Knowledge at Wharton

Wal-Mart Target and other companies see radio-frequency identification (RFID) as a technology that will usher in the next revolution in the world of retailing. How real is this revolution? And what does it mean for retailers and customers? Experts at Wharton and elsewhere say that RFID is a potentially powerful technology that is on the brink of having a big impact. Still several hurdles remain that make it hard to predict whether its benefits will be immediate or spread out years into the future.

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The demographics of today’s workforce employee expectations about retirement and the types of retirement options offered are all in a state of flux making retirement policy a moving target for those charged with researching and administering pension plans. That was the message at a recent Wharton conference titled “Reinventing the Retirement Paradigm” co-hosted by Wharton’s The Pension Research Council. Experts from academia government and industry debated what’s ahead for the baby boomers and those coming up behind them.

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It’s no surprise that the front lines of a corporate call center are unusually stressful but companies don’t always account for that when hiring and training workers for this critical customer contact role according to speakers at a recent Call Center Industry Forum sponsored by Wharton’s Financial Institutions Center. Given that an estimated 3% of the U.S. workforce is employed in call centers and that such centers typically experience a 30% annual turnover it’s clear that new approaches to call center management are needed.

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Baby boomers are amassing trillions of dollars in stocks bonds and mutual funds for retirement. But when they quit work and start selling those assets will there be enough buyers? Or will supply outstrip demand driving down prices and leaving the retirees with far less than they had expected? Wharton finance professor Jeremy Siegel addressed these issues during a presentation at Wharton on May 15 in which he also talked about the current financial markets worker productivity and growth in developing countries.

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Networking services – Internet companies that let users share personal profiles as a way to make social and professional contacts – are the hot e-businesses of the moment. Close to two dozen of these online communities are furiously recruiting members who in turn recruit their friends relatives co-workers and just about anyone seeking an introduction to or reference from someone who might matter. But it’s still too early to measure how successful these sites are at matchmaking – or making money.

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Those who have been following the controversy over ”offshoring” U.S. service jobs to low-cost markets like India now have new developments to consider: The takeover this month by U.S. business giants -- IBM and Citigroup -- of two major providers of business process outsourcing (BPO) services in India. These developments seem to validate a new study by consulting firm A.T. Kearney which ranks India as the world’s top location for BPO services followed by China Malaysia and the Czech Republic. Experts from Wharton and A.T. Kearney have lots to say about the latest trends in offshore outsourcing.

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After adapting information technology to develop ever more sophisticated research methods marketers are taking a second look at more human qualitative approaches to tapping into the hearts and minds of consumers. As one Wharton marketing professor says: “We can put each customer’s order on a microchip but as far as having a sense of what’s inside making him tick ” the answers remain elusive. He and others suggest that companies use both quantitative methods – such as data mining – and qualitative methods ranging from “concept banks” to “brand communities” to customer advisory boards always keeping in mind the cost-effectiveness of these varied approaches.

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Wal-Mart’s appearance for the third time in a row at the top of the Fortune 500 list of largest U.S. companies would seem to confirm what many have long suspected: This retailing behemoth is all-powerful and unstoppable. But industry experts and others are beginning to scrutinize some of Wal-Mart’s latest initiatives and its critics point to recent complaints about the company’s labor practices and hardball negotiating tactics. Others warn that Wal-Mart is not invulnerable to the same trends that have forced at least 25 major chain stores to close their doors since 1980.

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Hubris can help a CEO build a business empire and it can also cause its downfall. When business leaders don’t know themselves as well as they should and they are unable to manage their ego and emotions they fail say experts from Wharton and elsewhere. A Wharton conference on self-awareness will explore these themes further next month.

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A Special Report by CNET News.com and Knowledge at Wharton  With the economy rebounding and the technology sector once again focused on new partners products and opportunities the Wharton Technology Conference on Feb. 27 emphasized the future with the theme: “From Survival to Growth: The Emerging Face of Technology.” Panelists and speakers from industry the government and academia discussed entrepreneurship and business innovation new technologies and hot-button issues such as outsourcing and open source software. Knowledge at Wharton and CNET News.com covered several of the panels and keynote speakers. 

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