U.O.ME.

Okay, so, remember the I.O.U.S.A. movie that I was suppose to see? Well, here is how that story goes. I was mucho excited to attend the following event:

Aug 21, 2008

Warren Buffett, Pete Peterson & Dave Walker in Exclusive One Night Event

Fathom and Roadside Attractions present I.O.U.S.A.: Live with Warren Buffett, Pete Peterson & Dave Walker in an exclusive one night event in select movie theatres nationwide. This event will include the critically-acclaimed documentary, I.O.U.S.A., and a LIVE discussion about America’s economic crisis and what we can do to change course.

The live discussion with America’s most notable financial leaders and policy experts, including Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway; William Niskanen, chairman of the CATO Institute; Bill Novelli, CEO of AARP; Pete Peterson, senior chairman of The Blackstone Group and chairman of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation; and Dave Walker, president & CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and former U.S. Comptroller General, promises riveting dialogue and keen insight into the crisis we currently face.

Okay, from the second paragraph, you can see why I would like to see this showing – pretty impressive line-up, yes?

But, alas, it was not meant to be. I bought my tickets, I drove to Branford (the closest theater), I spent $20 on popcorn and sweet drink and sat in a dark, smelly theater seat with 100 of my closest economics loving geeks. I sat there for an hour before throwing in the towel at 8:30 p.m. because the theater was having difficulties receiving the satellite feed.

Sad I was. Elated, was my husband who was dragged along under the obligation of  a defualt marriage vow (the one that says thou must attend events of interest to your spouse, despite the fact said event makes you want to hurt yourself).

And because I did not want to be left out in the cold on this hot venue, I purchased my tickets via a 3rd party ticket vendor and paid a $4.00 service fee that was not refunded due to the movie malfunction. Argghh!!!

Macroeconomic Definition of the Day: Wage Price Spiral

What is a wage price spiral? I like this snippet I took  from a larger entry in BusinessDictionary.com. A wage price spiral (also referred to as a inflationary spiral), in layman’s terms, is when the “high cost of living prompts demands for higher wages which push production costs up forcing firms to increase prices, which in turn trigger calls for fresh wage increases … and so on.”

Is a wage price spiral imminent? Well as many a business student has heard in class, “it depends.” A recent on-line posting for Fortune has the Federal Reserve betting against it citing that the weak labor market will quash employee demands for wage increases.

Further Reading - IMF Working Paper: The Wage-Price Spiral: Industry Country Evidence and Implications

I thought this was an interesting read. Magda Kandil in this paper discusses “the dynamics of nominal wage and price adjustments in the face of aggregate demand shocks” and how “conditions in labor and product markets of various economies” effects those dynamics . I found this working paper on a resource I visit often, the SSRN (Social Science Research Network) Electronic Library. Check it out!

Is the U.S. on the brink of an economic disaster of epic proportions?

A forth  coming documentary I.O.U.S.A by the husband and wife team Patrick Creadon and Christine O’Malley says we’re headed that way. A little scary, yes? But hey, scary sells tickets.

They have an impressive line up of names as featured interview subjects. Among them: Warren Buffet, Alan Greenspan, and David Walker. Usually when these people speak, people tend to listen. I  think I will give it a gander. The sneak peek trailer definitely peaked my interest. I’ll let you know what I thought.

Ethics & Competitive Intelligence

Time and time again over the last few years we keep hearing about the questionable ethics involved in competitive intelligence efforts. From the things I’ve read, one would think that ethics may even be a detriment to a successful intelligence gathering venture. But let’s face it, lies, spies, and deceit sells stories, while high standards and integrity does not.

Is unethical so bad, if it is not illegal? Where is the line? Would you cross it?

An honesty question. What would you do, if you found yourself in possession of product launch plans, prices and margins  for your biggest competitor’s future product line – and they had no idea you had this information? This is the exact scenario that is given in the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth’s case study “The Ethics of Competitive Intelligence.”

It is a quick and interesting read. This case will lead to a lot of discussion on a corporation’s responsibility when representative actions violate internal policies and principles.

Great New Books at the Library!

Here is a sampling of new books recently added to the Ryan-Matura Library’s collection. Click the title for availability information.

 

Bucholz, T. (2007). New Ideas from Dead CEOs: lasting lessons from the corner office. New York: Collins.

 

MacDonald, K. (2007). One Red Paperclip: or how an ordinary man achieved his dreams with the help of a simple office supply. New York: Three Rivers Press.

 

 

Gloor, P. (2007). Coolhunting: chasing down the next best thing. New York: AMACOM.

 

 

 

 Parker, M. (2008). Who Said So? : the questions revolutionary businesses ask that make them successful. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.

 

 

 Lane, B. (2008). Jacked up: the inside story of how Jack Welch talked GE into becoming the world’s greatest company. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Hello world!

This is the official first post of the SHU BizBlog. The intent of this blog is to spotlight library, research and information resources that will contribute to the learning of the students in the Welch College of Business and the greater Sacred Heart University community. Glad to meet ya! – Rachel Walker, Business Librarian