Archive for the 'International Business' Category

Shopping by phone at South Korea’s virtual grocery

Published on October 26, 2011 in International Business. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Online shopping is nothing new, especially in plugged-in South Korea. But one company says it’s going further. It’s testing out a virtual supermarket in a public place.

At Seolleung underground station in Seoul, there’s a row of brightly lit billboards along the platform, with hundreds of pictures of food and drink – everything from fruit and milk to instant noodles and pet food.

Standing on the platform, a man in his 60s who gives his name as Mr Bae, says it looks to him like an advertisement for a convenience store.

When I explain it’s a virtual supermarket that you access with your smartphone, he doesn’t seem impressed. He says he doesn’t have a smartphone, so it’s not for him. But he says, it’s a good idea for younger Koreans.

And that’s who this virtual supermarket is primarily designed for, according to Homeplus, the South Korean affiliate of the British supermarket chain Tesco [Read more].

Seven billion and counting

Published on October 25, 2011 in International Business. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

On October 31, earth will gain its seven billionth inhabitant, according to official UN population projections.Of course, the data are not really accurate enough to predict the arrival of human number 7bn to the nearest day, or even year, but the symbolic moment has aroused an upsurge in the debate around “overpopulation” that has ebbed and flowed since Thomas Malthus published his Essay on the Principle of Population in 1798 [Read more].

Economic and political changes, environmental and migratory pressures, debates about social redistribution and urban planning: many current balances will shift and pose important new challenges to policymakers, politicians and neighbour states. But these trends will vary greatly between different countries, ages, genders and social groups.

Looking at the fast-rising graph of the world’s inhabitants, it seems hard to believe the trend will even slow. Yet only two centuries ago – at about the time Thomas Malthus, the English scholar, was warning of pending famine, disease and war triggered by overpopulation – the earth’s inhabitants numbered fewer than 1bn people. Since then, the numbers have risen ever faster: doubling to the current 7bn in less than 50 years.

The onus is on the wealthier countries to take the lead in modifying lifestyles and developing new technologies to tackle global warming and the depletion of natural resources. The consequences of inaction will fall significantly on the poor, who may ultimately be forced to develop their own innovative solutions to problems for which industrialised countries still have no ready answers [Read more].

Norway rides wave of prosperity on back of oil

Published on August 31, 2011 in International Business and International Finance. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Blessed with large petroleum reserves, as well as robust public finances, Norway’s economy has managed to largely circumvent the EU debt crisis.

Blessed with large petroleum reserves, Norway is riding a wave of prosperity brought by high oil prices and robust public finances while the rest of Europe is mired in a debt crisis.

This Scandinavian nation of 4.9 million is the biggest oil producer and exporter in western Europe, with most of the oil production taking place offshore in the North Sea. Norway was also the world’s second largest exporter of natural gas after Russia last year, when crude oil, natural gas and pipeline transport services made up nearly 50% of its exports value.

To make sure future generations also benefit from the oil resources first discovered in 1969 and which will eventually run out, Norway saves petroleum revenues in a pension fund valued at roughly $550 billion. The so-called 4% fiscal rule limits the swings in the Norwegian economy; under the rule, the government aims to spend only 4% of the pension fund annually, though the exact percentage can vary [Read more].

Northern light: Sweden’s economy ‘a little Germany’

Published on August 31, 2011 in International Business and International Finance. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Sweden is one of Europe’s fastest growing economies and its success is noteworthy given
the debt woes plaguing southern Europe.

Residents of this capital radiate a sense of well-being and it’s not only because they live in a beautiful city built on 14 islands that draws comparisons to Venice. It’s also because they call home one of Europe’s fastest growing economies.

The success of this export-oriented Nordic nation is noteworthy, because it’s in stark contrast to the debt woes plaguing Greece, Portugal and other southern euro-zone countries. Sweden is a member of the European Union, but it has chosen to keep its own currency. Public debt levels are relatively low and the government expects a budget surplus this year [Read more].

Google takes on Asia: New strategies in Asia’s diverse market

Published on June 14, 2011 in Emerging Markets, Global Strategy and International Business. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Daniel Alegre, Google’s President for Japan and Asia-Pacific, insists that his company is “locally relevant”, as it tries to appeal to the different tastes and internet capabilities of the hugely diverse Asian region.

It signals a shift in the centre of gravity of cyberspace, as Asia becomes the biggest and fastest growing region for the internet.

“Here in Asia… we have very strong competitors. And we thrive on that competition, because it forces us to be better and it forces them to be better and in the end, the internet benefits,” Daniel Alegre says.

The confidence is understandable. Given its global dominance and the new users that the Android operating system is drawing in, Google is still well positioned to challenge the Asian incumbents [Source].

Leading Across Borders? Don’t Change a Thing

Published on May 17, 2011 in International Business. 0 Comments Tags: .

