Google Steps Up Ad Policies

Google's Alphabet group is responding to criticism of offensive ads by tightening its ad policies. Last week, AT&T, Johnson & Johnson, and other companies, concerned about "brand safety," pulled ads from YouTube because they were appearing next to hate speech.  

Bloomberg reports harsh words from industry leaders about Google and Facebook:

In a speech last week, Robert Thomson, Chief Executive Officer of News Corp., a frequent Google critic, said the two digital companies "have prospered mightily by peddling a flat earth philosophy that doesn't wish to distinguish between the fake and real because they make copious amounts of money from both."

Bloomberg also reports that Google has sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) technology to fight "dangerous and derogatory" ads, but "[a]utomatically classifying entire videos, then flagging and filtering content is a more difficult, expensive research endeavor -- one that Google hasn't focused on much, until now." However, in the past two weeks, the company has flagged or disabled five times the number of videos than it had previously. Google Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler is minimizing the issue, but he does admit it's a problem:

But it's five [times] on the smallest denominator you can imagine. Although it has historically it has been a very small, small problem. We can make it an even smaller, smaller, smaller problem.

These latest changes seem to be better received than ones introduced two weeks prior. At least after this announcement, no more advertisers have pulled ads-so far.

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Discussion:

• Schindler's quote reminds me of former BP CEO Tony Hayward reference to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as "tiny." Is this a fair comparison? What differences do you see in the two situations?
• Does Google's AI push give you more confidence in its ability to prevent offensive ads? Why or why not?
• Why didn't the company focus on this earlier, and why is it so actively working on this issue now?

Infographic Gets Panned on Twitter

InvestmentZen, which encourages financial independence, created an infographic with advice for living on minimum wage, currently $7.25 per hour. Suggestions include selling your car, moving to a less expensive city, and recognizing that "a lot of the best things in life are free."

Reactions are generally not positive. Twitter users are taking offense at some of the advice, pointing out that, for example, not everyone has the flexibility to move across country. Part of the infographic identifies "excuses" for not moving, including "All of my friends and family live here." Sounds like a good reason to stay put to me, particularly for people living in poverty or close to it.

Others on the Twitter thread note the missing expenses of moving, doing laundry, and children should anyone choose to have them. An obvious logical flaw is in suggesting people sell their car, yet suggesting picking up some Uber shifts.

This reminds me (and others) of a 2013 McDonald's website with advice to employees, including getting a second job. To help employees manage expenses, the site showed a sample monthly budget with $25 for health insurance. McDonald's pulled the site and published this statement:

We have offered the McResource program to help our valued McDonald's employees with work and life guidance created by independent third party experts. A combination of factors has led us to re-evaluate, and we've directed the vendor to take down the website. Between links to irrelevant or outdated information, along with outside groups taking elements out of context, this created unwarranted scrutiny and inappropriate commentary. None of this helps our McDonald's team members. We'll continue to provide service to our folks through an internal telephone help line, which is how the majority of employees access the McResource services.

Discussion:

• Analyze the full infographic. What visual and organizational design principles from Chapter 9 in the text are used?
• What other logical flaws can you identify?
• Overall, do you find the advice useful, or does it enrage you as it does some Twitter users? Should InvestmentZen pull the infographic and issue a statement as McDonald's did in 2013?

No, It's Not 'OK to Throw Rocks at Girls'

Spicer Green Jewelers has apologized for a billboard that some think condones violence against women. The store in Asheville, NC, responded to the controversy in a TV interview and a social media post.

In the interview, one of the owners said, "We are truly sorry that it offended anybody. That was certainly not our intention." Supporters on social media say the ad is funny and that others are over-reacting.

In the Facebook post, the jewelers further explained the apology. A CNN article mentions that the company committed 10% of last week's sales to a local domestic violence organization.

Discussion:

• How well did the owners handle the situation in the TV interview and in the Facebook post?
• The decision to donate 10% of sales for a week seemed to come later. What's your view of this: a nice thing to do, an insignificant gesture, or something else?

Uber and Other Tech Companies' Diversity Stats

After the scathing blog post about Uber's lack of diversity and issues with sexual harassment reporting, the company has published its diversity stats.

Business Insider shows a series of bar charts comparing Uber's numbers to those of Facebook, Apple, Google, Twitter, and Microsoft. No companies are doing splendidly in terms of the percentage of women and people of color, but Uber is the least diverse in only one category: leadership. As the company reports, "Our leadership is more homogeneous than the rest of our employees. For example, no Black or Hispanic employees hold leadership positions in tech. This clearly has to change - a diversity of backgrounds and experience is important at every level."

