April 2002 Flash Points

Who Runs This Team Anyway? (p. 32)
FC Article

Discuss the dictatorship-style of rule in professional sports. What industry is it most analagous to, or are sports an entity onto themselves? Is there any chance for this to change, or is rule-by-few the best business model for sports?
Consider the case of the Charolotte Hornets, who are being moved despite a supportive fan base. What might fans and local businesses do to keep the team in town? What might fans of the Minnesota Twins do in order to avoid the league contracting their team?
Compare the role of a sports fan to that of a company shareholder. What are the different rights and responsibilities? Consider the Green Bay Packers, where the fans are also shareholders in the team. What are the advantages of this and what are some potential conflicts?

Advertising, Under Review (p. 54)
FC Article

Discuss the future of advertising. What other communications are becoming 'more important' for companies, as John Dooner believes. How can advertising firms integrate these communications?
Bob Schmetterer says the ad industry is 'no longer in the ad business.' What business is it in then? What components of other industries has advertising brought on board. Does the ad industry lack its own identity? When did business become the brand? How did this evolve?
Dawn Hudson says we are exposed to 3,000 forms of marketing messages each day. What forms do these take? Have your group take note of the messages they see in the days before your next meeting and compare how often the same message reached multiple people in your group.

High Stakes, Big Bets (p. 66)
FC Article

In Lockheed Martin's record-breaking military contract, they collaborated with competitors Northrop and BAE. Survey your group and see if any of their companies' have collaborated with competitors recently. What is the best way to go about this? In what situations is it smart business and when is it simply a bad idea? How do you go about easing off the relationship when the project at hand is complete?
How should you go about dividing work in a cooperative/competitive relationship? Is it better to have both company's employees working together at the same site, or for each company to autonomously handle individual requirements of the project?

What if Carly Were a Man? (p. 114)
FC Article

The concept of the glass ceiling is not new, but most people in business would like to believe opportunities for women are getting better. Have women in your group cite examples of what they perceive as gender discrimination in their company and have the men react to their examples. Does everyone tend to agree on what gender discrimination is or are there discrepancies?
Have group members examine the current gender makeup and hierarchy at their respective companies. Bring attention to where there might be opportunities for women to move up in the future and where they may have been passed over. Come back to this question in six months and look at what, if any, changes have been made.

Daniel Richards contributed this month's Flash Points.

April 2002 Connexus | Flash Points | Next Steps