Peru bound....

This will be my last post for a few weeks as I leave on Tuesday for Lima, Peru (!!). I was invited to present at a librarians' conference at the ICPNA-Instituto Cultural Peruano Norteamericano. I'll be speaking on "Google y Web 2.0 en la Biblioteca" and also giving 2 workshops on advanced Google tools in the library.

After the conference I will take some vacation time to see Cusco and Machu Picchu..... (not enough exclamation marks and symbols for that!*!)

Back at USFSP on Tuesday, June 10.....

Corporate Social Responsibility report from Starbucks

According to ReportAlert.info, Starbucks has just published its seventh annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report, available online at: http://www.reportalert.info/ra/profiles/Starbucks/2008/?ID=21424

You can see all recent CSR report announcements at http://www.ReportAlert.info

"no inflation" hoax...

Political and economic commentator Kevin Phillips writes about "Washington's Great 'No Inflation' Hoax" in the Huffington Post (May 8, 2008). According to Phillips, the CPI (Consumer Price Index) has been distorted to underestimate and misrepresent inflation -- disguising weak (at best) U.S. economic growth and shortchanging individuals who depend on cost-of-living increases. And the "three big gainers from understatement of U.S. inflation: the federal government, wage-paying businesses and the institutions and markets of the swollen U.S. financial sector." Phillips estimates inflation at 6-9 percent versus the official government rate of 2-3 percent.

See also an earlier, related article "The Destructive Rise of Big Finance" (Huffington Post, March 31, 2008).
.... sobering ....

Socioeconomics of Coffee - a Standford business students' perspective

Stanford MBA students travelled to Guatemala in December 2007 to explore the socioeconomics of coffee farming and fair trade practices:

"So, what kind of coffee should you buy? Fair trade? Organic? Starbucks? We hoped to figure this out ... as we took a look at coffee farming and supply chains in Guatemala... Ten days, six coffee farms, erratic showers, four blackouts, and one earthquake later, we’re still not sure. But the trip was a rich experience, one that raised questions far beyond coffee. Some of us are still puzzled as to where we should buy our morning cup. But we’re also thinking about corporate social responsibility, agriculture, education, and the challenges that the small farmers we met are facing every day."

(Stanford Business Magazine, May 2008, feature story)

IT development and Millennials

Millennials are said to be redefining software application development ("The Move to Mashups: How the Millennials are Redefining Software Development", Knowledge@W.P. Carey, May 7, 2008). Old style IT development was a long, slow process creating enormous, multi-functional systems and a backlog of simple applications. Mash-ups are said to characterize the newer model for IT development - the long tail of IT development where simple applications are created quickly, collaboratively and as needed.

microfinancing and doing good...

Worldstock, a division of Overstock.com, sells merchandise purchased from cooperatives in developing countries. Banco Compartamos in Mexico began as a non-profit microlending organization and is now a for-profit institution. These two cases are profiled in a recent article in Knowledge@Wharton in answer to the question: "Can a company make money from the work of impoverished people in the developing world without taking advantage of them?"

Another recent article in India Knowledge@Wharton offers an interview with Vikram Akula, CEO and founder of SKS Microfinance, India's fastest growing microfinance institution. SKS is a for-profit institution with venture capital backing and a focus on technology, including a pilot project with mobile telephone transactions.

Virtual worlds and real life...

Researchers at the Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University have found that behaviors learned online in virtual worlds such as Second Life can be carried over into real life, at least in the short term (How Second Life Affects Real Life, May 12, 2008 issue of Time online). Research subjects given attractive avatars were more likely to exhibit friendliness and extroversion online in a virtual world, and also in real world tests shortly afterward. Similarly, tall avatar subjects were more self-confident and aggressive in negotiations than short avatar subjects both online and offline. The possibilities for affecting behavior, good and bad, are said to be "endless"....

Google the growth company

Where does Google go next? (Fortune, CNNmoney.com, May 12, 1960) looks at the ventures of former Google employees, Google diversification into services beyond search, and the process versus innovation struggle of a large fast growth company. Marc Benioff, a Google partner, summarized the Google diversification challenge as follows: "What they need to do is build a full portfolio of revenue, as Microsoft has ....They have a fantastic cash cow. They need a goat and a chicken."

Throw-away furniture...

"Biodegradable home product lines, ready to rot" (NY Times, 8May08) looks at textiles, home furnishings, and even furniture that is being produced and marketed as not just environmentally friendly but biodegradable, completely disposable. .... I couldn't help but think of my mom's paper dress that she sported back in 1968 or so -- very fashionable -- and also a throw-away trend that was thrown away...

Business students as consultants

The practice of seeking out college business students as consultants is reportedly growing. This NY Times article looks at a class at Stetson University (Deland, FL) that provided consulting for Complete Parachute Solutions and a class at Babson College (Ipswich, MA) that has provided consulting services for a specialty salt business, Earthwatch Institute, and Habitat for Humanity, among other organizations.

Federal government jobs

From an article in today's Washington Post, "Across the government, about a third of full-time employees will retire in the next five years, according to estimates prepared by the Office of Personnel Management." Recruiting efforts are being stepped up in response.

So, if you're nearing graduation and considering career options, the federal government might be a place to look...

financial crisis and reforms...

In a recent column (Success Breeds Failure), economist Paul Krugman at the NY Times believes that the financial crisis may be nearing an end but, unfortunately, the Federal Reserve may now back down from some needed reforms in the financial markets. The next financial crisis could then be even worse...

Facebook for recuriting, job-hunting...

Another NY Times article, this one on the use of social networking sites such as Facebook for recruiting and job-hunting. Jobster and now CareerBuilder.com both have applications on Facebook for companies to find candidates. MySpace has always been popular for music industry networking. LinkedIn is still preferred by some recruiters for professional networking.

Entrepreneurship courses in college

A Classroom Path to Entrepreneurship in today's NY Times -- talks about growing trend, offering entrepreneurship courses in business schools. Includes a focus on one successful business, Nanina’s Gourmet Sauce, that grew from a course at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J.