Knowledge@wharton

Technology is transforming the world of philanthropy in ways that should ultimately give a voice to those people whom the charities aim to help  according to Mari Kuraishi co-founder and president of GlobalGiving a nonprofit that connects donors with groups that manage charitable projects via the web. In a keynote speech at the recent Wharton Social Impact Conference Kuraishi outlined the ways in which organizations are becoming more effective and shared insights from the sometimes tough lessons she has learned along the way. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After nearly 20 years in the hospitality industry Wyndham Worldwide chairman and CEO Stephen Holmes says he has seen several ”shifts” in the sector -- from the way that consumers plan their vacations to what they expect to find when they stay at a hotel. The most recent catalyst for change has been the global economic downturn. Wyndham -- one of the world’s largest hospitality companies -- has weathered that storm and has actually grown since the recession began. In an interview with Knowledge at Wharton Holmes discusses what changes he has witnessed in the industry why timeshares have done surprisingly well during the downturn and what makes his stay at a hotel a happy one. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

These should be heady times for Jim Goodnight founder and CEO of SAS Institute an analytics software and services firm. His company bucked the economic downturn to make 2009 its third most profitable year on record and it is currently working on cutting-edge solutions to problems that range from advising Macy’s on product pricing to tracking a handful of endangered hippos in Africa. But during a recent presentation at Wharton Goodnight noted that his biggest priority these days is helping American schools turn out more scientists and mathematicians a goal he said is critical if the U.S wants to remain competitive. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Patience was the quality that best served LG Electronics during its seemingly rapid transformation from a relatively obscure maker of commodity goods to a premium brand. During a recent Wharton Leadership Lecture Michael Ahn who guided the branding effort for LG Electronics North America before stepping down as the group’s president and CEO last year described how the Korea-based company -- after four decades of marketing low-cost products under the Goldstar name -- successfully went upscale as the re-christened LG brand. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Julian Assange the Australian founder of WikiLeaks the controversial website that has been posting classified government documents is now being held without bail in the U.K. awaiting extradition to Sweden on a rape charge. But sensational news aside his site’s recent release of confidential U.S. State Department cables has opened up a fundamental debate over privacy of information versus public access on the open web. It also has implications for businesses and corporations with sensitive information to shield according to experts at Wharton and the University of Pennsylvania. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Once defined by the red envelopes used to deliver DVDs for its mail order service Netflix has turned its focus toward allowing subscribers to stream movies and other programming directly to their computers and television sets. The move has reaped rewards including an increasing customer base but created friction with the entertainment and technology companies Netflix competes with -- and in many cases relies on for gaining access to content. Wharton marketing professors Peter Fader and Raghuram Iyengar and operations and information management professor Kartik Hosanagar recently spoke with Knowledge at Wharton about what the future may hold for Netflix. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hopes for an accelerated economic recovery in the United States were dealt a blow last week by a dismal jobs report for November -- including an unexpected rise in the unemployment rate. This news adds more fuel to the growing feeling among many economists that it will likely be several years before the jobless rate falls to what is considered a normal level. The continued atmosphere of uncertainty experts say has potential long-term consequences for businesses and employees alike. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A ”cowboy”-like confidence propelled UBS Americas CEO Robert Wolf from the football field to Wall Street and up the leadership chain. But much like the industry that supported his 26-year rise Wolf has discovered that brazen bravado has its limits. During a recent Wharton Leadership Lecture Wolf discussed his career in the banking industry why he is stepping down from his current role and why Wall Street is better off now than it was before the crisis. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After years of declining market share and unprofitability -- and a multi-million dollar bailout by the United States government -- General Motors is once again a publicly held company. The automaker which raised some $20 billion through last week’s initial public offering is on sounder footing than it has been in years. Yet the new GM still must compete in a tough global market. So the question remains: Can the new GM perform better than the old GM? Knowledge at Wharton posed this question and others to Wharton management professor John Paul MacDuffie. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Africa today contributes barely 1.5% to world trade but its future is brighter than that number might suggest. The continent has a growing middle class institutions that are investing heavily in infrastructure and in another decade it will emerge as a market of one billion consumers. Elkanah Odembo Kenya’s ambassador to the U.S. visited Wharton recently and spoke with Knowledge at Wharton about the potential rewards and risks of investing in Africa. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Conventional wisdom tells us that leaders are the men and women who stand up speak out give orders make plans and are generally the most dominant outgoing people in a group. But that is not always the case according to new research on leadership and group dynamics from Wharton management professor Adam Grant and two colleagues who challenge the assumption that the most effective leaders are extraverts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the world of web browsers it’s beginning to look a lot like the 1990s. Back then the Internet was just starting to become an integral part of daily life and Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer vied for control of the market. This time around the browser battle includes an increasing number of competitors most notably Internet Explorer Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Newcomers like RockMelt a start-up that promises to integrate web browsing with social networking are banking on innovative new features to stand out. But does winning the browser space mean much in environments -- like mobile devices -- that increasingly focus on standalone web-connected apps? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Groupon -- from the words ”group” and ”coupon” -- negotiates deeply discounted deals with businesses and alerts its legion of e-mail subscribers to the offer. Since its founding in 2008 Groupon has amassed 25 million subscribers in 29 countries and a host of competing sites have crowded the market hoping to tap into the potential of ”social” commerce. But are group buying sites just a passing fancy? And what should they do to stand out from the pack and achieve long-term sustainability? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