After additional criticism of CEO Travis Kalanick, he promises to take a more transparent approach: "This report is a first step in showing that diversity and inclusion is a priority at Uber. I know that we have been too slow in publishing our numbers - and that the best way to demonstrate our commitment to change is through transparency. And to make progress, it's important we measure what matters." Still, a Wall Street Journal article referred to Kalanick as "beleaguered": "Uber has said it is standing by its beleaguered founder." I wonder for how long that will continue.

Discussion:

• Compare Uber to the other technology companies in Business Insider's charts. What conclusions do you draw?
• Compare Business Insider's bar charts to Uber's circle charts. Which work better and why? Why would each source choose the visual it did?
• How well does Uber explain its diversity position and goals on its website? What are the key messages you glean from this page?

Germany Proposes to Fine Companies for Illegal Content

The German government wants to fine Google, Facebook, and other social media sites if they don't remove "hate speech, fake news and other undesirable content" within 24 hours if it's considered "blatantly illegal" and within seven days if it's otherwise considered to be breaking the law.

A Politico article describes the decision:

"Facebook and Twitter missed the chance to improve their takedown practices," said Heiko Maas, federal minister for justice and consumer protection. Maas claimed social media networks don't take complaints seriously. "For companies to take on their responsibility in question of deleting criminal content, we need legal regulations."

According to one study, Facebook removed 33% of illegal posts within 24 hours so far this year-not enough for some critics-and Twitter did worse, removing only 1% within 24 hours. The social media companies argue that policing negative activity is nearly impossible given the volume of posts on their sites.

In Twitter's defense (it needs one), the company has published extensive policies, including those related to "Hateful Conduct." But bullying, threats of violence, and other misconduct have been an issue for Twitter since the beginning and continue to plague the site's credibility.

In related hate-speech news, AT&T, Johnson & Johnson, and other big companies are pulling ads on YouTube because they don't want them appearing next to inappropriate content. This is another, perhaps more effective, way to get the social media sites to take action.

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Discussion:

• What's your view of Germany's proposed law: reasonable, necessary, unrealistic, or something else?
• What effect do you think such a law would have on the social media sites? How about its users?

Disney Won't Cut the Gay Scene

A gay scene in the new Disney "Beauty and the Beast" movie is causing a stir in other countries. The movie won't be shown in Malaysia because the company refuses to cut a three-second scene showing two male characters dancing together. A member of the censorship board said, "It is in our guidelines that we don't allow L.G.B.T. activity in movies in Malaysia. They are the ones not allowing the movie to be shown. We approved it with a minor cut."

Director Bill Condon called the interaction "a nice, exclusively gay moment," and Disney made a short statement about the controversy: "The film has not been and will not be cut for Malaysia."

Officials in other countries aren't happy about the scene either. A Russian lawmaker said it was a "blatant, shameless propaganda of sin," and although the country will show the movie, only those 16 years or older can see it.

Condon said of the characters: "LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston. He's confused about what he wants. It's somebody who's just realizing that he has these feelings."

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Discussion:

• What do you think of Disney's choice to include two men dancing in a movie?
• Should Disney cut the scene so the movie would be shown in Malaysia? If it makes a difference in your answer (does it?), The New York Times reports, "'The Jungle Book' last year had $967 million in global ticket sales, and Malaysia represented $5.7 million of that total."
• How do you assess Disney's short statement in response? Should the company say more? Why or why not?

Analyzing Trump's Tone in Speeches

How would you describe Trump's tone in his speeches?  A New York Times article explains how sentiment analysis was used to compare his speeches over time and to other State of the Union addresses: 

"That's according to a sentiment analysis of past speeches, which categorizes words according to several dimensions. Mr. Trump's campaign speeches used a high proportion of words associated with "anger" - like fight, illegal or bad - and a relatively low proportion of words with positive associations - like build, freedom or peace."

 

Sentiment analysis aside, his tone changes are pretty obvious. The best way I can describe his State of the Union address is "measured." He also gestured less and read more from the teleprompter-perhaps acting more presidential than we have seen him in less formal settings.

The Washington Post compiled the address "in 3 minutes." Of course, the compilation and the "winners and losers" identified by the author/editor are based on his own thinking about Trump/s plans and communications. 

