fast food giant. Already in 2003, McDonald’s had tried to have this definition deleted from the OED – without success. The OED stated that they “monitor changes in the languageâ€. Since they did not change their definition so far, they obviously did not notice any changes in the common use and understanding of the term McJob. The problem is that this colloquial meaning of the term does not seem to reflect working conditions at McDonald’s. I don’t know what working with them is like, but actually, McDonald’s “has established a pretty solid reputation as a decent employer†(FT). For instance, they won the Caterer and Hotelkeeper Magazine’s “Best place to work in hospitality†award.
March 19, 2007
by orecklies
1 Comment
Hi buddy, welcome to this world! That won’t be an article about about strategic management…
I would like to introduce you. Â
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Source: Archiv Zoo BerlinÂ
Knut is a polar bear and was born in the zoo of Berlin (Germany).
On the 5th December 2006 mama bear (Tosca) has given life to two polar bears in the Berlin Zoo, but did not feed them; hence the zoo management decided to try to rescue both bears. Due to a serious infection one bear baby did not make it. The other bear baby was given the name “Knut†and was well razzed by its personal keeper.
March 18, 2007
by Oliver
Comments Off on The global bank meets the consumer
Today I read a very interesting article in TheMcKinseyQuarterly. It is an interview with Jamie Dimon, president and CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase (JMPC). For all those, who do not have access to the online version of TheMcKinseyQuarterly (it is a premium article) I would like to recommend this website, where you can find the article as pdf-file.
Since I research for my PhD-dissertation in the field of strategic planning of retail banks (I know that JMPC is neither a pure retail bank nor a retail bank at all; retail banking is more a business segment for it) I recognized this description: JPMC “covers the most of the main banking segments: investment banking, consumer financial services†(what is very close to the European term “retail bankingâ€), “small business and commercial bankingâ€, financial transaction processing, asset and wealth management, and private equityâ€. Well, if you review the academic literature for the term “retail banking†you gonna find a variety of definitions. In some cases the “small businessâ€â€“banking business belongs to retail banking business, too. Hence this distinction “consumer financial service†and “small business and commercial banking†is not that bad.