Knowledge at Wharton

It’s been a busy few weeks for Adobe Systems Microsoft and Google. All three have announced plans or new technologies that will address the latest vision of software’s future -- one that combines the features of web-based applications with desktop software to create a hybrid model offering the best of both worlds. Indeed the question today is not so much whether this desktop/webtop model will be adopted but rather which company will provide the best platform for implementing it. Knowledge at Wharton looks at both the opportunities and the limitations of this new approach. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Consolidation cutbacks and competition from the web -- these are the headlines grabbing the attention of business journalists around the world. Concerns about the quality of reporting and information have risen steadily as the industry has undergone dramatic changes. How has global expansion affected the standards of news organizations? What impact have blogs and ”citizen journalism” had on the industry? And what role does investigative journalism play in an age of around-the-clock cable news updates and shrinking budgets? To answer these and other questions Knowledge at Wharton spoke with four news professionals from the U.S. and abroad who attended the 2007 Wharton Seminars for Business Journalists. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oil is marching toward $100 a barrel largely due to China’s boom. Demand for ethanol is pushing corn prices up. Soybean prices are rising because so many bean fields have been switched to corn. In short prices of commodities worldwide are soaring making for frenzied action in commodities futures markets. New research by Wharton finance professor Gary Gorton and two colleagues shows how spot and futures prices are good indicators of low-inventory commodities which in turn can offer outsized investment gains. Their research is presented in a paper titled ”The Fundamentals of Commodity Futures Returns.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Entrepreneurs love to grumble about the roadblocks and delays created by bureaucrats. Government officials they say are slow bumbling and concerned only about sticking to the rules and clocking out at 4:55 p.m. But in a study of global entrepreneurship Raffi Amit and Mauro Guillen both Wharton management professors have found that a simple if smart bureaucratic initiative mattered critically in determining a country’s level of entrepreneurship. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kristine Tompkins former CEO of outdoor apparel company Patagonia pulled no punches with the audience attending her recent Wharton Leadership Lecture. Tompkins said that when she began working full-time at Patagonia in 1972 she didn’t understand how the actions of the business world as well as the behavior of individuals ”affected the very underpinnings” of the individual the family and the community. ”You know that now ” she said and ”the choices you make count more and more.” People who can manage ”the tough decisions and incorporate” difficult issues into their lives she said ”are the future leaders.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In an era of rising petroleum prices African oil is drawing new interest from major companies around the globe according to John Ghazvinian author of Untapped: The Scramble for Africa’s Oil who spoke at a recent event sponsored by the Wharton African Students Association. Companies Ghazvinian says see the continent as the most promising place in the world for new production. Yet due to an economic paradox known as the ”Resource Curse ” most Africans are realizing little benefit from this influx of oil drillers and investment: Between 1970 and 1993 the author notes ”countries without oil saw their economies grow four times faster than those of countries with oil.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Thomas Friedman wrote his popular book The World Is Flat one of its central arguments was that geography might soon become history. The proliferation of information technology and telecommunications networks has integrated the world in ways that were unimaginable in the past -- and this has transformed how companies produce and distribute products and services. One result of this transformation is the rise of networks of companies that are bound together through IT and logistics. How can firms strive for and gain competitive advantage in such an environment? Victor and William Fung group chairman and managing director of Hong Kong-based Li & Fung and Yoram (Jerry) Wind a professor of marketing at Wharton deal with this issue in their new book Competing in a Flat World: Building Enterprises for a Borderless World. They recently spoke with Knowledge at Wharton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For marketers the Internet changes everything -- and nothing at all. For example it enables companies to instantly reach consumers in different countries and economically tailor messages to them based on demographics buying habits and other information. Yet it doesn’t free these companies from the constant challenge of building distinct durable brands. At the 2007 Wharton Marketing Conference participants on a panel titled ”The Challenge of Going Global and Staying Local ” debated the potential pitfalls of global marketing. A second panel discussed new media strategies and asked whether traditional off-line media are no longer effective. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As medical costs escalate and the number of Americans without health insurance continues to rise the 2008 presidential candidates have responded by putting health care near the top of their agendas. Indeed many candidates have already laid out detailed programs to address the nation’s health care problems. As a result meaningful change in the system seems likely to occur once a new president takes office. As Mark V. Pauly Wharton professor of health care systems notes: ”I’m optimistic this time that we’ll get something.... There is actually a chance of doing more good than harm and I wouldn’t have said that in some other years.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Long gone are the days when firms expected their chief information officer to function as ”chief technology mechanic.” As companies look for ways to maintain a competitive edge in new markets CIOs are playing a more central leadership role taking on increasing responsibility for corporate strategy and other duties outside of core technology. Even so CIOs are still expected to ensure the quality and performance of the IT organization. How can CIOs balance these priorities? To answer that question and others Knowledge at Wharton spoke with Mark McDonald group vice president and head of research for Gartner Executive Programs Michael Shannon chief information officer of international law firm Dechert LLP and Tony Habash chief information officer of the American Psychological Association. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.