Discovery Girls Responds to Controversial Swimsuit Advice
Readers didn't appreciate the Discovery Girls article telling young girls which bathing suit will make their bodies more perfect.
Criticism was harsh on Twitter and Facebook, with parents already struggling to help their children have a positive body image, regardless of their shape and size. Discovery Girls' readers are between 8 and 13 years old.
The publisher responded in a Facebook post saying that the article was a mistake and contrary to the magazine's views. She also took the opportunity to promote the Discovery Girls' book.
An open letter from Catherine Lee, Publisher of Discovery Girls
First, I want to thank all the parents and my amazing readers who brought this swimsuit article to my attention. As the founder of Discovery Girls magazine, and even more importantly, the mother of the first Discovery Girl in 2000, I am in total agreement with all of you regarding this article, so much so that I wanted to make this letter as public as possible. We want to make sure that our girls know that any article that makes you feel bad about your body is not a good article, and should be questioned.
It's still hard for me to believe that an article so contrary to our magazine's mission could have been published on our pages. I have been a loss for words for days. The article was supposed to be about finding cute, fun swimsuits that make girls feel confident, but instead it focused on girls' body image and had a negative impact. Nobody knows better than Discovery Girls how impressionable our girls are at this age and we are ALWAYS mindful of this. We've received hundreds of thousands of letters over the years from girls sharing their insecurities about their bodies. We've been so concerned about helping girls have a healthy body image that we wrote an entire book, Growing Up, on puberty and body image.
The book, which took over five years to write, was a labor of love. We worked with so many writers, editors, and over 20,000 girls and their parents, too. We invested so much time and effort into it because we knew how important it is to get it right. Our girls need resources to provide them with the guidance they need to develop a healthy body image and love all that they are.
As much we like to think that something like this would never happen to us, it did. We're not immune to making mistakes, but we are always willing to get better and learn from our mistakes. We'd like to thank the readers who contacted us to let us know they couldn't believe we could make such a mistake. It means a lot to us, because it means you hold us to a higher standard, which we hope you will continue to demand from us. And for those of you who don't know us as well as our regular readers, our reader's comments are what keeps us improving. This is what makes Discovery Girls the magazine that we're all so proud to be a part of. I know with certainty, if you hang in there, you'll find that no magazine works harder to ensure the well-being of your daughters than Discovery Girls.
Catherine Lee
Chicago Tribune article, in my opinion, doesn't help. The author does a great job criticizing Discovery Girls, but the article photo shows girls will similar, thin bodies.
Discussion Starters:
- How well does Lee's response work? How could it be improved?
- How does a "mistake" like this happen? What do you think went wrong, and how can the magazine avoid it in the future?
Geek Squad's Confusing Email
Geek Squad's email, with the subject line, "IMPORTANT NOTICE: We've updated our Privacy Policy," is a confusing mess. After reading the email, I have no idea what the changes are and why they're important to me.
The main points of the email seem to be that the website is going to be combined with Best Buy's, and Geek Squad customers will now follow Best Buy's privacy policy. As usual, the email focuses on what's important to the company instead of what's important to customers.
The tone is "excited" with references to simpler, streamlined, easier experiences for customers, but it's not clear what those are-or how they're different from Geek Squad's current process.
Of course, we're referred to Best Buy's privacy policy, also a fun read. At least the top part of the page summarizes the most important information, and the full legal policy is below, with this note:
We want you to read the whole policy. This highlights section provides a summary of Best Buy's privacy practices, and is not the whole policy. The highlights and full privacy policy apply to Best Buy retail stores, our Web site at www.bestbuy.com, our mobile app, and other locations where we may collect personal information.
The company should probably update this blurb to include Geek Squad.
Discussion Starters:
- What do customers most need to know?
- How could Geek Squad have approach this differently?
Higher Restaurant Reviews with More Time and Distance
An article in the Journal of Consumer Psychology found that guests give higher online ratings to restaurants that are farther from their home and if they waited two or three months to write the review after visiting. If both criteria were met, the effect was even better for a positive review. According to the lead author, "If someone visited a Red Lobster restaurant in their home town and then in another state, he or she gave a better star rating when the restaurant was out of town."
Researchers at Temple University studied more than 166,000 TripAdvisor reviews for their paper, "Effects of Multiple Psychological Distances on Construal Level: A Field Study of Online Reviews." To understand why people gave higher reviews, they analyzed word choice. When people wrote about restaurants closer to home, they described details about the food and service, but when they wrote after a couple of months about their time away from home, they used more general language about their "pleasant" experience.
The image here encourages guests to write a review when they get home. Perhaps that's not the best strategy.
