Archive for May, 2009

Oil prices have soared, tumbled and rebounded in recent months, leaving exasperated budget planners guessing what will come next. Professors at Thunderbird School of Global Management have some answers. They can’t predict the price of oil next quarter, but they do see other trends that will shape the future of the world’s most global industry. | Podcast: Thunderbird Professor Michael Moffett, Ph.D., discusses five realities of global oil (17:34) | PDF: Oil prices, 1860-2008 |
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People heat their homes and drive their cars using oil and gas products. But many people lack basic understanding about where these products originate. “We don’t know much about the energy we consume, where it comes from and the impact it has on our lifestyle,” says Thunderbird Professor Andrew Inkpen, Ph.D. Here is a quick primer to boost your “energy literacy.”
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Arizona’s KPNX-TV (Channel 12) ran a story over the weekend drawing a parallel between President Obama’s call for a new generation of leadership during his recent commencement address at Arizona State University and Thunderbird’s commitment to global citizenship. Watch the video about Thunderbird’s Oath of Honor here. Read about national and international coverage of Thunderbird’s oath here.

Animal lover Monica Ullrich stumbled on an idea for a new business venture when her miniature dachshund, Chuleta, ate a box of chocolates that she’d left on her coffee table. Ullrich, a 2000 Thunderbird graduate, became concerned about the possibility of “chocolate toxicity,” a condition she’d heard of that could be potentially lethal for dogs. So she went online looking for reliable medical advice, but all she could find were amateur blogs and pet care advertisements.
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By Steven Stralser, Thunderbird professor

I’m in Silicon Valley at a conference of about 3,500 entrepreneurs. It’s an annual event, and what’s remarkable is that attendance this year is 20 percent higher than 2008! From my speaking and presentation involvement, I get monthly corporate event planning magazines and newsletters that express a much different picture: generally corporate events are down as much as 50 percent. So what’s going on? Two different stories, using event participation as an indicator. | Video: Steven Stralser answers the Thunderbird Question (0:38) |
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By Michael Muth ’86, author of Going Global International Interviews series

By age 33, C. Perry Yeatman had worked in Singapore, Moscow, and London. Today she  is a senior vice president at Kraft Foods, the world’s second-largest food and beverage company. Yeatman talked recently in Chicago about her new book, “Get Ahead by Going Abroad: A Woman’s Guide to Fast-Track Career Success.” Here are highlights of that conversation.

Q: What are the advantages and disadvantages of living and working abroad?
A: It’s easy for people to identify the disadvantages such as being away from home and family. I’d like to focus on the advantages. There is a constant sense of learning and wonder. With greater learning comes a different and broader point of view. That’s tied to senior management.
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By Phaedra Cucina ’99, author of My Mommy’s on a Business Trip

Business trips are rough on kids. Yet they are an almost inevitable part of a professional woman’s career. Whether you travel often or just once in awhile, you, your kids and the caretaker left behind are put to the test as you head out for the airport. There is a better way – for kids and their parents. Make your next trip easier on everyone, including you, by following these 10 easy, no-tears tips:
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By Darien Carroll ‘09

People often share their concerns with Thunderbird Professor Roy C. Nelson, Ph.D., about the effects of globalization in Latin America and other developing regions. “At the academic conferences I attended, I was constantly hearing about how terrible globalization was for developing countries,” Nelson said. “That these nations were victims of globalization.” Nelson took this academic concern to heart, began a journey to tackle the issue and developed what is now his latest book, “Harnessing Globalization: The Promotion of Nontraditional Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America.” | Video: Nelson on nontraditional foreign direct investment in Latin America (3:17) | Podcast: Nelson on the Pat McMahon Show (14:08) |
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By Benita Boettner ’87

The current economic crisis is creating a great period of reinvention. It could prove an exciting time for marketers who are prepared to seize the opportunity. As the dust begins to settle on the financial crisis, it will usher in a new era that quite possibly could become a renaissance for marketing. After years of a culture oriented around cost management, grounded in outsourcing, automation and rightsizing, corporations are again focusing on revenue growth as the primary driver of profit.
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Marketing from the Navel, by Brian Critchfield

Whenever I lay out the Navel Model, I often get asked the question, “Is culture a part of marketing?” Based on my research, I have found corporate culture to be a critical component in creating an organization worth talking about. To begin with, the best definition I have heard for brand is that it is how you make your customers feel. It is the culmination of all of the experiences that a consumer has with your organization. Your logo is merely a reminder of these experiences.
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