Knowledge at Wharton

The current downturn has left many companies scrambling to manage workplace issues -- ranging from how to avoid a brain drain to how they can provide better value to customers and clients. Employees for their part face the challenges that arise from working in a leaner organization that demands increased productivity with fewer resources. Knowledge at Wharton talked about these issues with Peter Cappelli director of Wharton’s Center for Human Resources and Philip Miscimarra a partner in the labor and employment practice in the Chicago office of law firm Morgan Lewis & Bockius and managing director of the Center for Human Resources research advisory group.

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If the past month is any indicator acquisitions are not only thawing but heating up. In October Comcast made a bid to merge its operations with NBC Universal to create a cable programming giant. In early November Kraft Foods announced a $16.5 billion bid for U.K.-based chocolate maker Cadbury -- also being sought by confectioners Hershey and Ferrero. The activity spans several sectors including technology with Hewlett Packard’s agreement to purchase 3Com for $2.7 billion and Google’s $750 million acquisition of AdMob. What’s behind this shopping spree and is the trend likely to continue? Knowledge at Wharton spoke with Wharton management professor Larry Hrebiniak and finance professor Pavel Savor about M&A strategy in a post-recession environment.

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Marc Rowan founding partner of Apollo Management one of the world’s largest private equity investment firms makes it sound simple: Stick to the fundamentals -- that is buy a good business at a low price -- and you ultimately will see returns. Of course identifying those businesses is the challenge. Rowan who was in mergers and acquisitions at Drexel Burnham Lambert before starting Apollo spoke with Knowledge at Wharton about how Apollo makes investment decisions the challenges private equity faces in the coming months the recent insider trading scandals and what he looks for in new hires.

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A key question that all would-be entrepreneurs face is finding the business opportunity that is right for them. Should the new startup focus on introducing a new product or service based on an unmet need? Should the venture select an existing product or service from one market and offer it in another where it may not be available? Or should the firm bank on a tried and tested formula that has worked elsewhere such as a franchise operation? In the first of a series of podcasts for the Wharton-CERT Business Plan Competition Raffi Amit a professor of management at Wharton discusses these questions and more with Knowledge at Wharton. In the process he offers insights into how entrepreneurs can identify new business opportunities and evaluate their potential and their risks.

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Microsoft dipped its toe into retail waters this month by opening its first company store as a way to showcase the latest and greatest in PCs Zunes and Xbox consoles. But computer companies aren’t the only manufacturers moving into the retail space says Wharton marketing professor David Bell. Whether it’s handbags from Coach shoes from Nike or suits from Ralph Lauren consumers increasingly have the choice to buy products either at stores operated by manufacturers or from independent retailers. Bell recently co-authored a research paper looking into competition between company stores and independent retailers in the same market.

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James Riady is the CEO of Lippo Group one of Indonesia’s largest conglomerates with annual revenues of some $3 billion. The Group among the most active property developers in Southeast Asia has expanded into China and Hong Kong and plans to invest $10 billion over the next five years in the Asia Pacific region. It also has interests in media telecommunications retail and health care. Fifteen years ago Riady was responsible for the establishment of Universitas Pelita Harapan in Indonesia and he has a strong interest in the social impact of business. During an interview with Knowledge at Wharton Riady explained the lessons he has learned over the years from successes and failures in business and politics.

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In a year when DVD sales are falling and studios are facing major shakeups in their executive ranks the movie industry has at least one success story to cheer about: Netflix. Despite the recession the Los Gatos Calif.-based company continues to thrive and is now in a race to transition to a business model focused on streaming content online while continuing to exploit its current model based on physical DVD distribution. According to Wharton faculty Netflix has managed this balancing act deftly so far but growing competition in digital distribution means that it may not have an advantage for long.

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Last week the Obama administration’s ”pay czar ” Kenneth Feinberg announced that the government will impose caps on compensation for the 25 highest-paid executives at seven companies that received ”exceptional assistance” through the Troubled Asset Relief Program -- including American International Group (AIG) Bank of America Citigroup Chrysler Chrysler Financial General Motors and GMAC. Under the new regulations salaries will be reduced by an average of 90% and total compensation (including bonuses and stock options) will be lowered by 50%. Knowledge at Wharton spoke with Wharton accounting professor Wayne R. Guay and then with finance professor Alex Edmans about what these changes could mean for Wall Street company shareholders and taxpayers.

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Philadelphia-based Comcast the largest cable company in the U.S. has made a bid to merge its operations with NBC Universal -- home to the NBC television network Universal Studios and popular cable channels including Bravo USA CNBC and MSNBC. If the deal goes through it would create a programming giant allowing Comcast to produce and distribute content throughout its cable networks and on web sites such as Hulu which is partially owned by NBC Universal. Steve Ennen managing director of the Wharton Interactive Media Initiative spoke with Wharton marketing professor Pete Fader and Ken Shropshire professor of legal studies and business ethics about what the deal could mean for content distribution and for consumers.

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