Discussion:

• How would you describe President Trump's tone in his State of the Union address? What, if anything, surprised you about the speech?
• The president certainly is adjusting to the audience and purpose of his speeches. Compare audiences for his campaign speeches and his official speeches as president. What are his objectives for each?
• With which of The Washington Post's conclusions do you agree and disagree? The author also refers to the speech as "strong." What do you think he means by this, and do you agree or disagree?

Uber CEO on Video

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has apologized for his interaction with a driver that was video recorded. At the end of the trip, the driver, Fawzi Kamel, complained about Uber's lower prices. Kalanick explains that they have more competition, but the conversation got heated.

Kamel said, "People are not trusting you any more. . . . I lost $97,000 because of you. I'm bankrupt because of you. Yes, yes, yes, you keep changing every day."

Kalanick said, "Some people don't like to take responsibility for their own sh**," he said. "They blame everything in their life on somebody else. Good luck!" He also rated the driver with one star in the Uber app.

A Guardian article explains the problem and quotes the executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance:

Drivers for Uber Black, such as Kamel, face particular struggles because they are required to drive recent models of select premium vehicles. Drivers earn a higher rate, but they are increasingly competing with Uber's cheaper UberX rides.

Bhairavi Desai, the executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, called Kalanick's interaction with Kamel "heartless" and "appalling."

"Fawzi Kamel's plight is far from unique," she said. "We've talked to so many drivers who have been left in insurmountable debt after purchasing or leasing vehicles based on promised income from Uber then unable to make the payments as Uber has slashed fares, increased its commission, and flooded the streets with too many vehicles."

In uncharacteristic fashion for Uber, Kalanick apologized.

 

Discussion:

• What is Kamel's role in this situation? Did he behave 100% honorably?
• How could Kalanick have avoided the situation?
• What do you make of Kalanick's apology?

What's in a Handshake?

Business Insider asked Dr. Lillian Glass, a self-described body language expert to analyze President Trump's body language. She says Trump's "robust" handshake with the prime minister of Japan communicates, "Hey, we get along. I really like you." She says the PM's body language communicates the same and says that Trump's "cupping" his hand (placing his hand over the prime minister's) also indicates affection.

But comedians The Young Turks criticize the exchange, including audio of the prime minister telling Trump, "Look at me" and, immediately after the handshake is finished, pulling his body away and looking like he wants to leave.

Dr. Glass says Trump's handshake with the British prime minister shows "he's very respectful" and that "he doesn't know her that well or, you know, that he doesn't have the same affection towards her as the others."

With Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, Glass says Trump and he had a warm handshake, and placing a hand on the arm "indicates friendship." A body language expert who analyzed this move by President Obama said it demonstrated power. Glass says Trump's body language with Obama shows tension.

Discussion:

• If it's not obvious from this post, I'm skeptical about some of Glass interpretations. What do you think?
• What about the context of these interactions could affect our interpretation? Consider that these are short clips, possibly edited, and are in front of the media.
• What, if any, lessons from this can you glean for job interviews? How would you describe your own approach to shaking hands in a business situation?

More Ethical Questions for Uber

Susan Fowler, a former Uber engineer, has blasted the company for what she describes as sexual harassment, a sexist environment, and HR's failure to respond. Fowler also reports that only 3% of engineers are women at Uber, which she claims has fallen over time.

When she reported sexual harassment, she was given a choice to move to another department or stay and likely receive a poor performance review. This is a basic "don't" in HR, from my experience: you don't move the victim and put him or her at a disadvantage. According to Fowler, no further action was taken in the case, although other women received similar treatment by the same manager.

At this point, Fowler's complaints are getting attention. CEO Travis Kalanick wrote that he would look into the situation:

"I have just read Susan Fowler's blog. What she describes is abhorrent and against everything Uber stands for and believes in. It's the first time this has come to my attention so I have instructed Liane Hornsey our new Chief Human Resources Officer to conduct an urgent investigation into these allegations. We seek to make Uber a just workplace and there can be absolutely no place for this kind of behavior at Uber -- and anyone who behaves this way or thinks this is OK will be fired."

Ariana Huffington, an Uber board member, jumped into the conversation on Twitter:

Image source.

From interviews and messages from Uber employees, a New York Times article reports an "aggressive, unrestrained workplace culture." Kalanick further addressed the controversy in an email to employees that begins: "It's been a tough 24 hours. I know the company is hurting, and understand everyone has been waiting for more information on where things stand and what actions we are going to take."

Discussion:

• Read Fowler's blog post. What persuasive strategies does she use (logical arguments, emotional appeals, and credibility)? Which parts are most and least convincing? 
• How should the company respond? An investigation is a good start: what should this include, how should it be carried out, and what result would you expect?

