Archive for January, 2011

By Thunderbird student Jacquelyn Hunter

When people hear on the news that microfinance institutions charge 25 percent, 30 percent or even 80 percent interest on loans, they often are outraged. How can these organizations get away with charging the poor these high rates, and why does no one regulate the industry? And most of all, why are the poor paying these exorbitant rates? One of the biggest surprises to me during my three-week trip to India to study the microfinance industry is the fact that the interest rate on a microfinance loan is basically a nonissue for the poor.  When a poor person takes a loan from a microfinance institution, the interest rate is not the No. 1 or even a top 5 concern. Since the loan repayment cycle is so short, sometimes only 30 weeks, the interest rate does not have as much of an impact compared to a loan, for example, that is repaid over 20 years. Read my full article on the Walker Center for Global Entrepreneurship Blog.

Understanding cross-cultural differences shouldn’t be that difficult. After all, haven’t most global CEOs been there, done that? But the devil is in the details, as Mansour Javidan, Ph.D., Dean of Research and Garvin Distinguished Professor at Thunderbird School of Global Management, explains to Ernst & Young’s Billie Williamson, Americas Inclusiveness Officer. “If you’re a U.S. executive working in Russia or China, for example, you must think about what kind of leadership style you should use and how you must adjust your behavior,” Javidan said. He said some leadership attributes are universally desirable and others are universally undesirable, regardless of the country. But many other attributes are culturally specific. “For example, being cunning and self-protective is viewed negatively in the U.S. and Germany,” Javidan said. “But it seen as positive and effective in parts of the Middle East and some other countries.” Read the full question-and-answer session on the Ernst & Young site.

U.S. President Barack Obama will focus on employment and the economy during his State of the Union address Jan. 25, 2011. But Thunderbird Professor F. John Mathis, Ph.D., does not expect a quick recovery. “If we look short term, we are not going to see any quick change in the unemployment numbers,” Mathis told ABC 15 News reporter Hatzel Vila in Phoenix. Mathis said the country’s long-term challenge is to fix the education system, so U.S. companies do not have to look overseas for skilled workers. “We are importing the experts we need in various areas because we do not educate enough domestically,” Mathis said. Watch the full ABC 15 report.

The following post on global strategy is by Thunderbird students Daniela Bernini, Tobias Bertram, Thomas Dornis, Nofil Fawad, Asif Shaw, Ron Teagarden and Dan VanDusen

“Yahoo has been here for fifteen years. We are the Internet. Unfortunately, we sit in a paradigm that values the new shiny penny,” Carol Bartz CEO of Yahoo!

Yahoo, once the leader in internet services, is struggling to implement a growth strategy to keep up with competitors such as Google and Facebook. Yahoo used to be the portal for Internet users, but over the last 10 years Yahoo’s market dominance has been severely dampened by new entrants. Yahoo announced a reduction in force of about 600 employees this month, or 4 percent of its workforce, the third such action since 2008. Read the full article in Thunderbird Student Projects, a blog on the Thunderbird Knowledge Network.

The following post on global strategy is by Thunderbird students Gregg Gallager, Arnold Jee, David Lembo, Colleen Manley, Eric Moldabayev and Paola Torres

First Solar is currently leading the global battle to dominate the renewal energy market and has remained in the driver’s seat due to its vision, creativity, and adherence to “green” political initiatives. The first to introduce environmentally responsible protocols for the management of their solar modules, First Solar was the first module manufacturer to break the $1-per-watt barrier. In order to maintain their place at the top of the industry, First Solar will need to continue their innovation in production efficiency, identifying new opportunities, continue to work within governmental considerations, and mitigate risks as it applies to the technology and the natural world. Read the full article in Thunderbird Student Projects, a blog on the Thunderbird Knowledge Network.

The following post on global strategy is by Thunderbird students Carlos Ceron, Isaac Chiu, Eric Craig, Tiina Kandzia, David Kuo, Tatiana Sunshine and David Yom

The perfect storm of economic downturn, high fuel prices and reduced demand worldwide put a serious hurt on DHL Express. In 2008, it pulled out of the US domestic market and in 2010, it sold its money-losing UK express parcel division. However, it appears that 2009-2010 has seen a fair degree of recovery for DHL Express and the industry as a whole. In the midst of this, Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post DHL began the initiative of Strategy 2015 whose goal is to create synergy among the three divisions of DP-DHL into “One DHL.” It is quite the rosy picture, but integrating each division’s respective strategy and culture will be easier said than done. Read the full article in Thunderbird Student Projects, a blog on the Thunderbird Knowledge Network.

How will SalesForce.com meet the ever-increasing competitive pressure in the cloud computing market they helped to create?

The following post on global strategy is by Thunderbird students Mohammed Ahmed, Eric Boone, Ilya Gouts, Laurent Monod, Davron Nurbaev, John Perez, Ravi Thotapalli and Detelina Trendafilova

The vibrant world of enterprise software and cloud computing paradoxically generates larger-than-life executives in its own ranks through managing the business of corporations and monitoring client relationships. Consider Larry Ellison, the billionaire CEO of Oracle. It’s no accident that Marc Benioff worked for Ellison for 13 years before founding San Francisco-based SalesForce.com in 1999, a company based on the premise that business software–and maybe all software–was changing from a product to a service. Leaving Oracle was a risk for Benioff, but risk-taking is in keeping with his outsize, jovial personality which brought criticism the first time he stated software was dead. Read the full article in Thunderbird Student Projects, a blog on the Thunderbird Knowledge Network.

By John Zerio, Thunderbird Professor

Social media gurus talk a lot about the how. They teach how to create buzz on Twitter, win friends on Facebook and boost search engine results on Google. These are the technical elements of digital marketing. Organizations measure success by the exposure they generate. They count page views, followers, fans and comments. The more the better. But in the rush to push content online, many organizations never stop to consider their digital marketing strategy. Are they creating the right relationships with the right people? Are their messages aligned with customer expectations? And do these messages reflect the organization’s true personality — so that hype matches reality when a Facebook friend or Twitter follower calls customer service or meets an agent in the field?
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The following post on global strategy is by Thunderbird students Aarohan Singh, Abhijit Chakrabarti, Alok Shah, Divy Jaisingh, Karn Dhandhania and Rishin Patel

Irregular demands and cost-effectiveness have become the governing factors of the airline industry. Although it can be difficult to predict the enormity and duration of the demand supply cycle, there has been an upward trend in the air traffic volume. Reinforcement of a stronger world economy calls for a vibrant air transport system to satisfy the ever-changing market requirements. Embraer, a significant new market entrant of 1960s, recognized regional jets as the next big thing in flying. Developed in response to the evolving demands of the regional air transport industry, regional jets have changed the structure of the airline industry. With increased efficiency, low operating costs, and shorter turnaround time, regional jets brought salvation to regional airlines suffering with dwindling profitability. Read the full article in Thunderbird Student Projects, a blog on the Thunderbird Knowledge Network.

Children’s percussion group Bate-Lata do PECA performed Jan. 14, 2011, for Thunderbird MBA students in Brazil. Bate-Lata started in 2001 at a Santa Branca community center built and operated by global forestry company Fibria. Juan, the leader of Bate-Lata, says many children in the group come from broken or impoverished homes. Some have parents in jail, but music gives the children something to be proud of. The community center is an example of corporate social responsibility, part of Fibria’s approach to sustainable business. | Video: Bate-Lata performs at Fibria community center (2:44)
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