Critical Insights Vol. 1 Issue 4

ECONOMICS & MACRO MARKET

While Consumer Price Index increased 0.2% in January, the index for all items less food and energy fell 0.1%, indicating that consumers are not willing to spend more money except paying for the necessary living costs amidst high unemployment rates, declining personal wealth due to the drop of home prices, and bearish news ranging from clogged foreclosure homes in supply and upcoming waves of the reset of the rates of accumulated adjustable rate mortgage to sovereign debt compound spirals in countries such as Greece. The anxiety fuel by the negative news sent Consumer Confidence Index from 56.5 in January to 46.0 in February (1985=100). Although signs of economic recovery have been detected here and there, the recovery is vulnerable as long as individuals’ consumption is not on a steady rise. Dow Jones Industry Average closed at 10,325 today. Given the great deal of uncertainty in economic growth, the stock market is likely to be volatile in 2010.



STRATEGY & MARKETING

Windows Phone 7 Spurs Microsoft's Mobile Strategy

Microsoft recently announced the new version of its phone operating system, Windows Phone 7. It’s a sweeping redesign, coupled with an aggressive new partnership with handset makers and mobile carriers. Initial reviews are not only positive but actually excited…

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Is Nexus One's Rocky Start a Product of Google's New Approach?

Initial sales figure of Google’s Next One was not impressive. It was significantly lower than that of iPhone 3GS, Droid, and My Touch 3G. But Nexus One definitively is trying to be a different method of distribution, one done only by Google and directly to end users…

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The Art of Persuasion - Aligning Consumer Goals with Level of Abstraction

Marketing professionals understand the roles of selective exposure, comprehension and retention in marketing communications. They are interested in finding out the most persuasive types of messages. For example, would you be more likely to buy a TiVo if an ad described it as offering you freedom or if it explained how you could replay sports events? Research indicates that the key to an effective message is finding the fit between the consumers’ goals and the level of abstraction…

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INNOVATION IN BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY

Innovation beyond Apple

Apple’s success in its new product, especially the iPhone, has triggered the “Apple thrill” – executives are increasingly interested in pushing product innovation in an attempt to replicate Apple’s success. However, experts are saying that focusing exclusively on product innovation may be a mistake for most companies and innovation is not only about product…

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Why the Rock Band Network is the Greatest Innovation since Colored Buttons

Rock Band Network, which was announced last year, has just been released in open beta, which means anyone with the gall to hit up their multi-track recorders can begin programming songs into the system by downloading the software. Of course, this all comes at a price, since creating your own songs will technically classify you as a developer you'll have to register at the XNA Creator's Club for $100 a year before you can start running the software…

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How Google's Ad System Stifles Innovation

The European Commission has launched the first-ever official antitrust inquiry into Google's search and search advertising services. Despite Google's estimated 90 percent share of the European search advertising market, it hasn't necessarily done anything illegal. But its stranglehold may still be a prohibitive barrier to competitors, present and future…

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LEADERSHIP & ORGANIZATION

Overcome Resistance with the Right Questions

You'll need different kinds of questions for different stages in the discussion. Here's a list of six categories of questions for a Socratic Dialogue, compiled by Richard Paul of the Center for Critical Studies: 1) questions that help clarify what the other person means; 2) questions that probe assumptions; 3) questions that look into the rationale, reasons and evidence the other person's using; 4) questions examining viewpoints and perspectives; 5) questions that probe implications and consequences; 6) questions get to the root of the other person's questions…

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Air Marshals Say Service Roiled with Cronyism, Chaos

Despite calls from President Obama to beef up the program designed to provide security aboard U.S. flights, the Federal Air Marshal Service is in disarray, a CNN investigation has found. In more than a dozen interviews across the country, air marshals said the agency is rife with cronyism; age, gender and racial discrimination; and attempts by managers to make the agency appear more efficient than it is by padding numbers. Air marshals describe an agency in chaos, where bored and frustrated marshals focus more on internal squabbles than watching for bad guys. The marshals refused to let their identities be known, for fear of retaliation in an agency that is driven, they say, by intimidation and favoritism…

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Don’t Stand by Me - The Role of Personal Connections in Failing Projects

When business leaders leave organizations following poor decisions, constituents often find comfort in replacing them with insiders — others familiar with the problem and original choices. "Vicarious entrapment," however, may prevent the new leader from making better decisions due to their psychological attachment to previous leaders or previous decisions.

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