Milo Yiannopoulos Loses Speaking Engagement and Book Deal

Milo Yiannopoulos has an active following for the very reason he lost a speaking engagement and book deal: he's out there. A New York Times article refers to him as "a polemical Breitbart editor and unapologetic defender of the alt-right," and he seems to say whatever he wants, which isn't a bad thing-until it is.

Earlier this month, a college tour at UC Berkeley was canceled when protests ended in violence, and today, he lost the chance to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference. The latest controversy comes from a video in which Yiannopoulos seems to condone pedophilia. Yiannopoulos denies the allegations and "blamed 'British sarcasm' and 'deceptive editing,'" according to the Times.

Simon & Schuster canceled plans for his book, "Dangerous." In a statement, Yiannopoulos said, "The people whose views, concerns and fears I am articulating do not sip white wine and munch canapés in gilded salons. And they will not be defeated by the cocktail set running New York publishing. Nor will I."

According to the Times article, Yiannopoulos's position at Breitbart is under consideration:

Mr. Yiannopoulos, who has railed against Muslims, immigrants, transgender people and women's rights, is a marquee contributor to Breitbart News, where he serves as senior editor. He has amassed a fan base for his stunts and often-outrageous statements. But by Monday afternoon, his future at the website was being intensely debated by top management.

One Breitbart journalist, who requested anonymity to describe private deliberations, described divisions in the newsroom over whether Mr. Yiannopoulos could stay on. There was some consensus among staff members that his remarks were more extreme than his usual speech, the journalist said, and executives were discussing by telephone whether his apology was enough to preserve his position at the site.

[Update: Yiannopoulos resigned from his Breitbart position.]

I saw Yiannopoulos for the first time on "Real Time with Bill Maher." What struck me most was this statement: "Mean words on the internet don't hurt anyone." Really? Who gets to decide?

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Discussion:

• Did the organizers of the Conservative Political Action Conference and Simon & Schuster make the right decision? Did UC Berkeley?
• What's your perspective on Yiannopoulos' comment, "Mean words on the internet don't hurt anyone"? Who does get to decide?

Twitter's New Time Out for Bad Behavior

Twitter has been acting more and more aggressively against users who behave badly on the site with new rules for what's acceptable and what's not. Now, the company has started giving users a "time out" when tweets violate those rules. Actions may include limiting post views to followers. As the guidelines say, "Limiting the reach of potentially abusive content creates a safer environment and stronger Twitter community."

Some users have complained about the practice, feeling that one word has gotten them into the dog house, but a Business Insider article interviewed an executive who gave a more holistic view of the decision process:

"A spokesperson declined to explain how Twitter determines if an account deserves to be temporarily restricted or totally suspended, but did say that the company looks at the overall context of an account's behavior rather than just potentially offensive keywords. So if an account repeatedly tweets offensive things to other accounts that don't follow back, Twitter could interpret that behavior as abuse and worthy of a time-out."

A page on Twitter's website explains five reasons to understand why "I'm seeing a message that my account is locked or limited": security purposes, account validation, rule violations, suspicious activity, or temporarily limited features, which is the latest addition.

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Discussion:

• The decision to temporarily block reach could be tricky. What criteria do you think Twitter will use to determine whether this action is appropriate?
• In what ways will this new step be effective, and how might it fall short?

Will Chime Fix Meetings?

Amazon is introducing Chime, a new product for online meetings and videoconferencing. Described as "Frustration-free meetings with exceptional audio and video quality," Chime is designed to compete with products like Skype, Google Hangouts, and GoToMeeting.  

GeekWire quotes an Amazon executive about the program:

"It's pretty hard to find people who actually like the technology they use for meetings today," said Gene Farrell, Vice President, Enterprise Applications at AWS in a press release. "Most meeting applications or services are hard to use, deliver bad audio and video, require constant switching between multiple tools to do everything they want, and are way too expensive."

Conference calls have become a joke. The video "A Conference Call in Real Life" has received more than 14.5 million views, and "A Video Conference Call in Real Life" has more than 700,000. 

The Chime promotional materials focus on the technology, of course: ease of joining, automatic reconnection, mobile access, notifications, etc. But what about the people skills involved in managing a meeting? Isn't most of a meeting's success dependent on the leader and participants? Sure, technology can ruin an online meeting, but so can the people managing it.

Discussion:

• What, if anything, do you find appealing about Chime? How does it compare to other meeting programs?
• What percentage of an online meeting's success is attributable to the people? The technology? Is Chime over-promosing?

