...Chapter 1 Case Study: Harmonix Embrace Your Inner Rock Star Little more than three years ago, you had probably never heard of Harmonix. In 2005, the video game design studio released Guitar Hero, which subsequently became the fastest video game in history to top $1 billion in North American sales. The game concept focuses around a plastic guitar-shaped controller. Players press colored buttons along the guitar neck to match a series of dots that scroll down the TV in time with music from a famous rock tune, such as the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated” and Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water.” Players score points based on their accuracy. In November 2007, Harmonix released Rock Band, adding drums, vocals, and bass guitar options to the game. Rock Band has sold over 3.5 million units with a $169 price tag (most video games retail at $50 to $60). In 2006, Harmonix’s founders sold the company to Viacom for $175 million, maintaining their operational autonomy while providing them greater budgets for product development and licensing music for their games. Harmonix’s success, however, did not come overnight. The company was originally founded by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy in 1995, focused around some demo software they had created in grad school and a company vision of providing a way for people without much musical training or talent to experience the joy of playing and creating music. The founders believed that if people had the opportunity to create their own music, they would jump...
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...Chapter 1 Case Study: Harmonix Embrace Your Inner Rock Star Little more than three years ago, you had probably never heard of Harmonix. In 2005, the video game design studio released Guitar Hero, which subsequently became the fastest video game in history to top $1 billion in North American sales. The game concept focuses around a plastic guitar-shaped controller. Players press colored buttons along the guitar neck to match a series of dots that scroll down the TV in time with music from a famous rock tune, such as the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated” and Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water.” Players score points based on their accuracy. In November 2007, Harmonix released Rock Band, adding drums, vocals, and bass guitar options to the game. Rock Band has sold over 3.5 million units with a $169 price tag (most video games retail at $50 to $60). In 2006, Harmonix’s founders sold the company to Viacom for $175 million, maintaining their operational autonomy while providing them greater budgets for product development and licensing music for their games. Harmonix’s success, however, did not come overnight. The company was originally founded by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy in 1995, focused around some demo software they had created in grad school and a company vision of providing a way for people without much musical training or talent to experience the joy of playing and creating music. The founders believed that if people had the opportunity to create their own music, they would jump...
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...1 The Value of Synergy Aswath Damodaran Stern School of Business October 2005 2 The Value of Synergy Many acquisitions and some large strategic investments are often justified with the argument that they will create synergy. In this paper, we consider the various sources of synergy and categorize them into operating and financial synergies. We then examine how best to value synergy in any investment and how sensitive this value is to different assumptions. We also look at how this synergy value should be divided between the parties (or companies) involved in the investment. We conclude with an empirical examination of how much synergy is actually created in corporate mergers, and how much is paid. Synergy, we conclude, is so seldom delivered in acquisitions because it is incorrectly valued, inadequately planned for and much more difficult to create in practice than it is to compute on paper. 3 When Carly Fiorina argued for Hewlett-Packard’s acquisition of Compaq, she offered a number of of reasons the deal made sense. She noted that the combined company would be able to meet the demands of customers for “solutions capability on a truly global basis.” She also claimed that the firm would be able to lead with its products “from top to bottom, from low end to high end.” As her crowning argument, she claimed that the merger made sense because it would create “synergies that are compelling.” Synergy, the increase in value that is generated by combining two entities...
