Walmart and Made in USA

(9/25/2013) Do you connect Walmart with Made in U.S.A.? Probably not, and that is what Walmart wants to change your perception by marketing campaign. The rising labor cost in China and more expensive logistics cost now are two economic factors justifying this change of tide. But the patriotic image can change the perception of consumers on Walmart, whose suppliers once in a while are in trouble of labor working conditions.

Is manufacturing really returning back to U.S.? Here we have stories of Google's Moto X, and other companies.

LucidChart for Business Education

(9/24/2013) Today I introduced LucidChart (a cloud-based diagramming software) to our SIMBA students. It was a blast. I found this platform last year during my first year of MBA teaching and briefly introduced it to them. But this year, I had more time to prepare and decided to introduce Lucidchart in the first class of OM/SCM introduction.

It was a blast because our students are very creative. After I showed them more diagram shapes (other than the basic flow chart shapes), it's like releasing school kids in the playground. From the diagrams they built and shared with me, I was 'forced' to learn more about LucidChart. I studied on LucidChart.com and found more...

Not only Lucidchart has process engineering, venn diagram, and iPhone, iPad and Android mockups, it also has organization chart, Cisco Network icons ..... You can share with your teammates (students or teachers), you can also link with your google account and construct Lucidchart diagrams directly from Google Drive. And the most important thing is it is free for academic usage, I have applied for 45 accounts that my students in their learning with me can also use it free. LucidChart.com has a community that users share their application and creativity.

(10/31/2013) Today, the same company just release another tool - LucidPress.com. I have not used it yet. It seems to be a cloud-base collaborative reporting tools that now they provide FREE to educators and students. Check it out.

A LucidChart diagrams drawn by Chris in 30 minutes, a high school student who took URITC Summer Academy with me in this summer. Great job, Chris. 

Simulation of War and Evolution

(9/24/2013) I found this research -- War, space, and the evolution of Old World complex societies -- very interesting though its claim might be too much for many historians to accept. You can find the original full paper and supporting documents here. I wonder whether the methodology can be applied to other aspects of business activities.

Flushable Toilet Wipes to Be Blamed

(9/24/2013) Do you like to keep toilet clean with flushable moisture wipes? Now they are clogging the sewage system in many cities and cost millions to fix the problem? Who to blame? The manufacturer for failed product? Marketers for misleading consumers? Consumers for their ignorance? What are the actions to solve the problem resulting from our hygiene convenience?

Flushable wipes costs cities millions of dollar to clean the clogs and fix the equipments.

Stockout on Purpose?

(9/23/2013) Do you think sometimes business let stockout happen on purpose? Yes, it can be. Lululemon "circuitously admitted" that the plus-size clothes do not belong to their target market. Plus size customers cannot easily find their clothes in Lululemon because there is not much in their stock. If you are lululemon's customer, have you noticed that there is no much plus-size clothes there? Is this market positioning a correct strategy to business? What about Lane Bryant's targeting on plus-size market?

A Iconic Van to Remember - VW Transporter

(9/23/2013) Have you seen hippie style Volkswagen van buses in many movies? Volkswagen Transporter is an iconic vehicle that was launched 63 years ago in Germany. Now Volkswagen calls an end to Transporter's production because it does not meet the latest safety standard. It is an unfortunate result since Transporter is known of its durability ("but also its tendency to break down" from the article). This summer, when I visited Aspen for Jackson Browne's concert, I saw a VW van exactly in that hippie style (see below). Well, the van below belongs to a shop called "2 old hippies (H2o)." I love that shop not only because it is a very cool shop, it also has great collection of boutique acoustic guitars.

VW Transporter van

H2O Hippie Van in Aspen, CO

Social Media and Damage Control

(11/28/2013) In Thanksgiving morning, I saw this encouraging news. Gap responded to its "make love" Sikh model ad very positively: "Hi there. Thanks for informing us. Can you please follow & DM (direct message) us? We'd like to know the location of this." It makes a difference and turns a negative distraction into a positive PR for Gap. The IQ of a consciousness business matters.


(9/20/2013) In the era of social media, any misfire of an individual can cause huge damage in the whole dynamic. A thoughtless tweet from a professor at the University of Kansas can rally pro-gun group.  We have seen too many examples: employee's tasteless facebook show-offs (Berger King), Politician's mistweet, Kitchen Aid.... See here.

Collective interest now hinges on several individuals. How much more dynamic a human world can be?

Screenshot saved from Huffington Post

How Do Fish Swim in Schools?

