Knowledge at Wharton

Newly elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to take Japan’s economy in a daring new direction to end 20 years of stagnation and deflation. His policies resemble past efforts -- but with far more firepower behind them. That means even looser monetary policies and a sharp rise in government spending to boost demand. Some analysts say it’s just the medicine Japan needs and on the spending side at l...

In a career spanning 34 years Edward Breen has faced many difficult situations perhaps none as challenging as his most recent assignment -- CEO of Tyco International -- which he took on when the company was facing bankruptcy. In an interview with Wharton management professor Michael Useem Breen who just stepped down from Tyco talks about the importance of knowing when and how to make the ”bold big...

When Princeton professor Anne-Marie Slaughter published an essay in The Atlantic titled ”Why Women Still Can’t Have It All ” in July 2012 she touched a nerve across generations and set off a renewed public debate on women’s progress and work-life balance. In an interview with Stewart Friedman director of the Wharton Work/Life Integration Project Slaughter shares what it was like to draw back the c...

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Africa is the next frontier for global business presenting a rare growth opportunity in a stagnant world. But navigating this complex continent with more than 1 billion people can be exceedingly difficult and many businesses have failed to make a lasting impression in the region. Kenyan business tycoon Manu Chandaria chairman and CEO of the multi-billion dollar privately held Comcraft Group explai...

Although the global economy is in better shape than it was during the worst days of the 2008-2009 financial crisis don’t expect to see a dramatic turnaround in 2013 say Wharton professors Mauro Guillen and Kent Smetters. In separate interviews with Knowledge at Wharton they discuss some of the challenges that the U.S. Europe China and emerging markets such as Brazil and India are facing going into...

Cloud computing is creating waves in different industries across the developed world helping both entrepreneurs and large conglomerates quickly respond to opportunities and manage their business processes more effectively. A recent survey by Knowledge at Wharton and enterprise software firm SAP reveals that people have very high expectations for the future of cloud computing; at the same time they...

Maneet Ahuja began her career at age 17 as a credit risk analyst at Citigroup. Now 10 years later she has been named to the Forbes 2012 ”30 under 30” list is a producer for CNBC’s Squawk Box and has written a new book called The Alpha Masters: Unlocking the Genius of the World’s Top Hedge Funds. Knowledge at Wharton recently talked with her about the alpha masters she profiled in her book and abou...

Are you happy? Could you be happier? Gretchen Rubin was already ”pretty happy” when she asked herself these very questions. In search of the answers she started her own pursuit of happiness which eventually became a New York Times bestseller titled The Happiness Project. She has now written a second book called Happier at Home. Knowledge at Wharton recently spoke with Rubin about why happy people...

Swarthmore professor Barry Schwartz says rules and incentives are an ”insurance policy against disaster but [they don’t] produce excellence.” In his recent book Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to Do the Right Thing Schwartz and co-author Kenneth Sharpe also a Swarthmore professor say that what is needed is not more bureaucracy. Instead society needs the Aristotelian ideal that trumps all others --...

New York Times editor Adam Bryant has interviewed more than 200 CEOs for his Corner Office column. In his book The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed Bryant shares what he has learned from Xerox CEO Ursula Burns Ford CEO Alan R. Mulally Yum Brands CEO David C. Novak Teach for America CEO Wendy Kopp Zynga co-founder Mark Pincus and other leaders...

Just as the Internet enabled anyone with a computer to become an entrepreneur today’s newest technologies have spawned a DIY (do it yourself) micro-manufacturing movement so anyone can be both inventor and manufacturer. Wired editor Chris Anderson author of the new book Makers: The New Industrial Revolution recently spoke with Knowledge at Wharton about how technology is changing the limits of wha...

For many implementing an innovation strategy which requires changes within an organization means adding layers of new processes. Lisa Bodell author of Kill the Company: End the Status Quo Start an Innovation Revolution argues that there are straightforward ways to make change without bogging down the organization. Knowledge at Wharton spoke with Bodell recently about her approach to getting compan...

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 product...

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 ho...

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 ca...

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...

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 retenti...

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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...

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 mobil...

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 mar...

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 Ap...

Hugh Sinclair is the author of a new book titled Confessions of a Microfinance Heretic: How Microlending Lost Its Way and Betrayed the Poor in which he debunks the image of microfinance as a do-good industry committed to helping poor people create sustainable businesses. Instead he documents corruption extortionist interest rates and a lack of transparency that he says characterize much of the mic...

Stephen J. Girsky vice chairman of General Motors says the company has a new emphasis on the customer even as it faces such challenges as industry-wide overcapacity strong competition from rivals both in the U.S. and Europe and slower-than-expected sales of the Volt. Wharton management professor John Paul MacDuffie asked Girsky to talk about these issues and others shortly before Girsky’s presenta...