Discussion Starters:
- Why do you think people give better reviews when waiting to write and when writing about restaurants farther away?
- What are the implications of this research for restaurants wanting to boost online reviews? What strategies can they use?
- What are the implications for people who rely on reviews to make restaurant choices?
Prof on a Plane Accused of Terrorist Activity
Guido Menzio, an associate professor and economist at the University of Pennsylvania is an unlikely terrorist, but he was a suspect nonetheless. Menzio's seatmate on an American Airlines flight from Philadelphia to Syracuse found his answers curt and became worried when she saw him drawing something cryptic. She cleverly slipped a flight attendant a note, and the crew turned the plane around and started asking Menzio some questions.
A Washington Post article says he was "ethnically profiled" as a someone Middle Eastern, although he is Italian. Turns out, Menzio wasn't trying to overtake the plane but was working out a price-setting model for a presentation.
The woman boarded another plane and has not been identified for comment.
The airline seems embarrassed by the incident. Of course, Menzio was quickly cleared, but the flight was delayed more than two hours. The Post summarizes Menzio's reaction:
Menzio for his part says he was "treated respectfully throughout," though he remains baffled and frustrated by a "broken system that does not collect information efficiently." He is troubled by the ignorance of his fellow passenger, as well as "A security protocol that is too rigid–in the sense that once the whistle is blown everything stops without checks–and relies on the input of people who may be completely clueless.
Discussion Starters:
- It's interesting that Menzio says he was treated respectfully. Would you agree? What could he mean by that?
- What action, if any, should be taken against the woman passenger? The airline crew?
- Should the woman apologize? If so, how?
Too Much Social Media Sharing Affects Learning
How much time do you spend each day giving feedback on social media posts? A study by researchers at Peking and Cornell Universities found that too much sharing on microblogging sites Twitter and Weibo causes cognitive issues.
Here are highlights of the findings:
- Reposting online messages interferes with online information comprehension.
- Reposting further compromises performance in a subsequent unrelated learning task.
- Cognitive overload mediates the negative effect of reposting.
A premise of the study is how few original posts are on each site:
At Weibo, for instance, 4.8% users contribute more than 80% of the original posts, whereas the majority users primarily comment on or repost others' messages (Fu & Chau, 2013). Similarly, more than half of Twitter users never post a message, whereas the top 10% most active users contribute to over 90% of all content (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2011).
From studying student-participants, the authors concluded that reposting items "interfered with participants' information comprehension both online and offline." The authors warn that people attend to functionality for feedback rather than content, and that more cluttered interfaces (um, Facebook's six new Reactions?) isn't helping. They also say that valuable time spent on cognitive functions, such as reflecting on and integrating information, is impaired, reducing our ability to process and comprehend information.
Discussion Starters:
- Intuitively, does this study make sense to you? Why or why not?
- How do you think this research may translate to other social media platforms or online activities?
- An article by The Independent was titled, "Why resharing on social media could be making you more stupid." Is this an overstatement? Why or why not?
Joe Paterno Back in the News
It's been a while since we heard about Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, who was in the news in 2011 because his assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, had been sexually abusing young boys. Some questioned who knew and for how long, and recent court papers reveal Paterno's possible awareness since 1976.
The current dispute is over whether Penn State or its insurance company should pay the $60 million in damages sought by 26 people who Sandusky abused. According to the insurance company, one sentence in the case revealed an important piece of evidence: "in 1976, a child allegedly reported to PSU's Head Coach Joseph Paterno that he (the child) was sexually molested by Sandusky." In addition, the evidence shows other cases reported in the 1980s.
Joe Paterno died of lung cancer in 2012, only two months after he was suspended from Penn State and within a year of the story breaking. His family is denying the evidence and calling for a full review of the facts.
Sandusky was sentenced to between 30 and 60 years, but he's filing for a new trial. Three university leaders-the former president, athletic director, and a senior vice president-still face charges for failing to report incidents.
Discussion Starters:
- This is based on just one sentence in the report-and it's the insurance company's perspective, obviously to avoid claims. What do you think?
- Research the case in 2011. The university took a while to suspend Joe Paterno. Why? And was the suspension the right decision?
Princeton Professor Creates "CV of Failures"
Princeton University Professor Johannes Haushofer published his "CV of Failures" on the school website, as he says, "to balance the record and provide some perspective":
Most of what I try fails, but these failures are often invisible, while the successes are visible. I have noticed that this sometimes gives others the impression that most things work out for me. As a result, they are more likely to attribute their own failures to themselves, rather than the fact that the world is stochastic, applications are crapshoots, and selection committees and referees have bad days.