(9/18/2013) When I was in the army in Taiwan, I always wondered how clumsy we are to form an array without being shouted. Human are not that well coordinated. I always wonder how fish or birds swim or fly in school so swiftly. Now the science may find the answer: it is in the genes. When I watched BBC's documentary - Blue Planet, I realized that this is small fish's survival strategy. If we see the whole school of fish (instead of individual fish) as an entity, then swimming in schools will guarantee the maximal amount of survivals after being attacked by predators. Are we human beings the same as fish? Can we survive without cooperating with others?

The Odds of Winning Powerball lottery

(9/17/2013) I love this article - when is the best time to buy lottery. But do we follow its advice? Or most lottery buyers simply believe they will win one day? If you don't have time to read the whole article, here is the conclusion:

1. The expected value for the cash-up front Powerball winnings is always negative. It will never make sense to take the money up front, whether you believe the linear model or the polynomial model. 
2.  The expected value for the annuity, however, is break-even when the jackpot exceeds $345 million in the linear participation model and $380 million in the polynomial model. Since the polynomial model seems more accurate at higher jackpots, go with that one. 
3.  Taxes will probably mean that it is never profitable or sensible to play the lottery. So if you do play, try to minimize them. 

This calculation is only part of all analysis needed. The article has more complete analysis.

Innovations Inspired by Nature

(9/13/2013) Have you heard of biomimicry? Some of the most important inventions are inspired by our Mother Nature: Velcro, water collector in desert? Bloomberg has a report about 14 inventions we learn from nature. I found another news saying that the planthopper insects have GEARS in their legs, which help them hop. Stay observant!

Namibian beetle and water collector in desert.

Planthopper's legs

Bring Your Parents to Work

(9/12/2013) Should you bring your parents to work? For the millennials, their parents are playing a more important role in the children's career. Now some companies have held social event like "bring your parents to work". Personally, I am OK with it. But taking your parents to job interview? That is a little bit over the top.

 

Google+ Add New Sophisticated Photo Editing

(9/12/2013) Even with many advanced point-and-shoot camera, we are not always satisfied with the pictures we take. To improve and photo-editing the pictures, Adobe Photoshop or Apple's Aperture are our major choices. Google+ will add many good photo-editing functions on it for Chrome browser users. Though it won't form direct threat to Photoshop & Aperture soon, Google+ probably will attract many average photographers like me. Another cloud computing example.

 

Bigger is Always Better?

(9/9/2013) Is bigger in business always better? In many industries, main players seek to grow bigger to gain cost leverage (Economy of Scale) or synergy while merging with other business. For some, like Microsoft (NYT), it might have been grown too big. Microsoft is not just the leader in the PC operating system and office software. Microsoft is almost in every corner of technology landscape: Bing search engine, Xbox game consoles and games, Skype in VOIP phone call, Windows phone operations system, and now they will manufacture smartphone hardwares too. This New York Time analysis points out that Microsoft is so big that it may not be able to find a CEO who can really turn this company around. Read more for their analysis.

Microsoft's Sloppy History of Purchase

(9/3/2013) One dot in the figure does not make a trend. What if you have many dots?

You probably know that Microsoft pays $7B to purchase Nokia's handset unit to enter the smartphone marketplace. Yes, it's too early to say whether it is a "good buy." An recent news says the market share of Windows based phone in Europe is growing strong. But if we look back to its history, Microsoft's purchases often don't turn out as pretty as they have wished. Will Microsoft change its bad reputation as a series business spoiler? Well, let us see who will be the next CEO of Microsoft.

Lobster Oversupply Hurts Maine Fishermen

(9/1/2013) Similar to many other examples (e.g., Taiwanese eggplant farmer's dilemma), the demand of food cannot easily to counter oversupply or undersupply. The plentiful lobster in the US northeast coast leaves not much profit for the lobster fishermen in Maine. Right now, "lobster off the boat is selling for as low as $2.20 a pound." Short shelf life and expensive logistics cost to ship lobster cannot do much to ship lobsters in Maine to other markets. (My Taiwanese friends will be very envy of me living here though I don't eat lobster much at all.)

(10/20/2013) More 21 century lobster war updates between Canada and Maine lobstermen. The price of Lobster is as low as $1.20 per pound now, but do you, as a consumer, see the price drop in the supermarket? Probably not for those far away from New England. . No wonder the fishermen were wondering "If the consumer wasn’t paying the big dollars, I’d say: it’s O.K., it’s fair. One billion dollars changes hands in the Atlantic Canada lobster fishery and somebody’s getting the money."