While the dust settles on the U.S.’s midterm elections questions abound about where the country’s international trade and economic policies go from here. As it stands the U.S. is squarely ”at a disadvantage” with countries like China argues economist Clyde Prestowitz a former trade negotiator and author of The Betrayal of American Prosperity. Wharton management professor Stephen J. Kobrin and Knowledge at Wharton spoke with Prestowitz about the elections and beyond how the U.S.’s economic leadership is being undermined whether China’s development is a threat or an opportunity and what options President Obama has to take global economies off the path of ”mutually assured destruction.” See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the U.S. infrastructure is usually silent and forgotten -- until the power goes off the ATM stops working or a neighborhood is consumed by fire. In September a 54-year-old gas pipeline exploded in San Bruno Calif. killing eight people and damaging more than 50 homes. Seven weeks earlier an oil pipeline rupture in Michigan spilled more than a million gallons of crude. According to experts the country’s infrastructure is a huge market that holds tremendous business opportunities but the bulk of entrepreneurs and investors still wait on the sidelines because the projects are costly complicated and often risky. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The U.S. housing market has been wobbly for several years but it has shown some signs of perking up in recent months. The latest reports however indicate a setback with median home prices dropping slightly and sales well below the already depressed levels of 2009. Yet a combination of low mortgage rates and apparent home-price bargains should still be drawing some buyers into the market. Knowledge at Wharton spoke with Wharton real estate professor Susan M. Wachter about the housing market’s slow recovery the prospect of another sharp dip in prices the effect of foreclosures on the economy and what it will take to get the market back on track. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Using tax credits low-interest loans and grants the Obama Administration reportedly plans to invest more than $50 billion in electric vehicles renewable energy and a host of other clean technology -- or ”cleantech” -- ventures by the end of next year. But to what extent is today’s fast-paced investment in cleantech a victim of irrational exuberance and the herd mentality often associated with venture capitalism? Quite a lot say experts at Wharton and in the larger investment community. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Members of Generation Y -- a group of approximately 70 million young people between the ages of 15 and 30 -- are starting their careers in perhaps the worst job market since the Great Depression. Experts say the experience creates both immediate and long-term negative impacts including lower salaries now and in the future. And while their reduced spending power is not expected to have a lasting drag on the U.S. economy it does have significant repercussions for how these young people conduct their adult lives and careers. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Faced with the possibility of a global currency war Western countries are increasing their scrutiny of China’s currency policies accusing Beijing of intervening in the markets to keep China’s currency weaker than it would be otherwise. In the U.S. politicians and regulators say such tactics undermine efforts to boost exports and thus take away jobs from American workers. But the controversy is more complicated than that and touches on policies and attitudes that go back decades. Knowledge at Wharton spoke with Wharton professors Franklin Allen and Mauro Guillen about what is at stake and why this particular conflict is so difficult to resolve. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

France expels Roma Gypsies; a prominent German economist says migrants are destroying the country; a far-right party with an anti-immigration platform wins its first parliamentary seats in Sweden. Few countries in Europe have escaped the recent heated debates about immigration within their borders. Against this backdrop a growing body of research is helping Europeans understand whether and under what conditions immigration is economically and socially beneficial. As one Wharton expert notes ”It’s not a zero-sum game.” See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.