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...The media’s watching Vault! Here’s a sampling of our coverage. “For those hoping to climb the ladder of success, [Vault's] insights are priceless.” – Money magazine “The best place on the web to prepare for a job search.” – Fortune “[Vault guides] make for excellent starting points for job hunters and should be purchased by academic libraries for their career sections [and] university career centers.” – Library Journal “The granddaddy of worker sites.” – US News and World Report “A killer app.” – New York Times One of Forbes' 33 “Favorite Sites” – Forbes “To get the unvarnished scoop, check out Vault.” – Smart Money Magazine “Vault has a wealth of information about major employers and jobsearching strategies as well as comments from workers about their experiences at specific companies.” – The Washington Post “A key reference for those who want to know what it takes to get hired by a law firm and what to expect once they get there.” – New York Law Journal “Vault [provides] the skinny on working conditions at all kinds of companies from current and former employees.” – USA Today VAULT GUIDE TO RESUMES, COVER LETTERS & INTERVIEWS © 2003 Vault Inc. VAULT GUIDE TO RESUMES, COVER LETTERS & INTERVIEWS HOWARD LEIFMAN, PhD, MARCY LERNER AND THE STAFF OF VAULT © 2003 Vault Inc. Copyright © 2003 by Vault Inc. All rights reserved. All information in this book is subject to change without notice. Vault makes no claims as to the accuracy and reliability...
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...CAREERS IN MARKETING ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ INDUSTRY TRENDS AND RANKINGS POSITIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES WORKPLACE CULTURE AND COMPENSATION THE RECRUITING PROCESS ★ INSIdER SCoop: FRoNT-LINE REpoRTS ★ GuIde Careers in Marketing 2008 EDITION InsIder Careers in Marketing WETFEET, INc. The Folger Building 101 Howard Street Suite 300 San Francisco, CA 94105 Phone: (415) 284-7900 or 1-800-926-4JOB Fax: (415) 284-7910 Website: www.wetfeet.com carEErs IN markETINg 2008 Edition ISBN: 978-1-58207-759-8 PhOTOcOPyINg Is PrOhIbITED Copyright 2008 WetFeet, Inc. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. No copying in any form is permitted. It may not be reproduced, distributed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, in part or in whole, without the express written permission of WetFeet, Inc. The publisher, author, and any other party involved in creation, production, delivery, or sale of this WetFeet Insider Guide make no warranty, express or implied, about the accuracy or reliability of the information found herein. To the degree you use this guide or other materials referenced herein, you do so at your own risk. The materials contained herein are general in nature and may not apply to particular factual or legal circumstances. Under no circumstances shall the publisher, author, or any other party involved in creation, production or delivery of this guide be liable to...
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...Praise for 8 Secrets of the Truly Rich “In this his latest book, Bo Sanchez preaches on wealth. He shows that as in all good things, the true value of wealth lies not in possessing it but in giving it away.” + Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales Archbishop of Manila “Bo Sanchez has done it again! This book is an excellent combination of personal experiences, well-researched investment information and sound spiritual guidance for all of us.” — Jose Concepcion, Jr. Chairman of the Board RFM Corporation “Bo says, ‘Money isn’t the most important thing in the world. But money affects every important thing in the world.’ Statements like these make Bo’s book — every chapter of it — very tempting to read. Catchy.” + Angel N. Lagdameo Archbishop of Jaro, Iloilo President, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines “Bo Sanchez demolishes the myths that equate wealth with materialism, and having money with being rich.” — Gerry Ablaza CEO, Globe Telecoms “Bo Sanchez’s 8 Secrets of the Truly Rich balances our views concerning material wealth. It helps us appreciate God’s gifts as a means to multiply goodness in the world.” + Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal Archbishop of Cebu “Bo’s book inspires us to work hard and aim high to be wealthy in the true sense of the word. Bo shows the way! A good read!” — Socorro C. Ramos Founder and General Manager, National Bookstore For Bo’s Truly Rich Newsletters, log onto www.iamtrulyrich.com ISBN 978-971-93671-2-3 What the Rich Know that the Poor Don’t Know ...
