Showing posts with label Netflix. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Netflix. Show all posts

Monday, April 15, 2013

B&E This Fortnight

INTERNATIONAL

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & FINANCE
He end of Gaddafi

In what will probably be remembered as a landmark event in the history of dictatorships, Muammar Gaddafi, the man who ruled Libya for 42 years was captured, beaten ruthlessly and finally killed on October 21, 2011, as he tried to escape with his convoy. Although it is not clear how the tyrant was murdered, videos shot by bystanders and interviews of eye witnesses reveal the disturbing events which led to his death. Most of the videos circulating on the internet are graphic in nature and give an extremely violent account of his death. The entire drama led to an intervention by the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has even suggested a possible enquiry into the incident given its chaotic nature. However, the more important question is the risk of a power struggle, primarily because Libya has the ninth largest oil reserves in the world. According to data released by the CIA World Factbook, the country produced 1.789 million barrels of oil a day before the unrest started. This accounted for roughly 25% of the GDP. In the aftermath of these events, oil production has fallen to 400,000 barrels a day. More importantly, even if Libya does manage to restore production, it is not enough to fulfill the employment needs of all Libyans demanding jobs. The developments need to be closely monitored by the US in order to establish a healthy democratic system..

The netflix syndrome

‘Strategy’ has turned out to be one of the most alluring and elusive business terminologies ever conceived. What Apple has achieved through strategy, HP has destroyed. In yet another case of a strategically and financially sound company getting it wrong, Netflix has almost undone what it had managed to do over the past several years. A few weeks back, Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Netflix, announced that he would be splitting up the company into two parts. While Netflix will continue to provide streaming service, the DVD rental business would be christened Qwikster. The idea has been hailed by some and criticised by many. The poorly introduced pricing and service alterations ended up upsetting customers. In fact, analysts are estimating that Netflix might have lost as many as 600,000 US subscribers since July. The announcements did not alienate the customers of its live streaming service who continued to opt for the $7.99 monthly rental plan. The backlash came from subscribers who were used to receiving DVDs in red envelopes. It appears that they perceived the streaming service as a free add-on. Now, the CEO has suddenly decided to backtrack on the plans. How the company will regain lost ground is still a question, but this was a very bad move on the part of Hastings (no wonder he’s on the board of Microsoft).


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
 
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
 
2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall

Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail

IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

B&E This Fortnight

INTERNATIONAL

ECONOMY & BUSINESS STRATEGY

Time Inc.’s CEO – Fired!

After six months on the job, Jack Griffin, who took charge as CEO of the world’s largest magazine publisher Time Inc. last August, has been shown the door. Meanwhile, the division will be temporarily run by an interim management committee comprising three Time Inc. executives – Editor-in-chief John Huey, General Counsel Maurice Edelson and CFO Howard Averill – until a new CEO is hired. This is what Jeffrey Bewkes, CEO of Time Inc.’s parent company (Time Warner) conveyed to Time Inc.’s employees through an email. Griffin’s short tenure and untimely departure comes as a shock to most, including the sacked CEO. Despite his reputation of being an extremely accomplished veteran in the industry, the company claims that his leadership style and approach at work did not gel well with the culture in place. There are rumours doing the rounds that Griffin was axed because Edelson and Averill wanted him out for personal reasons (they were apparently unhappy of having been left out of an executive summit planned for March 2011), it is no secret that this former President of Meredith Corp.’s national media group, had failed to gain the trust of his employees and the top management at Time Inc. in the many months that he had spent at the company. Therefore, his exit was perhaps necessary to prevent other key executives from leaving the company.

AMAZON’s free deal?
Amazon, in an open war with Netfix (which offers online streaming service) unveiled its “free”, instant movie and TV show streaming option for those who are willing to pay (or are already paying) for its $79 Amazon Prime service. The company announced this on February 22, 2011. When news of this became public, shares of its competitor – Netflix, dropped by nearly 6%. Interestingly, even investors of the Amazon stock did not find the news too amusing as its shares fell by 3.2%. The move puts Amazon on a collision course with Netflix, which aims to dominate the online streaming market. The giant has claimed that it will make 5,000 films and TV shows available for “free”, just 25% in count of that offered by Netflix. Also, Amazon’s claims are not finding many buyers as its “free” selection is only a mere proportion of the 90,000 titles and shows that are mentioned in its catalog. Sample this: Actually, Amazon currently offers five of this year’s 10 Best Picture Oscar nominees, but none are included in the free offer. So, if you want to watch The Social Network, it will still cost you $3.99 for a 24-hour rental or $14.99 to buy permanent viewing rights, whether you are subscribed to its Prime service or not.

Sanofi’s $20 bn bet

French drug giant Sanofi-Aventis announced on February 16, 2011, that it is all set to buy the $4.5 billion-a-year profit-making Genzyme in an all-cash deal worth $20.1 billion. This represents a premium of 4.4% on the share price of the target (as on October 4, 2010, the first day of offer). This second biggest deal in the biotech space will give Sanofi a foothold in the market of diseases with small patient populations. Genzyme, which produces expensive medicines for disorders such as Fabry, Gaucher, and Pompe diseases, will help Sanofi compensate for declining revenue from drugs that it is set to lose patent rights.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles