461 Posts found for Source: Knowledge@Wharton

Peter Cappelli, director of Wharton’s Center for Human Resources, began his research into employer-paid tuition programs with some skepticism. Why, he wondered, would employers pay for workers to develop a credential (education degree) that is useful to other employers and will raise the workers’ marketability? Furthermore, if the employer’s goal is to give workers skills for their current job, why not just offer training in-house? … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Peter Cappelli | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subject: Human Resources

Until recent times marketing was perhaps the only corporate department that did not use metrics that were meaningful to bottom-line-oriented CEOs and CFOs. But that indifference to metrics is becoming a thing of the past. Marketing executives are paying more attention than ever to ways in which they can measure the impact of marketing initiatives on their companies’ financial performance. Developing appropriate metrics to capture … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subject: Marketing / Sales

In the aftermath of September 11’s terrorist atrocities, it will surprise few people to learn that operational risk has been a hot topic of debate among financial institutions and regulators. Unlike risks of borrowers defaulting on debt or markets collapsing, operational risk management deals with internal system failures (such as a rogue trader) or external events (such as terrorist attacks). A conference organized by Wharton’s … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Finance, Industry Specific | Industry: Finance / Banking

Half my advertising is wasted. I just don’t know which half.

Content: Quotation | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Advertising, Marketing / Sales

Consider this scenario: You establish a website and advertise products on it. When customers send in orders, you forward them to your wholesaler or distributor, who ships the orders directly to customers’ homes with your company’s label on them. You completely avoid the enormous costs and risks involved in inventory, warehousing, and fulfillment. Too good to be true? That depends, says a new paper by … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Industry Specific, Operations | Industry: Retail

When Enron collapsed last year amidst allegations of misleading financial statements, it joined a long list of companies that had originally been given clean bills of health by auditors and analysts, only to have that information later discredited. Yet according to analyst and author Howard Schilit, businesses were, in fact, broadcasting their misdeeds long before corporate watchdogs caught on. The problem is that nobody was … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Accounting, Finance

When Dennis Kozlowski resigned on June 3 as chief executive of Tyco International – shortly before he would have been removed by the board – it raised questions about the future of top executives around him. Assuming they supported, or at least knew about, the strategies of their former boss, should they be ousted as well, or would the loss of institutional knowledge and expertise … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subject: Corporate Governance

Despite recent tariffs imposed by the United States on steel, barriers to international trade in general continue to fall, enabling U.S. importers, among others, to expand their use of low-cost overseas suppliers. But even though Wharton experts characterize today’s global economy as deeper and broader than others in recent history, a GE Capital Trade Finance business leader says that some daunting obstacles remain … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Sources: GE Capital, Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Finance, International | Industry: International Trade

Today’s CFOs face a unique set of challenges – meeting long-term capital growth needs against the backdrop of a weakened economy in an environment where rapid technological developments can render capital investments obsolete within a few years. As financial institutions continue to tighten lending policies and as corporate boards ponder ways to get the best return on assets (ROA), some businesses have slashed their capital … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Sources: GE Capital, Knowledge@Wharton | Subject: Finance

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Now that an underperforming stock market and the excesses of Enron have focused new attention on the use and abuse of stock options as a way to incentivize senior managers, what changes, if any, should companies make in their design of compensation packages? The answer depends on each company’s philosophy and goals, but Wharton faculty and others suggest guidelines to help define the appropriate combination … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Corporate Governance, Finance

Ever since the Internet emerged as a sales channel in the 1990s, it has been thought that one of the chief advantages of e-commerce would be its ability to facilitate the customization of goods and services for consumers. That promise, however, is not yet close to being realized, according to experts at Wharton and an e-commerce research firm.

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: IT / Technology / E-Business, Operations

With the collapse of Enron, lawmakers, regulators, financial advisors and working people are taking a hard look at 401(k) plans, which employees in many U.S. companies use to save for retirement. In a recent study entitled “Defined Contribution Pensions: Plan Rules, Participant Choices, and the Path of Least Resistance,” Wharton finance professor Andrew Metrick and three co-authors analyze the impact of a plan’s design on … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subject: Human Resources

During the economic downturn that most of corporate America experienced in 2001, the following companies had something in common: Intel, Texas Instruments, Cirrus Logic and Hunt Wesson. What tied them together was their decision last year to go from a direct (in-house) sales force to a contract, or outside, sales agency for some or all of their major product lines. Marketing professors Erin Anderson at … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Best Practices, Marketing / Sales

The euro, according to international finance experts at Wharton, is doing well. Completing the final stage of its three-year launch on January 1, the euro could, in fact, become an alternative to the dollar as a global reserve currency, or even provide a place of refuge if mounting U.S. debt leads to a weaker dollar. A lot depends on the U.S. economy.

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Economics, Finance

If ever the Broadway show tune “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina” had poignancy, now is the time. The fact is, a lot of people are crying over Argentina, including the country’s bankers, government leaders and middle class, not to mention outside investors. Knowledge@Wharton looks at what went wrong with the Argentine economy and whether a recovery is on the horizon.

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Economics, International – Americas

Anyone with a Starbucks “stored value” card knows how easy it is these days to pay for his or her café latte. But the stored value card – like its higher-tech cousin the smart card, where value is stored on the card’s computer chip rather than on a server – is just one of the emerging technologies now gaining momentum while paper check usage is … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Finance, Industry Specific | Industry: Finance / Banking

Securities markets worldwide have been on a roller-coaster ride after the bursting of the dot-com bubble and Enron’s meltdown. Moreover, technology and globalization are breaking down old market structures and creating new virtual ones. How will investors and regulators deal with these challenges? Wharton’s Financial Institutions Center and the Brookings Institution organized a conference last week in Washington D.C. on “The Future of Securities Markets” … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Economics, Finance | Industry: Investment Banking

The Securities and Exchange Commission is concerned with the growing practice of issuing “pro forma” earnings reports that tend to paint a rosy picture of company results.

Pro forma, which means “as if”, has in recent years evolved into “a sophisticated term for lying about your results,” says Wharton accounting professor emeritus Peter H. Knutson. He compares companies that abuse pro forma statements to the husband … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Accounting, Finance

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