[IP] Knowledge@Wharton May 18-31, 2005
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May 18 - May 31
Note to Readers
We hope many of you will be as pleased as we are that next week  
Knowledge@Wharton celebrates its sixth birthday. Since its launch on  
May 26, 1999, Knowledge@Wharton has grown from a single site into a  
global knowledge network -- including regional editions in Spanish,  
Portuguese (http://wharton.universia.net) and, most recently, Chinese  
(http://knowledge.wharton.com.cn) -- with nearly 500,000 registered  
subscribers worldwide.
We are delighted to welcome the latest member of the  
Knowledge@Wharton network -- Knowledge@W. P. Carey (http:// 
knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu) which was launched May 11 in collaboration  
with Arizona State University's W. P. Carey School of Business. We  
encourage you to check it out. This partnership continues the  
tradition established with the launch in April 2001 of  
Knowledge@Emory (http://knowledge.emory.edu), in collaboration with  
Emory University's Goizueta Business School.
Thank you for all your encouragement and support during the past six  
years. Onward to year seven!
-- The Knowledge@Wharton team 
Knowledge@Wharton/George Group Survey
The impact of product and service complexity on business
George Group Consulting and Knowledge@Wharton have teamed up to  
explore the impact of product and service complexity on corporations:  
As companies add new products and services to their portfolios, what  
is the impact on processes, profitability, and growth? Please take a  
moment to participate in our brief survey via the link below; all  
information will be kept confidential and will be used only for this  
study. Each individual who takes part in this study by filling out a  
complete survey will receive a free copy of the results document.  
Many thanks for your participation.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/weblink/131.cfm
Special Section
China Forum Stirs Debate on Sustainable Growth
With the world focused on its rapid development, China has generated  
both excitement and concern among investors, policy makers and  
potential business partners. Now that global corporations have gained  
access to Chinese markets, they are concentrating on stability and  
sustainable long-term progress. Against this backdrop, the Wharton  
China Business Forum recently brought together business leaders and  
academics to discuss China's strategic plan for continued growth. The  
conference, entitled "Global Transitions: Demystifying China's New  
Path," included discussion of financial reform, entrepreneurship,  
consumer markets, and environmental and energy issues, among other  
topics.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/weblink/130.cfm
What's Hot
A Finger on the Pulse of Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett
Throughout the spring, the snowballing financial scandal at insurance  
giant American International Group has put the spotlight on the  
firm's partner in the improper deal, General Re Corp. Could the  
damage extend to Gen Re's owner, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and its  
legendary chief, Warren Buffett? The questions about Gen Re come on  
top of another that gets larger every year: Can Berkshire continue to  
deliver outsized returns to shareholders after 74-year-old Buffett,  
who has run the company for four decades, passes from the scene?
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1210.cfm
Marketing
Managing Brands in Global Markets: One Size Doesn't Fit All
Theodore "Ted" Levitt of Harvard Business School set the marketing  
world abuzz in 1983 with a bold prediction: Globalization had  
arrived, and before long global companies would be selling products  
and services in the same way everywhere on earth. More than 20 years  
later, however, Levitt's prediction has not come to pass, according  
to Wharton marketing professors George S. Day and David J. Reibstein,  
who note that only a handful of truly global brands exist today  
despite the increased globalization of markets. Day and Reibstein,  
who address this issue in a book entitled "The INSEAD-Wharton  
Alliance on Globalizing: Strategies for Building Successful Global  
Businesses," suggest that adapting brands to local conditions can  
often be the best approach.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1206.cfm
Leadership and Change
Want to Win? Here's Some Practical Advice from Jack Welch
Jack Welch, former chairman and chief executive of General Electric,  
loves to be heard. After retiring from GE four years ago and  
publishing an autobiography, he has now written a book on his  
management philosophy, titled"Winning," which he is promoting through  
frequent speeches and media interviews. But, unlike most prodigious  
talkers, Welch is hardly boring. He advocates candor and practices  
it, as was evident during a recent discussion at Wharton.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1209.cfm
Managing Technology
The Wi-Fi Debate: Should Cities Be in the Business of Broadband?
The city of Philadelphia's grand experiment to blanket its 135 square  
miles with wireless high-speed Internet access is being closely  
watched by municipalities across the U.S. that are pursuing similar  
initiatives. While Philadelphia's project, which edged closer to  
reality with an announcement on April 7, is more than a year away  
from completion, it has sparked an intense debate over such questions  
as: Are broadband services better handled by the public or private  
sector? Can a wireless broadband network, commonly known as Wi-Fi, be  
used to help more low-income people gain online access? Should  
Internet access be viewed as city infrastructure, like telephone  
poles or city streets?
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1204.cfm
Insurance and Pensions
Retirement Programs Face an "Aging-Population Tsunami"
Against the backdrop of rising concerns over both public and private  
pension systems in the U.S., industry experts convened at a recent  
Wharton conference to debate ways in which retirement programs can be  
better managed. Participants discussed such topics as the problems  
facing Social Security, the solvency of the Pension Benefit Guaranty  
Corp., and the consequences of an increase in defined contribution  
plans like 401(k)s along with a corresponding decline in defined  
benefit plans. The conference was titled "The Evolution of Risk and  
Reward Sharing in Retirement."
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1205.cfm
Marketing
Tag Team: Tracking the Patterns of Supermarket Shoppers
To the untrained eye, the presentation looks like little more than a  
child's randomly drawn zigzag pattern. But to Wharton marketing  
professor Peter S. Fader, those seemingly random lines represent a  
new dataset showing the paths taken by individual shoppers in an  
actual grocery store. The data -- charted for the first time by radio  
frequency identification (RFID) tags located on consumers' shopping  
carts -- has the potential to change the way retailers in general  
think about customers and their shopping patterns. Fader, Wharton  
marketing professor Eric T. Bradlow and doctoral candidate Jeffrey S.  
Larson analyze this data in a new research paper entitled "An  
Exploratory Look at Supermarket Shopping Paths."
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1208.cfm
Business Ethics
Winners Never Cheat: Lessons for Today's Business Leaders
In 1970, Jon M. Huntsman started a small entrepreneurial firm with  
his brother. By 2000, Huntsman Corp. had grown to become the largest  
privately held petrochemical and plastics business in the world.  
Today, Huntsman is a billionaire philanthropist who recently donated  
$225 million to establish the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the  
University of Utah. He has also contributed millions to help rebuild  
the country of Armenia, and supported organizations that feed the  
poor, house the homeless and protect victims of domestic violence. In  
his new book, Winners Never Cheat: Everyday Values We Learned as  
Children (But May Have Forgotten) (Wharton School Publishing),  
Huntsman offers a "moral compass" for business leaders and others to  
live by that is based on his own experiences.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1207.cfm
_________________________________________________________________
Articles and Links from Knowledge@Wharton Sponsors
Samsung:
The new global leader in consumer electronics www.samsung.com
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/weblink/71.cfm
GE Commercial Finance:
Sign-up for 'Lending Views from GE'- our Free Commercial Lending E- 
Newsletter
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/weblink/112.cfm
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     © 2005 The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
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