Knowledge@wharton

Ten years ago on September 11 2001 New York City Fire Department Battalion Chief Joseph Pfeifer saw the first aircraft hit the World Trade Center’s North Tower and radioed the alarm the first FDNY fire chief to take command. Today Pfeifer is the New York City Fire Department’s Chief of Counterterrorism and Emergency Preparedness and a Citywide Command Chief. Wharton management professor Michael Useem talked with Pfeifer recently about his leadership during the 9/11 rescue efforts and what the New York City Fire Department and other cities are doing to prepare for the unexpected. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s been a month of seismic change for the tech sector. Hewlett-Packard the largest computer and printer maker in the world may begin to transition away from hardware by jettisoning its PC division. Meanwhile Apple is facing the end of an era with the announcement that visionary leader Steve Jobs is relinquishing his role as CEO. Knowledge at Wharton asked Wharton management professors Saikat Chaudhuri and David Hsu to discuss the outlook -- and future opportunities -- for HP and Apple. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

South Africa occupies a unique position on a continent that is undergoing a boom. The country is an economic bridge that pairs Western investors with burgeoning business opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa and it is also a source of ideas for other developing countries eager to learn how a fledgling democracy can work in the wake of a trying past. Knowledge at Wharton spoke with South Africa’s ambassador to the United States Ebrahim Rasool about the economic strength of the region its challenges and the common cause South Africa shares with other countries. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

