Knowledge at Wharton

Ever since Netflix launched its online video rental service in 1999 conventional wisdom has suggested that the clock was ticking on its business model. First there were worries that Blockbuster would squash Netflix. Then it was Wal-Mart’s DVD rental service which Netflix absorbed in a partnership arrangement last year. Today Netflix is under fire from movie download services offered by powerhouses such as Amazon.com and Apple. Looking ahead what kind of sequel is likely for Netflix? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A recent issue of the Wall Street Journal had two front page stories one on executive compensation and the other on backdating of stock options. The headline for the first was ”Behind Soaring Executive Pay Decades of Failed Restraints ” the implication being that executive compensation is out of control and seems to resist all attempts to rein it in. Wharton accounting professor Wayne Guay talks with Knowledge at Wharton about his views on executive compensation including the role of stock options in rewarding top managers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mike McCallister CEO of Humana one of the United States’ largest publicly traded health benefits providers is leading the company’s change from a traditional  ”one-size-fits-all” health care delivery model to one in which product innovation is driven by consumer needs. McCallister spoke with Wharton management professor Michael Useem and Stephen Wilson engagement director in George Group Consulting’s Conquering Complexity practice about managing complexity while innovating in a rapidly changing industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The crisis at Hewlett-Packard over allegations that its chairwoman Patricia Dunn authorized illegal surveillance of HP board members in order to find out who leaked sensitive company information to the press is dragging on perhaps longer than most people first expected. And it has raised a number of important issues about corporate governance privacy protection and surveillance of employees. Tom Donaldson professor of legal studies and business ethics at Wharton joins Knowledge at Wharton to talk about HP’s woes as they relate to business practices both in the U.S. and abroad. Donaldson’s research areas include business ethics leadership risk management and corporate compliance. He has consulted with companies ranging from Goldman Sachs and Wachovia to Exelon and KPMG and is currently working on articles about corporate risk management programs and cash management practices at non-profit organizations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next week the Federal Reserve meets to decide whether to increase interest rates or to keep them unchanged -- but the picture on inflation looks unclear. On October 17 the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the Producer Price Index for finished goods fell by 1.3% in September. Much of this was driven by the drop in energy prices -- which have seen the sharpest decline in nearly three years. Core wholesale prices however went up by 0.6% because of a recovery in the cars and light trucks business. What do these mixed signals mean for the economy? Will the Fed’s Open Market Committee keep rates steady or will there be an increase? Jeremy Siegel a professor of finance at Wharton spoke with Knowledge at Wharton about why the Fed is unlikely to raise interest rates at least until the end of the year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kevin Werbach Wharton professor of legal studies and business ethics is a dedicated blogger especially when it comes to technology news and innovation. He sifts through 300 to 400 blogs using NetNewsWire for the Mac a blog management tool that allows him to quickly scan new posts. ”I look for blogs that tell me something I don’t already know including in areas where I am an expert ” he says. Knowledge at Wharton asked several faculty members and technology experts to comment on the appeal and usefulness -- or lack thereof -- of blogs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The business of making loans to poor people in underdeveloped countries is entering a critical period of development according to panelists at this year’s Wharton Finance Conference. On one hand they say foundations and other non-governmental groups have shown the private sector that there is money to be made in lending to these population segments. But they also warn that the drive for profit could leave behind some of the world’s neediest citizens. Meanwhile as an indication that microfinance is indeed on the global agenda economist Muhammad Yunus founder of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 12. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Seven years ago Rajesh Jain ignited a dot-com storm in India when his portal IndiaWorld was sold to Sify an Internet service provider for $115 million. Today he is CEO of Netcore a Linux-based messaging software firm and also maintains an active blog emergic.org. Jain met with Knowledge at Wharton at his offices in Mumbai to discuss how mobile phones could hold the key to the Internet’s evolution in India and other emerging economies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tough Choices Carly Fiorina’s new book about her rise to the top of corporate America as CEO of Hewlett-Packard and later her firing at the hands of the HP board is almost like two books in one: A story about the passion and dedication that drove her to succeed along with an unwillingness to fully address why her tenure at HP was so short-lived. Knowledge at Wharton reviews Tough Choices and in an interview conducted earlier this week  talks to Fiorina about her book her image the leadership at HP and what’s in store for the future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Clear Channel Communications which owns more than 1 200 stations and is the nation’s largest radio company has begun selling five-second two-second and even one-second spots that they hope will appeal to cost-conscious marketers. But how much can an advertiser communicate in a five-second ”adlet” or a two- or one-second ”blink ” as these super-short ads are called? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.