Category Archives: Global Contexts

What are GM’s choices for the Opel plant in Bochum, Germany ?

Posted on April 4, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (April 2,2012) describes worker frustration at GM’s Opel plant in Bochum, Germany, with worries that it will be shut down in 2014. Wages at the plant are six times the wage rate in … Continue reading →

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Is fiber optic cable capacity too much ?

Posted on April 4, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (April 3, 2012) suggests that fiber optic capacity expansion is too optimistic, pointing to 3% utilization of cable in big cities and new laser technology that expanded capacity in the past. But capacity … Continue reading →

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Social Networking at P&G to drive sales growth

Posted on April 3, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (April 3, 2012) describes Proctor & Gamble’s foray into social networking and its demand impact. A Facebook campiagn for Pepto-Bismol focused on “Celebrate Life” – targeting users of the product on Saturday and Sunday mornings – … Continue reading →

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Unilever’s Sustainability Measures for its Supply Chain

Posted on April 3, 2012 by aviyer2010

A white paper by Verdantix Ltd (http://www.verdantix.com/uploadedfiles/products/Verdantix%20Unilever%27s%20Strategy%20Leverages%20Value%20Chain%20Influence.pdf) describes specific measures at Unilver e.g., measurement of its environmental impact per unit of consumer usage i.e., per tea bag or per dose of detergent, with a goal to decrease that impact by … Continue reading →

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What are GM’s choices for the Opel plant in Bochum, Germany ?

Posted on April 3, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (April 2,2012) describes worker frustration at GM’s Opel plant in Bochum, Germany, with worries that it will be shut down in 2014. Wages at the plant are six times the wage rate in … Continue reading →

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The risk in Apple’s IP protection and litigation strategy

Posted on April 1, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (April 2, 2012) describes Apple’s jihad against Google, Samsung, Motorola and their Andrioid powered hardware devices. But each specific IP case dredges up prior art – work by other several years ahead of Apple, thus casuing … Continue reading →

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How many hours should Chinese workers work at Foxconn’s plant ?

Posted on April 1, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (March 31, 2012) suggests that only 18% of the Chinese employees at Foxconn’s plant have complaints about working longer than the Chinese government mandated maximum of 49 hours each week, with overtime for … Continue reading →

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The collapse of Sony’s interest in Sharp’s Sakai plant

Posted on March 29, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (March 29, 2012) describes a collapse in Sony’s interest in Sharp’s Sakai plant, whose production of high end LCD displays was expected to decrease costs for Sony, and garnered a 7 % investment … Continue reading →

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The ripple effect of Foxconn’s changes

Posted on March 29, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (March 29, 2012) describes widspread violations discoverd by the Fair Labor Association, hired by Apple to audit its suppliers, at Foxconn. The supplier, Foxconn, has committed to adhere to Chinese law, which restricts … Continue reading →

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Uniqlo’s global expansion

Posted on March 28, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Economist (March 24, 2012) describes the Japanese retailer’s expansion into the US and China. The company focuses on producing large volume, low cost items that are sold across the season. Given that weather patterns in China … Continue reading →

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