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...Case Study Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme: Reliable Returns from a Trustworthy Financial Adviser By Denis Collins Denis Collins is a professor of management in the School of Business at Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin. His research interests include business ethics, management, and organizational change. Contact: dcollins@ edgewood.edu A [person] is incapable of comprehending any argument that interferes with his revenue. Rene Descartes Overview This case study is a chronology of the largest Ponzi scheme in history. Bernie Madoff began his brokerage firm in 1960 and grew it into one of the largest on Wall Street. While doing so, he began investing money as a favor to family and friends, though he was not licensed to do so. Over a period of fifty years, these side investments became an investment fund that mushroomed into a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Bernie1 pled guilty without a trial on March 12, 2009, and was sentenced to 150 years in prison. Thousands of wealthy clients, philanthropic organizations, and middle-class people whose pension funds found their way into Bernie’s investment fund lost their life savings. What to Do? Bernie Madoff, at age 69, owned three very successful financial companies—a brokerage firm, a proprietary trading firm, and an investment advisory firm. On December 10, 2008, the brokerage and proprietary trading firms, managed by his brother and two sons, were performing as well as could be expected in the middle of a deep recession. His investment...
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...S T R A T E G Y – II S T R A T E G Y – II S T R A T E G Y – II S T R A T E G Y – II S T R A T E G Y – II www.ibscdc.org 1 Transformation Corporate Transformation Korean Air: Chairman/CEO Yang-Ho Cho’s Radical Transformation A series of fatal accidents, coupled with operational inefficiencies snowballed Korean Air into troubled times. Then, at the beginning of the 21st century, its CEO/ Chairman, Yang-Ho Cho undertook various transformation initiatives - for instance, improving service quality and safety standards, technology integration, upgrading pilot training, better business focus; putting in place a professional management team, improving corporate image through sponsorship marketing, etc. He gave a new corporate direction in the form of '10,10,10' goal. However, Korean Air is held up by a slew of challenges. Among which are inefficiencies of - Chaebol system of management, possible clash of its cargo business with its own shipping company, limited focus on the domestic market and growing competition from LCCs. How would Korean Air manage growth as a family-owned conglomerate? The case offers enriching scope for analysing a family business’s turnaround strategies, with all the legacy costs involved. Pedagogical Objectives • To discuss the (operational) dynamics of Korean Chaebols - their influence/ effects on the country’s industrial sector and the economy as a whole • To analyse how family-owned businesses manage the transition phase - from a supplier-driven...
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...MARKETING 7E People real Choices This page intentionally left blank MARKETING 7E People real Choices Michael R. SAINT JOSEPH S SOLOMON ’ U OLLINS NIVERSITY Greg W. MARSHALL R C OLLEGE Elnora W. THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA UPSTATE STUART Prentice Hall Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montreal Toronto Delhi Mexico City Sao Paulo Sydney Hong Kong Seoul Singapore Taipei Tokyo Editorial Director: Sally Yagan Editor in Chief: Eric Svendsen Acquisitions Editor: Melissa Sabella Director of Editorial Services: Ashley Santora Editorial Project Manager: Kierra Bloom Editorial Assistant: Elisabeth Scarpa Director of Marketing: Patrice Lumumba Jones Senior Marketing Manager: Anne Fahlgren Marketing Assistant: Melinda Jensen Senior Managing Editor: Judy Leale Project Manager: Becca Richter Senior Operations Supervisor: Arnold Vila Creative Director: Jon Christiana Senior Art Director: Blair Brown Text and Cover Designer: Blair Brown Media Project Manager, Production: Lisa Rinaldi Media Project Manager, Editorial: Denise Vaughn Full-Service Project Management: S4Carlisle Publishing Services Composition: S4Carlisle Publishing Services Printer/Bindery: Courier/Kendalville Cover Printer: Courier/Kendalville Text Font: Palatino Credits and acknowledgments borrowed from other sources and reproduced, with permission, in this textbook appear on appropriate page within text. Microsoft®...
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...Mergers, Acquisitions and Corporate Restructuring II MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS AND CORPORATE RESTRUCTURING Mergers, Acquisitions and Corporate Restructuring Edited by Chandrashekar Krishnamurti Vishwanath S.R. Copyright © Chandrashekar Krishnamurti and Vishwanath S.R., 2008 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. First published in 2008 by Response Books Business Books from SAGE B1/I-1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area Mathura Road, New Delhi 110 044, India SAGE Publications Inc 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320, USA SAGE Publications Ltd 1 Oliver’s Yard, 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP, United Kingdom SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd 33 Pekin Street #02-01 Far East Square Singapore 048763 Published by Vivek Mehra for Response Books, typeset in 9.5/13 pt Berthold Baskerville by Star Compugraphics Private Limited, Delhi and printed at Chaman Enterprises, New Delhi. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructuring/edited by Chandrashekar Krishnamurti, Vishwanath S.R. p. cm. Includes references and index. 1. Consolidation and merger of corporations. Corporate reorganizations. I. Vishwanath, S.R., 1971– II. Krishnamurti, Chandrashekar, 1956– HG4028.M4 .M44 658.1/6 22 2008...