This list includes programs he didn't get into, journals that rejected his articles, and research funding he didn't get.
CV of Failures
The idea came from an article in Nature by Melanie I. Stefan, a lecturer in the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Edinburgh.
Haushofer tweeted, "Dear everyone writing your own CV of failures: just to point out I'm not aware of scientific evidence saying it does anything good for you." Still, his compilation is an expression of humility and reminds all of us that successes are built on failures. In my view, if we don't have failures, it's possible we're not reaching high enough.
Discussion Starters:
If you wrote a resume of failures, what would you include? Think about the companies that didn't hire you and the schools from which you were rejected.
How do your failures make you feel? Are you still feeling hurt by them, or have you moved past it?
Caitlyn Jenner "Meets Her Critics"
Caitlyn Jenner isn't shying away from high school critics. Students in a Brooklyn school say they want to hear more from her now that she has identified as a transgender person, and The New York Times reports that she has showed up to meet them.
Students at the Academy for Young Writers had harsh words for Jenner, calling her "privileged" and saying she didn't deserve recognition as one of Glamour's Women of the Year. The school is known for its progressive LGBTQ practices, and Jenner supported Ted Cruz. But she surprised students at the school when she showed up, and they seemed to make amends.
Jenner said she used to be a privileged man, but she clearly doesn't feel that way now. Nicholas Kristof reported on the story and made connections between Jenner and the transgender students: Jenner is chased by paparazzi, and the students are chased by bullies.
Discussion Starters:
- Should Jenner do more for the transgender community? Why or why not?
- How do you assess her approach with the students? Consider that her identify and her role are still new for her.
Ted Cruz Ends Campaign
After the Indiana primary, presidential candidate Ted Cruz announced the end of his campaign. He told a crowd of supporters that he doesn't see a "viable path" to the office:
"And so, with a heavy heart, but with boundless optimism for the long-term future of our nation, we are suspending our campaign. But hear me now, I am not suspending our fight for liberty. I am not suspending our fight to defend the Constitution, to defend the Judeo-Christian values that built America. Our movement will continue. And I give you my word that I will continue this fight with all of my strength and all of my ability."
His message is positive, but he was not so just hours before the polls opened when he said, "If Indiana does not act, this country could well plunge into the abyss."
Cruz tried to defeat Donald Trump in the past couple of weeks by announcing former presidential candidate Carly Fiorina as his vice presidential running mate. But a Morning Consult Survey reported that this decision would have no impact on voters, and the results have played out. This tweet refers to the downsizing at Hewlett Packard when Fiorina was CEO:
Discussion Starters:
- Analyze the primary and secondary audiences for Cruz's speech. How well does he meet their needs?
- Also analyze his tone and delivery style. In what ways does this match what you would expect of a presidential candidate ending his campaign, and how does it differ?
Fun at This Year's Correspondents' Dinner
The White House Correspondents' Association Dinner is the one night the president and others can make fun at themselves and each other publicly. The dinner is an annual roast of politicians, celebrities, and journalists.
Here are a few highlights from President Obama's speech from NPR:
- "I was running on CPT, which stands for jokes that white people should not make." [a reference to NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio's bad reference]
- "As you know, Spotlight is a film about investigative journalists with the resources, the autonomy, to chase down the truth and hold the powerful accountable. Best fantasy film since Star Wars."
- "Savannah Guthrie left the White House press corps to host The Today Show. Nora O'Donnell left the briefing room to host CBS This Morning. Jake Tapper left journalism to join CNN."
Of course, the current presidential candidates were fair game. He poked fun at Hillary Clinton's lack of Facebook skills, Donald Trump's history of "running waterfront properties into the ground," and Bernie Sanders' reputation as a democratic socialist.
Discussion Starters:
- Which of President Obama's jokes worked best, and which fell short? How many references did you miss? (You have to keep up with news to get the jokes.)
- Watch Cecily Strong's speech. How does it compare to President Obama's?
Priceline CEO Resigns
Priceline CEO Darren Huston has resigned after a relationship with an employee became known. A former CEO, Jeffery Boyd, will serve as interim CEO, and COO Gillian Teams will replace Huston as Booking.com's chief, which was also Huston's position. Booking.com is a unit of Priceline Group.
Priceline denies any connection between company performance and Huston's departure. Huston has had some big wins as CEO: acquiring OpenTable, signing a booking agreement with TripAdvisor, and seeing company revenue increase almost 36% since taking over in January 2014.
