The outsourcing of US Olympic team uniforms by Ralph Lauren to China seems to cause a great deal of angst among US politicians as you can see in the Wall Street Journal video alongside. The reality is that if you checked out any clothing or home furnishing at the apparel section of Walmart, JCPenney orContinue reading “US Textile Industry and the outsourcing of US Olympic team uniforms by Ralph Lauren”
Category Archives: Corporate Social Responsibility
GlaxoSmithKline 3B$ fine – balancing innovation and ethical marketing
GlaxoSmithKline is to pay a 3B$ fine, the largest ever for healthcare fraud in the US. In the past, numerous big pharma companies including Abbott, Pfizer have been fined and this is something the industry seems accustomed to. It’s important to understand why pharma marketing becomes unethical, if the unethical sales practices are to stopContinue reading “GlaxoSmithKline 3B$ fine – balancing innovation and ethical marketing”
Credit Cards: What do people complain about ?
The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has put out the complaints that it has received about credit card companies since June 1. Banks are naturally unhappy. But they should not be because instead of a "buzz" in forums, Facebook here are actual complaints that give huge insight as to what annoys folks the most.Continue reading “Credit Cards: What do people complain about ?”
Mayors Innovation Challenge for US cities from NYC Mayor Bloomberg
The Mayor's Challenge for US cities from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is a great idea. The rationale for the Mayors Challenge is explained in the video alongside and details of the competition are available at the Bloomberg Philanthropies website. Mayor Bloomberg is personally funding the effort and it is available to all citiesContinue reading “Mayors Innovation Challenge for US cities from NYC Mayor Bloomberg”
Innovation and creativity: comes from engaged and caring employees
Numerous organizations in a variety of cultures keep pointing at one critical enabler of innovation. Engaged and caring employees who care for each other, their customers, suppliers and stake holders. For only those who care,care to really listen. And that converts ideas into products and services- that can be profitably implemented. Employee engagement is hardContinue reading “Innovation and creativity: comes from engaged and caring employees”
Innovation is always in context of customers,stakeholders and society
If we think of innovation, invariably we think of radical innovations like the iPhone or Facebook. By doing so, individuals succeed in just beating up themselves and their organizations – and for no reason. Consider that after the iPhone or Facebook started taking off entire industries (eg. smartphone for iPhone) and social media (eg. LinkedInContinue reading “Innovation is always in context of customers,stakeholders and society”
US Healthcare: 5% people account for 50% of the cost: the Camden experiment
You have heard of the 80:20 or Pareto principle, but the 5:50 with US healthcare costs is just amazing. And guess what – all those in that bottom of pyramid 5% who go innumerable times to the Hospital Emergency Rooms (ER) and rack up what becomes 50% of the cost- are rather unhappy with USContinue reading “US Healthcare: 5% people account for 50% of the cost: the Camden experiment”
Apple: when US customers demand better treatment of Chinese workers in the global supply chain
The Nike child labor controversy surfaced in a 1996 Life magazine story and consumer outrage prompted big changes in the way Nike manages its global supply chain and all this took some time. In contrast, the New York Times story on labor practices at the Chinese supplier factories of Apple of just two weeks agoContinue reading “Apple: when US customers demand better treatment of Chinese workers in the global supply chain”
WEF Davos : Capitalism and Democracy try to find balance through CSR
This year (2012) there seems to be a marked and discernible change in this gathering’s tone and tenor. Leaders of both Governments and Businesses seem to realize that becoming richer and richer is probably not enough. This realization as capitalism,democracy and affluence rises worldwide , 1 billion more global middle class by 2020 according to Muhtar Kent of Coca Cola ( see accompanying video). Here is some interesting stuff to think about from happenings at Davos in 2012:
Project starts and signoffs: lessons from the Costa Concordia cruise tragedy
The Costa Concordia Cruise tragedy is horrendous. That the captain might have wanted to please the head waiter , who comes from Giglio, by going too near the shore is inexplicable. Particularly for the hapless passengers on the cruise. It's one thing, if you are on a small boat alone, its entirely different if thereContinue reading “Project starts and signoffs: lessons from the Costa Concordia cruise tragedy”