At the core of the new trend of ”collaborative consumption” is the idea that technologies like the Internet and smartphones can help consumers monetize assets that they own -- their home or car for example -- in ways that were previously difficult or downright impossible. But as these services grow in popularity they face challenges not the least of which is the ability to ensure the safety and security of the assets that consumers are renting out. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In today’s economy retailers are hard pressed to increase revenues. Among the biggest challenges they face is matching supply with demand. In The New Science of Retailing: How Analytics Are Transforming the Supply Chain and Improving Performance Wharton professor Marshall Fisher and co-author Ananth Raman argue that retailers have the data they need to manage supply chains more efficiently and increase sales and profits. Knowledge at Wharton spoke with Fisher about what types of data are most important for retailers to collect how they can use this information to identify home-run products and why the retailing industry might be missing as much as one-third of potential sales. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Gamification may be a new term to most people but for many members of the business community it means a new way to create value for their companies customers and employees among others. What exactly is gamification what is it not and how will it change the way we do business in the next few years? Knowledge at Wharton discussed these issues with professor Kevin Werbach; Rajat Paharia founder of Bunchball a tech company that enables businesses to implement gamification and Daniel Debow co-founder of Rypple a social performance management company. Werbach and colleague Dan Hunter recently organized a two-day conference on gamification titled ”For the Win: Serious Gamification.” See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In a last-minute attempt to stop the U.S. from defaulting on its loan obligations Congress voted this week to increase the country’s debt ceiling by at least $2.1 trillion. The deal includes $917 billion in spending cuts over the next 10 years and the establishment of a congressional committee to reduce the deficit further by $1.5 trillion. Questions remain however: Where will these cuts come from? How will social safety nets such as Medicare be affected? And can the country continue to recover from the recession with government spending drastically reduced? Knowledge at Wharton spoke with Wharton professors Olivia S. Mitchell and Kent Smetters. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Women have been in the workforce for decades but many will acknowledge that it is still a man’s world and that the unwritten rules of the workplace continue to favor men. So how would they structure a professional environment that would help more women reach the corner office? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister David Cameron plans to create a national well-being index. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has formed a team that includes two Nobel Prize-winning economists to come up with a system for measuring the nation’s well-being. In China happiness indexes have become so popular that cities there compete for the title of China’s happiest city. Many now argue that purely economic measures of a country’s progress -- such as gross national product (GDP) -- fail to count many things people value highly such as personal and community relationships or a healthy environment. To learn more about measuring happiness Knowledge at Wharton spoke with Nic Marks author of the e-book The Happiness Manifesto: How Nations and People Can Nurture Well-Being. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The ”phenomenon of free” has hit many businesses hard particularly media businesses argues Saul J. Berman Global & Americas Leader for the IBM Strategy & Change Consulting Group. In Not for Free: Revenue Strategies for a New World Berman offers lessons from businesses that have integrated successful business model innovations as well as from businesses that have failed to do so. Recently Knowledge at Wharton and Jerry (Yoram) Wind sat down with Berman to discuss his thoughts on who pays for free content and why new models are essential. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Rupert Murdoch chairman and CEO of New York-based News Corp. has built a fortune on the scandals of others. Now at age 80 Murdoch finds himself at the center of his own ever-widening scandal one that threatens his hold on a $40 billion global media empire. According to Wharton faculty and other experts News Corp. needs to address its ethical issues at all levels of the organization -- not just the top rungs. Others note that no matter what happens to Murdoch or his business the scandal itself will cause a thorough reassessment of the boundaries of a free and fair press. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Given two gold mines with the same amount of gold in the ground the same cost of extraction and the same worldwide demand why is one mine valued 10 times more than the other? Because one has local support and the other doesn’t argues Wharton professor Witold Henisz. In a new research paper Henisz and his colleagues show how cooperating with rather than antagonizing external stakeholders generates sustainable shareholder value for companies around the world. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Parag Khanna is a leading geo-strategist world traveler and author of the international bestseller The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order. Stephen J. Kobrin Wharton management professor and publisher of Wharton Digital Press recently spoke with Khanna about his latest book How to Run the World: Charting a Course to the Next Renaissance. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Recent hackings at Fox News Apple Citibank and even the CIA have drawn renewed attention to cyber security and accelerated the policy debate on how to protect critical information. The opportunity for cyber attacks grows daily as corporations and governments continue to amass information about individuals in complex networks across the Internet according to Wharton faculty and security analysts. Indeed notes one expert ”hacktivists” -- including those who break into networks not necessarily to steal money but for ideological reasons -- appear to be ramping up activity. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As the economy flirts with a double-dip recession and cost-conscious companies hesitate to re-hire the workplace for many Americans has shifted away from crowded offices to a new world of solitary work. From freelancers to telecommuters to laid-off workers making do with temporary jobs an increasing number of Americans are reporting to work each day from a corner of their home a space in the garage or even a table at the local coffee shop. For some it’s a dream come true. But the transition isn’t smooth for everyone. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Until recently most discussions of perks focused on what high-tech companies in Silicon Valley were offering their employees from free gourmet meals and yoga classes to massage therapy and auto detailing. But these days many companies are simultaneously trying to shake off the recession keep costs low retain valued employees and recruit talented new ones. Perks if designed well can help achieve these goals.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Donald N.S. Unger the author of Men Can: The Changing Image and Reality of Fatherhood in America and lecturer in the Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies at MIT writes about representations of men masculinity and fatherhood in popular culture. Just in time for Father’s Day Unger shares his thoughts with Knowledge at Wharton on the changing role of fatherhood. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The latest economic reports show the U.S. recovery has faltered. But someday surely there will be a real recovery. What forces will drive that upturn? And will the healthy economy of the future look different from those of the past -- establishing a ”new normal?” Two intertwined factors are critical to any rebound according to many experts: Home prices must stop declining and begin to rise and consumers must spend more freely. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Are overconfident CEOs also more likely to be overly optimistic when issuing earnings forecasts? Does in-store marketing -- including a product’s location and visibility on store shelves -- make a difference? How does anxiety cripple efforts to negotiate a successful business deal? Wharton professors Holly Yang Wesley Hutchinson and Eric Bradlow and Maurice Schweitzer respectively examined these issues -- and what they mean for business -- in recent research papers. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The landscape for health care in the U.S. continues to shift since the Obama administration passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act last year. Several questions remain unanswered including how to expand health coverage what are the potential minefields for doing so and what are the best ways to ensure that the system performs well. Meanwhile Americans are becoming increasingly unhealthy despite spending more on health care than any other nation. To address these issues Knowledge at Wharton spoke with Risa Lavizzo-Mourey president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation which focuses its efforts on improving the country’s health care. Lavizzo-Mourey will be a speaker at the upcoming Wharton Leadership Conference 2011 which will take place on June 22. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.