The company also says that the employee wasn't under Huston's direct supervision, although, as CEO, all employees eventually report into him. In a statement, Priceline said Huston "had engaged in activities inconsistent with the board's expectations for executive conduct, which Mr. Huston acknowledged and for which he expressed regret." The former CEO received a salary of $22 million and won't receive any severance pay.
The lead investigator of the incident said, "I am satisfied with the board's thorough review of this issue. The performance of the business under Darren has been strong, and the company is very well-positioned to continue executing on its strategy for growth. Jeff is deeply familiar with the company's strategy and leadership team, which consists of highly accomplished entrepreneurs and seasoned professional executives with long tenure in the business. We are confident the company is in strong hands while we conduct a search for a new CEO."
Discussion Starters:
- Why would Priceline emphasize that the employee wasn't a direct report? Does it matter?
- Priceline has no statement on its website. Should the company post something? Why or why not, and if so, what should the statement say?
SCOTUS Overturns Political Expression Case
The Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment protects a public employee who was demoted after management thought he had certain political interests. The Paterson, N.J., detective, Jeffrey Heffernan, was demoted to patrol officer after picking up a sign for his bedridden mother. The sign supported a mayoral candidate that the police chief opposed.
Lower courts ruled that the employees' demotion was acceptable because the act of carrying the sign was a perceived, rather than an actual, expression of political support. According to a Society for HR Management (SHRM) article, "So because Heffernan had not actually supported the candidate, the courts ruled that his right to free speech had not been violated."
But the Supreme Court overturned that decision, expanding the First Amendment protection to include perceived political expression. In its opinion, the court wrote, "When an employer demotes an employee out of a desire to prevent the employee from engaging in political activity that the First Amendment protects, the employee is entitled to challenge that unlawful action under the First Amendment and 42 U.S.C. § 1983-even if, as here, the employer makes a factual mistake about the employee's behavior."
SHRM explains, "Moreover, the constitutional harm-discouraging employees from engaging in protected speech-is the same whether the employer's action is based upon a factual mistake or if the employer was correct in its assumption, the court ruled."
Discussion Starters:
- This is a fairly complicated case. Explain it in your own words, including the implications for public employers.
- What if Heffernan worked for a private employer? Would he have had the same constitutional protection?
Maine Governor Stops Mid-Speech, Calls Students "Idiots"
The Governor of Maine walked out in the middle of a dedication speech at the University of Maine at Farmington. Paul R. LePage was thrown by seeing students holding protest signs. The Governor's speech begins at 5:27 on this video.
The Chronicle describes the interruption:
Mr. LePage reportedly saw the signs 15 seconds into his speech, and then began to pause and struggle with his text. After 30 seconds more, he said he was done, apologized, and left the stage.
"Thank you, you idiots out back there with the signs," the newspaper quoted Mr. LePage as saying as he left. One sign said: "LePage: Maine's Shame." The other was an environmental report card that gave Mr. LePage an F.
The Governor later apologized at a Town Hall meeting:
"First and foremost, I apologize to President Foster and especially to Theodora Kalikow for the sequence of events on Tuesday. I was humbled to be invited to speak at a ceremony to honor Theodora Kalikow and recognize the great legacy she has left the University of Maine at Farmington, as well as its faculty, staff and students.
"I am accustomed to daily attacks and ridicule from protestors, but most people are not. Neither Theo, nor the people who were gathered to honor her, deserved for this heartfelt occasion to be disrespected by smug and self-serving protestors. If they wish to protest me, that's fine: we all have the right to express our freedom of speech. But this event was not about me. I was sickened by the lack of respect displayed by two protestors holding up demeaning signs-including one with Theo's name on it-during an event that was supposed to celebrate and honor a remarkable woman who has contributed so many years to improving education in Maine.
"For more than five years, the media has flocked to events where I have been asked to speak, not to cover any good news about the events, but to disparage me over issues totally unrelated to the events. Since I am such a distraction to the media, I will no longer attend some of these public events. I sincerely hope the media will continue to attend these events and report on the good people of Maine and the many positive things they are doing for our state."
The Governor may have a short fuse. In another incident this week, he prevented the media and legislators from accessing a meeting about education. He said, "The press take seven seconds of what I say, and they make a s*** show out of it. I'm tired of it."
Maybe he just needs a vacation.
Discussion Starters:
- Assess the Governor's apology. How does this meet and fall short of business communication principles?
- How can presenters avoid being affected by protesters and other interruptions?
Target Defends Inclusive Bathrooms
Despite the controversy, Target is not backing down from its plan to allow transgender people to use the bathroom and fitting room they prefer. The company points to inclusivity as a core belief.