NBA Bans Mean Tweets

The NBA is asking players to take the high road. Deputy commissioner Mark Tatum sent a memo to the 30 teams in the league:

"While we understand that the use of social media by teams, including during games, is an important part of our business, the inappropriate use of social media can damage the reputation of the NBA, its teams, and its players," NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum wrote in the memo obtained by ESPN.com. "Recently, social media postings (e.g., on Twitter) by some teams have crossed the line between appropriate and inappropriate. In addition to other concerns, such conduct by teams can result in 'Twitter wars' between players that can cause further reputational damage and subject players to discipline by the League.

"As a result, we want teams to be aware of the NBA's rules with respect to the use of social media by teams. As with in-game entertainment, teams are prohibited from mocking and/or ridiculing opponents (including teams, players, team personnel (including owners), and opponents' home cities) and game officials on social media in any form, including through statements, pictures, or videos."

...

"Teams may use social media for fun and light-hearted banter that does not reflect poorly on any team, player, other team or League personnel, or the League as a whole. However, such activity cannot become inappropriate or offensive. As such, we encourage teams to properly and extensively train their social media staff members to ensure that they know what kind of postings are appropriate and what kind are not."

The memo may have been inspired by Twitter banter about Chandler Parsons.

Mashable reports everyone being "obnoxiously nice" now. The sarcasm abounds.

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Discussion:

• What's the difference between light-hearted banter and "inappropriate or offensive" language? I can see some fine distinctions here.
• What's your view of the recent sarcasm: fun, disrespectful, or something else?

Disney and YouTube Drop PewDiePie

With 53 million followers, Felix Kjellberg, known as PewDiePie, is YouTube's most popular star, but the video channel and Disney have cut ties with him after an egregious stunt. On the app Fiverr, people are paid $5 to do crazy things, but this time it went too far.

Two South Asian men carried a sign that read, "Death to all Jews." Kjellberg is shown watching the video with his hand over his mouth. A Wall Street Journal report uncovered additional videos showing Nazi symbols and anti-Semitic jokes connected to the YouTube personality.

YouTube canceled Kjellberg's second season, and Maker Studios, a division of Disney, told Variety: "Although Felix has created a following by being provocative and irreverent, he clearly went too far in this case and the resulting videos are inappropriate. Maker Studios has made the decision to end our affiliation with him going forward."

In a YouTube video, the men who held the saying apologized and pleaded to get back their Fiverr account, which had been suspended. In a blog post, Kjellberg responded to the controversy.

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Discussion:

• Did YouTube and Maker Studio do the right thing? Why or why not?
• For Disney, connections to Kjellberg seemed risky to begin with, even for potentially 53 million followers. What do you think?
• What's your view of Kjellberg's response? Do you believe his argument?

Former Starwood Exec Comments on the Acquisition

Former head of global development at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Simon Turner talks openly at The Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) conference. In an interview, Turner acknowledges that in any acquisition, like the Marriott's purchase of Starwood, not everyone is going to still have a job.

Turner discusses the uncertainly, particularly with the last-minute bid from Anband Insurance, and the value of overcommunicating to avoid confusion.

Turner also describes the process and his feelings of attachment towards the people in his organization, which helped him avoid feeling "woe is me." He also had perspective considering some people spent their entire career at Starwood compared to his nine years.

In talking about the hotel business, Turner says, although executives compete with each other, there is a sense of camaraderie and respect, which Turner calls "one of the great things about our business."

Discussion:

• What does Turner mean at the beginning when he jokes, "I'm a cost synergy"?
• What lessons can we learn from Turner's views on communication?
• What's your view of Turner's perspective on the hotel business? Do you think this is true of some industries more than others? Why or why not?

Are Verizon and T-Mobile Going Too Far on Twitter?

T-Mobile's sex-themed commercial continued on Twitter with the company trading barbs with Verizon, the ad target. Actress Kristen Schaal stars in the ad and seemed to enjoy being "punished" by Verizon for going over her data plan.

Some thought the ad was cute, but the tweets seemed to get out of hand. A Mashable article sums it up well: "It was all pretty creepy coming from the marketing departments of two of America's biggest telecoms. And most Twitter users were not having it."  Tweets encouraged the companies to end it: 

• "K guys. This has OFFICIALLY gone too far."
• "50 Shades of Don't"

T-Mobile CEO John Legere is known for some outlandish behavior. A CNBC article this month calls his behavior "authentic," for example using the "f-bomb," and Legere explains why he is the way he is:

"The trick for me is, I really believe that I act, behave, and speak the same way my customers do. I say what they think on behalf of them. If you look, most of my colorful nature and antics is to drive change that benefits customers."