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...c MARKETING 7E People real Choices This page intentionally left blank MARKETING 7E People real Choices Michael R. SAINT JOSEPH S SOLOMON ’ U OLLINS NIVERSITY Greg W. MARSHALL R C STUART OLLEGE Elnora W. THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA UPSTATE Prentice Hall Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montreal Toronto Delhi Mexico City Sao Paulo Sydney Hong Kong Seoul Singapore Taipei Tokyo Editorial Director: Sally Yagan Editor in Chief: Eric Svendsen Acquisitions Editor: Melissa Sabella Director of Editorial Services: Ashley Santora Editorial Project Manager: Kierra Bloom Editorial Assistant: Elisabeth Scarpa Director of Marketing: Patrice Lumumba Jones Senior Marketing Manager: Anne Fahlgren Marketing Assistant: Melinda Jensen Senior Managing Editor: Judy Leale Project Manager: Becca Richter Senior Operations Supervisor: Arnold Vila Creative Director: Jon Christiana Senior Art Director: Blair Brown Text and Cover Designer: Blair Brown Media Project Manager, Production: Lisa Rinaldi Media Project Manager, Editorial: Denise Vaughn Full-Service Project Management: S4Carlisle Publishing Services Composition: S4Carlisle Publishing Services Printer/Bindery: Courier/Kendalville Cover Printer: Courier/Kendalville Text Font: Palatino Credits and acknowledgments borrowed from other sources and reproduced, with permission, in this textbook...
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...MARKETING 7E People real Choices This page intentionally left blank MARKETING 7E People real Choices Michael R. SAINT JOSEPH S SOLOMON ’ U OLLINS NIVERSITY Greg W. MARSHALL R C OLLEGE Elnora W. THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA UPSTATE STUART Prentice Hall Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montreal Toronto Delhi Mexico City Sao Paulo Sydney Hong Kong Seoul Singapore Taipei Tokyo Editorial Director: Sally Yagan Editor in Chief: Eric Svendsen Acquisitions Editor: Melissa Sabella Director of Editorial Services: Ashley Santora Editorial Project Manager: Kierra Bloom Editorial Assistant: Elisabeth Scarpa Director of Marketing: Patrice Lumumba Jones Senior Marketing Manager: Anne Fahlgren Marketing Assistant: Melinda Jensen Senior Managing Editor: Judy Leale Project Manager: Becca Richter Senior Operations Supervisor: Arnold Vila Creative Director: Jon Christiana Senior Art Director: Blair Brown Text and Cover Designer: Blair Brown Media Project Manager, Production: Lisa Rinaldi Media Project Manager, Editorial: Denise Vaughn Full-Service Project Management: S4Carlisle Publishing Services Composition: S4Carlisle Publishing Services Printer/Bindery: Courier/Kendalville Cover Printer: Courier/Kendalville Text Font: Palatino Credits and acknowledgments borrowed from other sources and reproduced, with permission, in this textbook appear on appropriate page within text. Microsoft®...
