Easily Integrate These Wall Street Journal Articles in Your Class |
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CEO Sees Profit, IPO For Virgin America TOPICS: Vision SUMMARY: Discount airline Virgin America said it continued to rack up losses in the past two quarters, but a deal to restructure its balance sheet and raise fresh capital should help put it on course for profit later this year and bring it closer to an initial public offering. CLASSROOM APPLICATION: Clarifying the vision and objectives for an organization are important as the leader attempts to turnaround a company. Decision-making at the senior levels sets the direction for the company and aligns employee behaviors with the primary goals for the organization. This article discusses the recent changes at Virgin America airlines as they attempt to align decision-making and actions with the strategic objectives of the company. Clearly articulating these goals of the organization is one important step toward building a profitable company. QUESTIONS: Reviewed By: Sheila Simarian Webber, Ph.D., Suffolk University Bloomberg Saga Highlights Clash Between Two Worlds TOPICS: Culture SUMMARY: In an era when Internet ad tracking and social media have heightened consumer awareness of digital privacy, Bloomberg LP's disclosure that certain subscriber data were previously available to its journalists has raised the question of whether a business aimed at collecting and making sense of complex financial data can mix long term with a corporate culture built on transparency and sometimes ruthless efficiency. CLASSROOM APPLICATION: Organizational culture is largely driven by the leadership of the company and has implications for the approach used in collaboration and decision-making. The culture of an organization should fit with the goals and objectives of the company. Often the culture of an organization is important for retaining talented employees and achieving efficiency and effectiveness. The culture of openness at Bloomberg was developed by the founder, Michael Bloomberg, who believed in transparency and modeled the organization similar to the trading-room approach. This culture is now considered a problem for the integration of Bloomberg's two business areas. QUESTIONS: Reviewed By: Sheila Simarian Webber, Ph.D., Suffolk University Coursera Makes Case for MOOCs TOPICS: Innovation SUMMARY: Online education provider Coursera is just over a year old and hasn't yet turned a profit. But it does have centuries-old colleges nervous. Daphne Koller, co-founder and co-chief executive of the Mountain View, Calif., company, insists Coursera isn't looking to supplant traditional colleges. CLASSROOM APPLICATION: Innovations that are successful are driven by a crisis in a particular sector raising the opportunity for a new product or service to be effective. Innovations are often considered either incremental or disruptive to the sector. Transformational innovations are designed to enhance the effectiveness of a given sector. In this interview with the co-founder of Coursera, she explains the potential transformational elements involved in this new innovation. Improving education is the primary objective with Coursera as they attempt to enhance traditional universities. QUESTIONS: Reviewed By: Sheila Simarian Webber, Ph.D., Suffolk University |
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