Discussion:

• Do you find the commercial itself funny?
• What's your view of the ongoing exchange between Verizon and T-Mobile? In this case, was it worth the risk of offending?

Bud Light's Risky Super Bowl Ad

The commercial garnered 21 million YouTube views so far, and #BoycottBudweiser is trending. Maybe it's a successful ad?

News of Bud Light's new advertising approach-no celebrities-before the Super Bowl: on January 18, a Wall Street Journal article described the storyline, but the immigration focus was not clear:

The Budweiser spot, which is being created by Anomaly, will highlight the pursuit of the American dream by focusing on Adolphus Busch, the co-founder of Anheuser-Busch. The famous Clydesdale horses, long a fixture of Bud advertising for the title game, will make a cameo.

The commercial is called "Born the Hard Way," and the YouTube caption reads, "This is the story of our founder's ambitious journey to America in pursuit of his dream: to brew the King of Beers." But the commercial's tone and underlying message seemed to oppose President Trump's recent ban on travel and immigration from Muslim-majority countries.

Budweiser is no stranger to controversy: the company's "up for whatever" campaign offended many as insensitive to sexual assault. This time, some tweets criticized the spelling, while others showed their support of a boycott.

Discussion:

• What consideration, if any, do you think Budweiser gave to the possibility of boycotts by Trump supporters?
• Was the risk worth it? Take a look at the social chatter and mainstream articles.

Trump Management: A Case Study

The New York Times asked business and management experts how well President Trump is shaping up to be a leader. The results aren't too good.

The article cites a Wall Street Journal conservative op-ed:

The conservative editorial page of The Wall Street Journal bemoaned a refugee policy "so poorly explained and prepared for, that it has produced confusion and fear at airports, an immediate legal defeat, and political fury at home and abroad."

An assistant professor of organizational behavior at Stanford said Trump should take her introductory MBA course, while a professor said his actions "are so far from any responsible management approach." Jeffrey Polzer, an HR professor at Harvard said, "It's really common sense: You want to surround yourself with talented people who have the most expertise, who bring different perspectives to the issue at hand. Then you foster debate and invite different points of view in order to reach a high-quality solution."

Polzer also said that a better approach "requires an openness to being challenged, and some self-awareness and even humility to acknowledge that there are areas where other people know more than you do. This doesn't mean decisions are made by consensus. The person at the top makes the decisions, but based on the facts and expertise necessary to make a good decision."

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Discussion:

• What's your view of how President Trump has been running the country so far?
• Where's the disconnect? Compare the complexity of running a country and an executive branch of government to running a complex business.
• Maybe this is an adjustment period. Perhaps Trump needs some time to orient himself and adapt his management style. Try to make a case for this line of thinking if it's not your current view.

CEOs Respond to Trump's Executive Order

The New York Times reports "Frantic Phoning Among CEOs" about how they should address President Trump's ban on travel from Muslim-majority countries. Leaders want to oppose the ban but are concerned about "poking the bear," according to the article. The new president has taken tweet jabs at others, for example, the union leader involved in Carrier negotiations when he spoke out.

In a statement on the Starbucks website, Schultz opposed initiatives around DACA, building a wall, the Affordable Care Act, and immigration. He pledged to employ 10,000 refugees.

Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook also have come forward. Cook focused on Apple, of course: "In my conversations with officials here in Washington this week, I've made it clear that Apple believes deeply in the importance of immigration - both to our company and to our nation's future. Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do." Other tech company leaders have weighed in their opposition: Airbnb, Uber, Lyft, Facebook, Google, Apple, Amazon, Expedia, and Microsoft.

The Times called financial firms' response more "moderate." For example, Lloyd Blanfein of Goldman Sachs said, "For us to be successful, our men and women must reflect the diversity of the communities and cultures in which we operate. That means we must attract, retain and motivate people from many backgrounds and perspectives. Being diverse is not optional; it is what we must be."

The article also noted energy and heavy industries' "mixed-bag" response, consumer and retail companies' resistance, and media and telecom's "no comment."

Discussion:

• What risks and rewards do CEOs face in addressing the travel ban?
• Why are industries responding differently? What does each have to lose or gain?
• Assess Howard Schultz's statement. While others are questioning how and whether to respond, he is on it. Why?