Knowledge at Wharton

Can work be fun? Can the insights of successful game designers be used to engage customers in a variety of industries? Wharton legal studies and business ethics professor Kevin Werbach and New York Law School professor Dan Hunter authors of For the Win: How Game Thinking Can Revolutionize Your Business say yes. Knowledge at Wharton spoke with Werbach and Hunter about what gamification really is how companies are using it and what pitfalls to avoid when gamifying. (Video with transcript) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Television networks and advertisers alike are using social media to build buzz about programs and products -- but are their efforts really resulting in increased sales or higher ratings? Wharton professor Shawndra Hill is taking to Twitter and the airwaves in an effort to figure out how marketers should best employ user-generated content in trying to get consumers to pay attention to their products or to make solid recommendations to existing fans. (Video with transcript) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2005 immigrant entrepreneurs launched 52% of all startups in Silicon Valley. But today the number has dropped to 44% and America is not only losing the opportunity to create new jobs but also losing its competitive edge argues Vivek Wadhwa in his book The Immigrant Exodus: Why America Is Losing the Global Race to Capture Entrepreneurial Talent. In the 1980s skilled immigrants could get green cards in as little as 18 months but today it can take as long as 17 years. Failure to fix this problem says Wadhwa in an interview is killing American innovation. (Video with transcript) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bill Clark’s job only gets harder. As executive director of Philabundance a Philadelphia area hunger relief organization he has this to say about today’s food crisis: ”The hunger that used to exist in inner cities or rural areas like Appalachia has leapt beyond those pockets into the middle and working classes. I don’t think there is a zip code in the country today that is totally devoid of hunger.” Clark talks about the challenges Philabundance faces at a time when natural disasters cutbacks in social programs and unusually high unemployment have created a ”tremendous” unmet need. (Podcast with transcript) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are shaking up traditional models of education. Among the most active providers of them today is Coursera a start-up that presents some 200 courses to 1.5 million students in collaboration with 33 educational institutions including the University of Pennsylvania. But how does Coursera deal with challenges such as scaling up the venture increasing student retention rates and monetizing free content? Knowledge at Wharton talked with Daphne Koller co-founder of Coursera during her recent visit to campus. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The theme of the recent 2012 Wharton Management Conference -- ”Changing the Game: Leadership in Crisis” -- is an apt one for the auto industry. Daniel Ammann CFO of General Motors addressed leadership issues in a keynote presentation at the conference and in a podcast with Wharton’s John Paul MacDuffie during which he discussed upcoming product launches the struggling auto industry in Europe and a strong partnership in China. (Podcast with transcript) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The worldwide competition for bandwidth ”is like the space race where the winner will see benefits ... that will last for years to come ” according to Julius Genachowski chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In an interview with Wharton’s Kevin Werbach Genachowski says that while the U.S. is leading the world in terms of developing infrastructure for the next generation of mobile broadband the country faces ”some real challenges” in keeping ahead. (Video with transcript) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week Spanish bank Banco Santander announced plans to use the recent strong financial performance of its Mexican unit as leverage to raise $4.3 billion in a stock offering -- the largest ever in Mexico’s history. Part of a longer-term expansion plan in Latin America the move is also designed to signal to financial markets that the bank has high growth potential outside of its troubled home markets in Spain and the eurozone. In an interview Wharton’s Mauro Guillen and Adrian Tschoegl authors of a book about the bank discuss how the deal fits in with Santander’s master plan. (Video with transcript) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A California jury awarded Apple what could be a decisive victory in the smartphone wars last week by ruling that Samsung infringed on a number of patents relating to the functionality and design of the iPhone. Samsung plans to appeal but Apple is now calling for a ban on U.S. sales of some of the devices at issue in the case. Some observers believe the verdict might open the door for additional Apple lawsuits against other smartphone makers -- including Google. Wharton professors David Hsu and Andrea Matwyshyn discuss the key players the future of smartphone design and the U.S. patent system. (Podcast with transcript) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.