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...file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/Administrator/Deskto...0BILL%20-%20BUSINESS%20AT%20THE%20SPEED%20OF%20THOUGHT.TXT BUSINESS AT THE SPEED OF THOUGHT by bill Gates ALSO By BILL GATES The Road Ahead BUSINESS AT THE SPEED OF THOUGHT: USING A DIGITAL NERVOUS SYSTEM BILL GATES WITH COLLINs HEMINGWAY 0 VMNER BOOKS A Time Warner Company To my wife, Melinda, and my daughter, Jennifer Many of the product names referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Copyright (D 1999 by William H. Gates, III All rights reserved. Warner Books, Inc, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020 Visit our Web site at www.warnerbooks.com 0 A Time Warner Company Printed in the United States of America First Printing: March 1999 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN: 0-446-52568-5 LC: 99-60040 Text design by Stanley S. Drate lFolio Graphics Co Inc Except as file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/Admini...SINESS%20AT%20THE%20SPEED%20OF%20THOUGHT.TXT (1 of 392)12/28/2005 5:28:51 PM file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/Administrator/Deskto...0BILL%20-%20BUSINESS%20AT%20THE%20SPEED%20OF%20THOUGHT.TXT indicated, artwork is by Gary Carter, Mary Feil-jacobs, Kevin Feldhausen, Michael Moore, and Steve Winard. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I first want to thank my collaborator, Collins Hemingway, for his help in synthesizing and developing the material in this book and for his overall management of this project. I want to thank four CEOs who read a late draft of the manuscript and...
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...1 of 83 file:///D:/000004/Buy__ology.html 08/08/2009 10:45 2 of 83 file:///D:/000004/Buy__ology.html CONTENTS TITLE PAGE FOREWORD BY PACO UNDERHILL INTRODUCTION 1: A RUSH OF BLOOD TO THE HEAD The Largest Neuromarketing Study Ever Conducted 2: THIS MUST BE THE PLACE Product Placement, American Idol , and Ford’s Multimillion-Dollar Mistake 3: I’LL HAVE WHAT SHE’S HAVING Mirror Neurons at Work 4: I CAN’T SEE CLEARLY NOW Subliminal Messaging, Alive and Well 5: DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC? Ritual, Superstition, and Why We Buy 6: I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER Faith, Religion, and Brands 7: WHY DID I CHOOSE YOU? The Power of Somatic Markers 8: A SENSE OF WONDER Selling to Our Senses 9: AND THE ANSWER IS… Neuromarketing and Predicting the Future 10: LET’S SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER Sex in Advertising 11: CONCLUSION Brand New Day APPENDIX ACKNOWLEDGMENTS NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY ABOUT THE AUTHOR COPYRIGHT FOREWORD PACO UNDERHILL It was a brisk September night. I was unprepared for the weather that day, wearing only a tan cashmere sweater underneath my sports jacket. I was still cold from the walk from my hotel to the pier as I boarded the crowded cruise ship on which I was going to meet Martin Lindstrom for the first time. He had spoken that day at a food service conference held by the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute, the venerable Swiss think tank, and David Bosshart, the conference organizer, was eager for us to meet. I had never heard of Martin ...
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...1 ACQUISITIONS AND TAKEOVERS When analyzing investment decisions, we did not consider in any detail the largest investment decisions that most firms make, i.e., their acquisitions of other firms. Boeing’s largest investment of the last decade was not a new commercial aircraft but its acquisition of McDonnell Douglas in 1996. At the time of the acquisition, Boeing's managers were optimistic about the merger, claiming that it would create substantial value for the stockholders of both firms. What are the principles that govern acquisitions? Should they be judged differently from other investments? Firms are acquired for a number of reasons. In the 1960s and 1970s, firms such as Gulf and Western and ITT built themselves into conglomerates by acquiring firms in other lines of business. In the 1980s, corporate giants like Time, Beatrice and RJR Nabisco were acquired by other firms, their own management or wealthy raiders, who saw potential value in restructuring or breaking up these firms. In the 1990s, we saw a wave of consolidation in the media business as telecommunications firms acquired entertainment firms, and entertainment firms acquired cable businesses. Through time, firms have also acquired or merged with other firms to gain the benefits of synergy, in the form of either higher growth, as in the Disney acquisition of Capital Cities, or lower costs. Acquisitions seem to offer firms a short cut to their strategic objectives, but the process has its costs. In this chapter,...
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