Privacy for Discount?

(11/30/2013) We know our online searching and shopping are tracked by google and online retailers. Now the retailers want the consumers to opt-in to allow mobile tracking in exchange of discount in shops. You download an app, torn it on when you enter some shops, and enjoy discounts and being tracked. Is it good to consumers? Is it worthy to sacrifice the privacy to get discount? This news raises some concerns.

 

Profit or Tradition? US Business Struggling with Thanksgiving Working Rules

(11/27/2013) Millions of US workers have their 2013 Thanksgiving ruined. From Walmart, Target, Bestbuy to PizzaHut, one after another, business decided to ruin this holiday for many. It is an arm race. You think you can gain early shopping budget from the pockets of the consumers. Well, when your competitors think as unthoughtfully as you are, your leading edge just vanishes. From the moment the business decided to open in Thanksgiving, they are in this no-winner game.

One employee at PizzaHut is fired because he refused to work in Thanksgiving. A lot of media coverage on this news one day before Thanksgiving. Although Pizza Hut headquarter distant itself from the local decision, tons of angry online users flocked onto PizzaHut's facebook page and left their disgust. I think now the managers of Pizza Hut know the feeling of Thanksgiving get ruined.

(11/28/2013) In less than 1 day, the pizza guy was hired back.

PS: Rhode Island is one of three states that ban Thanksgiving shopping.

Beauty Right Next To Us

(11/26/2013) We WOW and find beauty in very large, very small, very fast and very slow because it is a world we didn't know it is right next to us and behave in that unique way......

Biodegradable But Not Popular

(11/26/2013) As consumers become more environmentally conscious, it is surprising a new biodegradable packaging is unpopular to consumer. Sun Chips (a brand of Frito-Lay, own by Pepsi) had its chips inside a new 100% biodegradable material in 2008. However, this new materials made very loud noises (see how loud it is here) that consumers repelled and the sales dropped 11% after new packaging. After 18 months of experiment, Sun Chips dumped this noise bags. In 2011, Sun Chips made another try to have a quieter bag. It looks like this time it works.

eRetailer's Working Conditions

(11/25/2013) The low-skill low-pay working conditions at many major retailers (like Walmart) in the US have been criticized for a long time. As eRetailers get bigger and more influential (like Amazon.com) in the market, the job opportunities brought by these eRetailers are not much better. In an Amazon.com's warehouse in UK, the hidden camera revealed the stressful working conditions. The workers working there as order pickers are like machine. When they fail to pick the right order the computer 'beeps' to warn their mistakes. The researcher says "The characteristics of this type of job, the evidence shows increased risk of mental illness and physical illness." (Another article about Amazon unfairly underpaying workers for their security checking time in Germany and in the US.) The sad thing is that eRetailers have to use people to do order picking because the robot machines are not sophisticated enough. If one day the machine can replace the workers, the eRetailers will definitely 'replace' workers by new machines to 'improve the working conditions. Isn't it ironic? The low skilled workers will lose their job then.

Below is a positive report about the complexity of Amazon's distribution center.

Southwest And Airtran's Painful Merge

(11/20/2013) If you were an Airtran's loyal customer, you probably are not happy with its new boss: Southwest Airlines. Since its merger from 2011, these two companies' merger has been painful and frustrating many customers (probably more on Airtran's customers since Southwest will change Airtran's operations into Southwest's style). Wall Street Journal had a good article showing the complexity of process integration between Southwest and Airtran. Overall, the merger and system integration was not as bad as United and Continental if you judge from media exposure. As a Southwest happy customer, I hope one day I can have an easy flight to Cancun or Aruba via Southwest.

McDonald Add 3rd Drive Through Window

(11/16/2013) Do you order at McDonald's drive-through? Do you think the waiting time of McDonald is getting worst? McDonald finally heard your complaint. McDonald announced that they will add a 3rd windows in their drive-through to improve their ailing service. One factor that deteriorated McDonald's service is their expanding menu items. The more items on the menu, the more options customers can choose, the more complex the service has become. With a third window, maybe you don't have to park you car and wait for your food next time when you order at McDonald's drive-through, .

