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Management News is South-Western's service to provide summaries of the latest management news stories. Review the brief summaries and, for stories of interest, select the full summary. |
| TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION AND CHANGE | |
| Title | Brief Summary |
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Once known for its insular culture, Procter & Gamble is now famous for its open approach to innovation. The company routinely looks globally for life-changing product breakthroughs. It is also applying innovation principles to corporate operations. (Updated July 2007) |
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HP announced this week that it has redesigned its ink and toner packaging. The new packaging will positively impact the environment and will save consumers and retailers money. (Updated April 2007) |
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Virtual work space technology allows workers to share information, collaborate on-line, and make the most of the human capital the company has within. For some organizations, making the technology work well means changing the corporate culture. (Updated February 2007) |
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John Deere and other American firms that have been focused on budget cuts and efficiencies have come to realize that innovation is now the key to staying ahead of their competition and developing new products. Yet, innovation takes time, money, and expertise. Will the investments pay off? (Updated September 2006) |
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With the volume of e-mail that corporate users receive increasing every day, communication is becoming more difficult. Software called a "wiki" can help to eliminate the confusing e-mail trail of messages and attachments by allowing users to edit documents and exchange ideas in real time on a hosted web page. The technology is expected to be in use in half of all corporate networks by 2009. (Updated March 2006) |
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Dell has always been a forerunner in the computer industry, but its stock has been downgraded in recent weeks. Analysts believe this is due to Dell’s reluctance to adapt to a changing consumer environment.
(Updated December 2005) |
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A new book by Tom Kelley with Jonathon Littman called The Ten Faces of Innovation demonstrates how innovative ideas are often shot down in corporate meeting rooms by someone claiming to play the devil's advocate role. Because innovation is the lifeblood of most companies, this occurrence can have long-term negative effects. Kelley has identified 10 innovation personas that if adopted, can help to foster innovation rather than demolish it. (Updated November 2005) |
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Approximately 9 percent of retail returns in the U.S. are fraud-related and cost the industry an estimated $16 billion per year. As retail scams become more sophisticated, companies are fighting back using advanced technology and databases. (Updated September 2005) |
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Intel Corporation, which sells more than 80 percent of the chips used in PCs, is introducing new chip architecture this month that will enable improved power consumption and multicore chip technology. (Updated September 2005) |
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Although iPods account for three of every four portable music players in the U.S., an early patent by a Microsoft employee may require Apple to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to rival Microsoft. (Updated September 2005) |
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The toy industry is in crisis. Global sales fell 2% last year and big names in toys like FAO Schwarz and Zany Brainy have just about disappeared in response to fierce competition from deep discount retailers like Wal Mart. Experts are worried that the shrinking of the retail market will have a negative effect on innovative toys. (Updated April 2005) |
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As technology has become more affordable and easier to use, many small businesses are investing heavily in it, or plan to shortly. Many are finding that putting some money into technology saves them money in the long run and gives them a competitive edge over rivals. (Updated March 2005) |
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Orkut, a Web site created and run by Google that permits people to join a list of online communities by invitation only is running into problems as a minority of users form groups around hatred and racism. (Updated March 2005) |
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Companies like the online bank ING Direct USA and the online bulletin board Craigslist are challenging the standard business models of their industries. The outcome has been revolutionary change as well as new services consumers really need. The surprising result has been astronomical profits for these companies. (Updated February 2005) |
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Studies show that 60 percent of all major corporate change programs fail, often because people issues are overlooked. Ultimately, the success of any restructure or sweeping change rests with the managers' abilities to prepare their people and motivate them to handle the change well. (Updated January 2005) |
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Start-ups are capitalizing on the search boom and working to fulfill the need to obtain information quickly. (Updated October 2004) |
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During the past 20 years, entrepreneurship has been highly valued in our economy. Often overlooked, however, is the importance of intrapreneurship within organizations. (Updated 09/01/04) |
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Wikis have the ability to improve collaboration among workers without endless conference calls, meetings, and back-and-forth emails. They're Web sites anyone can edit, and they could transform corporate America. (Updated 08/01/04) |
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PepsiCo has managed to earn double-digit growth consistently by adding product variations to reach changing consumer tastes. (Updated 08/01/04) |
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Companies value teamwork between employees, but using email to communicate is no longer a practical solution by itself. A new generation of specialized collaboration software creates sites where teams can share documents and calendars, engage in discussions, or send messages to team members.
(Updated 07/01/04) |
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Owners of an antiques and collectables store have found an innovative way to increase their customer base, and their sales. They have become an eBay intermediary, with online sales that now account for 75% of the store's revenues. (Updated 03/07/04) |
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Anyone can experience stress, but certain working conditions tend to be more stressful than others. Often, it is not the jobs themselves that are stressful, but the amount of change the job has undergone and the individual's reaction to that change. (Updated 03/07/04) |
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Use of wireless Internet connection (Wi-Fi) has surged as prices have come down, but laptops using this technology carry a heightened risk of hacking and eavesdropping. Making employees take Wi-Fi policies seriously requires a concerted effort and consequences for misuse. (Updated 01/06/04) |
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Augustine Medical, a 15-year-old maker of medical devices, prides itself on its ability to innovate, and has 108 U.S. patents to show for it. This article examines the founder's motivations, the corporate culture, and the evolution of an innovative company. (Updated 12/31/02) |
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When two companies merge, they combine more than their products. How a company handles merging two distinct corporate cultures can have a big impact on the success of the new company. This article explains how Hewlett-Packard is merging its culture with that of Compaq. Employees are required to participate in workshops to get to know each other. This is a good example of how a company's culture affects its success. (Updated 10/24/02) |
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The advent of the Digital Age has provided managers with more information than they can possibly access and interpret. This information overload has improved decision making in some ways, but it has also complicated it. (Updated 10/24/02) |
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In this interview, Accenture Chairman and CEO, Joe W. Forehand, explains how his company fosters innovation. Accenture is a management and technology services organization that provides consulting and outsourcing expertise to companies. (Updated 8/01/02) |
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