The assumption that people are motivated differently around the world — especially in Asia — and that leaders must adapt their behavior accordingly is wrong. Having led and managed people in eight countries across three continents, I have found the exact opposite to be true. Regardless of geographic location or culture, what drives people to the highest level of engagement is innately human and universal. Thus, great leadership looks the same wherever you are.

Around the world, the most effective executives are the ones who draw energy from a clear sense of purpose and a set of deeply held personal values. They also energize their employees by ensuring that their expectations about three overarching elements of work — the nature of their role, the work environment, and their professional development (RED) — are in line with the organization’s purpose. These are central themes of my new book, Too Many Bosses, Too Few Leaders [Source].

The future of Apple’s leadership

Published on January 25, 2011 in High Tech & Media and International Business. 0 Comments Tags: , .

For many people, Apple would not be Apple without Steven P. Jobs. The sudden decision by the company’s chief executive to take a medical leave for the third time in less than a decade raises anxieties about the leadership of the company he helped found more than three decades ago.

It also puts the spotlight again on several senior executives who have been helping Mr. Jobs run the company, in particular Timothy D. Cook, the chief operating officer, who will take over day-to-day operations during Mr. Jobs’s leave [Source].

“The company could not thrive if Steve didn’t have an extremely talented team around him,” said David B. Yoffie, a professor at Harvard Business School who has studied the technology industry for decades. “But you can’t replace Steve on some levels.”

“The person who can keep the trains running on time is a scarce commodity, but not as rare as someone who can do breakthrough innovation,” said Michael Useem, a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the director of its Center for Leadership and Change Management.

No one expects Apple to suffer in the short term, as the company has a long product cycle. But some raise questions as to what will happen over the long term if Mr. Jobs does not return.

“The problem, really at the core,” he said, “is that Steve Jobs’s inspiration is irreplaceable.”

[Source]

Google Names Co-Founder Larry Page New CEO

Published on January 21, 2011 in International Business. 0 Comments Tags: , .

One of the longest, most successful runs as chief executive of an Internet company has come to an end: Come April, Eric Schmidt will step down as Google’s CEO and cofounder Larry Page will resume the position starting April 4.

Yes, resume. It’s so long ago that few remember, but Page was Google’s first CEO, and held the job from 1998 to 2001, when Schmidt was hired. Page, his cofounder Sergey Brin, and Schmidt have long ruled as a triumvirate. They’ll continue to “discuss” key decisions, according to a blog post by Schmidt.

It’s not clear what prompted the timing of this announcement. It has faced increasing difficulties in buying its way into adjacent markets: See its failed bid for Groupon, or its attempted purchase of travel-search startup ITA Software, currently held up in regulatory review amid concerns from rivals. At the same time, Google has struggled in launching new products, especially social ones, to fend off challenges from Facebook and Twitter.

If it can’t buy, it must build. The question: Is Page a builder? He was in his first round as CEO. Now he’ll have to prove his product chops anew. One thing’s for sure now: He won’t have anyone else to blame if he screws things up [Source].

GE Makes $520M Move Into Green Data Centres

Published on January 14, 2011 in Greentech and International Business. 0 Comments Tags: , .

GE wants a slice of the burgeoning green-data-centers pie — and it’s willing to spend half a billion dollars to get it [Source].

The company, which manufactures everything from wind turbines to electric car charging stations, announced today it has acquired power conversion technology company Lineage Power for $520 million from Gores Group, an offering that GE says will help it leverage huge opportunities in telecom and making data centers more efficient.

Lineage Power makes energy efficient power conversion technology that converts the AC electricity delivered from the grid to DC electricity to power the servers and equipment in data centers. It also makes DC-DC power modules for telecom purposes and helps companies set up energy systems. Some companies have been demonstrating data centers running on all-DC power as of late, as a way to save energy [Source].

Intel Continues Big Spending Spree

Published on January 13, 2011 in International Business. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Intel said today it will spend $9 billion on chip factories and other capital improvements in 2011, far above the $5 billion in spent in 2010.

The company made the disclosure in its fourth quarter earnings report, which set a new record for the world’s biggest chip maker. Intel has never been timid about spending money during downturns. But now that we are in a full-blown recovery, as evidenced by the company’s strong sales of $43.6 billion in 2010.

Each huge chip factory costs Intel around $2.5 billion. The picture above shows a new chip factory that Intel built in China. Intel said it would also spend about $7.3 billion on research and development in 2011. That amount includes the research the company has to do in order to develop the manufacturing process for its newest factories.

The spending is all the more staggering when you think that Intel spent $7.68 billion to acquire security software vendor McAfee. Even with that diversification, Intel has the cash to spend on factories. Intel has $16.7 billion in cash and short-term investments [Source].