TSA Security Program Is Slightly Better Than Chance

(11/13/2013) The tight and tedious security check in US airports trouble many travelers and airlines (if you think of how people try to avoid air travel). We sometimes justify this process as the necessary 'cost' of having a more secure society. US government spent $1B in a TSA SPOT (Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques ) program for behavior screening. The GAO report shows that this money is not well spent because its results are “the same as or slightly better than chance.” Who is the COO (Chief Operating Officer) of US government? Run some benefit/cost analysis on your programs and eliminate those ineffective expenditure. Don't say the benefit of this spending is "creating jobs!" There are some others GAO should check next: Medicare/Medicaid abuse.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Great Application of Google Glass

(11/13/2013) Google Glass has been in the market for a while and we see videos of goole glass once in a while. NBCNews just had a report about its amazing applications: it helps disabled people to reconnect with the society. Not being disable, I cannot imagine the difficulty of life being a disable. Glad to see how it help the student returning back to the law school. I love what she said "the more I can forget about what I can't do and the more I am focused on what I can do, the less I think of myself as a disable person." So moving!

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Queuing Analysis Simulator

(11/13/2013) I found these two online queuing analysis simulators when I was preparing for my class.  This first one is provided by supositorio.com. It provides only queuing systems with Poisson arrival rate and Exponential distributed service time. (that is M/M/.... system). You can imbed its link of this calculator Queueing Theory Calculator on your webpage:

The second simulator, which is provided by Dr. Jaroslav Sklenar, is more powerful and flexible. It allows you to set different distribution patterns in the arrival rate and service time of the queuing system. You can also configure batch arrival/service or configure an open/closed queuing system. However, you have to really understand the details of your queuing systems and know how to write simple coding for it.

How US Senate Became More Polarized

(11/13/2013) When I saw this news, I wondered "WOW! This is great for data visualization." Unfortunate, it is showing how US Senate has become more polarized and more ineffective when the partisan creeped in their voting behavior. What are our principles? The party ideology?

This Invention Can Change Our Commuting

(11/11/2013) You might be a person who would like to bike to your office if you don't live too far away from work. Not many commuters can handle 20 miles round-trip ride per day without too much hassles (attire, suitcase, change of clothes...). This invention may make your healthy commuting come true. A group of bikers in New York invented a FlyKly wheel that can be attached onto most bikes and make them motorized bikes so commuters can have one less hurdle for their bike-to-work dream. The highest speed of the motorized bike can be 20 miles per hour, and it can go as far as 30 miles on one charge. It is not clear about how much it costs. But I think a good marketing plan can make it a hit product that changes our commuting life.

Blockbusted

(11/6/2013) I love the title Huffington Post gave in this news: Blockbuster will close its remaining 300's retailer stores. It will close its mail DVD distribution business as well. Once the largest DVD rental company, Blockbuster filed bankruptcy in 2010 after the economic downturn in 2008. DISH network (a satellite TV distributor) bought Blockbuster to better compete Netflix, but it seems DISH cannot find a new formula to save this company either. It shows that it is really to undercut yourself (blockbuster) when the enemy (Netflix) is invading in full forces, farewell Blockbuster.

Your Dream House Maybe Better Comes Later

(11/1/2013) Owning your dream house is a recent American dream, which also triggered the housing bubbles mid 2000's. After the biggest recession in 2008, the US employment situation grew very slowly even though the overall recovery is good.  The national average unemployment rate in the US is still around 7.2% now. People call it "jobless recovery." What is the cause of low-job growth in the economic recovery after 2008? One of the reasons maybe the higher house ownership. Based on this study of economics professor Andrew Oswald from Warwick University, the states with higher house ownership is significantly related to their higher unemployment (their research covered some European countries too). The reason: the labor mobility drops because the labor prefers a job near the house. It may sound ironic at first, but it is pretty reasonable. The global economy now just changes so fast. A booming industry in a city may move to another state in 5-10 years. The employees who buy houses during the booming years face a big change in the job market once several business employers move somewhere. Then they are stuck.

Your dream house maybe better comes later.