Backlash came most intensely from the American Family Association, which started a petition for people to boycott the retail chain and received more than 517,000 signatures. The petition suggests that Target instead install unisex bathrooms, but Target spokesperson Molly Snyder said that hundreds of stores already "have single-stall, family restrooms for those who may be more comfortable with that option." Snyder also said, "We certainly respect that there are a wide variety of perspectives and opinions. As a company that firmly stands behind what it means to offer our team an inclusive place to work - and our guests an inclusive place to shop - we continue to believe that this is the right thing for Target."
The group's concern seems to be about sexual predators; apparently, they don't understand the difference between a predator and someone who is transgender. This FAQ from GLAAD explains the term.
Discussion Starters:
- How would you explain the issue to someone who knows nothing about gender identity?
- Assess Target's statement. Is this the best approach to the controversy?
Mitsubishi Admits Deception
Just as Volkswagen is agreeing on ways to settle its emissions scandal, Japanese car manufacturer Mitsubishi has admitted to reporting false data for car emissions for the past 25 years. The company said about 625,000 of its mini-cars sold in Japan had been tested incorrectly; regulations changed in 1991 to include driving in urban areas, but Mitsubishi didn't adjust its data.
Mitsubishi Motors President Tetsuro Aikawa said, "We don't know the whole picture, and we are in the process of trying to determine that. I feel a great responsibility." Like Mary Barra, GM's CEO, Aikawa is a new president as the scandal is unfolding. Barra was GM's CEO for only a few months before the ignition issues came to light.
As of now, Mitsubishi's website "Press Room" doesn't include a statement about the news, but Aikawa has given a press conference in Japan. During the conference, Aikawa said, "We've discovered that improper tests were being used designed to show fuel consumption better than it actually was. It was also found that the fuel economy testing methods were not in line with Japanese regulations. We offer our profound apologies to customers and shareholders."
Cue deep bow...
Since the news broke, Mitsuibishi's stock has dropped about 50%.
Discussion Starters:
- So far, what are the similarities and differences between this situation and Volkswagen?
- What should Mitsuibishi publish on its website at this point?
- Should we expect more car models to be affected, as we saw with Volkswagen?
Lyft's First TV Commercial
With a bit of assonance and a lot of humor, Lyft creates its first television ad. The tagline is, "Riding is the new driving," and it shows all the discomforts and inconveniences of driving: traffic, accidents, and getting a ticket.
Lyft's creative director, Jesse McMillin told AdWeek,
"Obviously as we grow and continue to evolve as a brand, we want to make sure we're constantly pushing ourselves to have a vibe and aesthetic that feels professional and cool. But in doing that, we also want to make sure we stay true to the roots of the company. That's really what informs us more than what any of our competitors are doing."
In a second video, Lyft's executives describe the approach of the ad to convey the main point: ride-sharing is the better choice.
Lyft has had fun with other YouTube videos. Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice picks up a few people and chats them up, but he says, "I'm not really into sports." Before he reveals his true identity, he stops the car to stretch, take a nap, and dance with a few people. Racecar driver Danica Patrick also makes an appearance as a Lyft driver-a fast one.
Discussion Starters:
- What's your view of the commercial? Do you find it as entertaining as the Lyft executives intended?
- What makes the commercial memorable?
Personality and Grammar
A PLOS One study tells us that people who are less agreeable, according to a Big Five Personality assessment, judge paragraphs with typos and grammatical errors more harshly. Researchers at The University of Michigan asked 80 participants to take the personality test and then respond to a paragraph that had two typos and two grammatical errors.
According to the authors,
"Summarizing the results, three out of the Big Five personality traits interacted with only one type of error, either grammos (agreeability) or typos (openness, conscientiousness). One trait (extraversion) interacted with both types of errors, and one trait (neuroticism) interacted with neither. This pattern is consistent with our speculation that typos and grammos carry different evaluative weight and potentially different social meanings."
The results aren't as interesting to me as how the study is getting spun. The article is appropriately titled: "If You're House Is Still Available, Send Me an Email: Personality Influences Reactions to Written Errors in Email Messages." However, a Mashable article reads, "People obsessed with grammar aren't as nice as everybody else, study suggests."
This seems to be a bold conclusion: is identifying four mistakes in a short paragraph considered an obsession? In answering the questions about the writer, shown here, I'm not sure how the respondents could be called obsessive.
Discussion Starters:
- Do I sound defensive? I am, but do I have a point?
- Do the study results surprise you? Read more detail about the influence of the five personality types in the PLOS One article.
Did Airbnb Depress Hotel Rates?
For the first time, I've seen a claim that Airbnb has affected hotel rates in New York City. A New York Post article, "Airbnb's cheap rates hurt Big Apple hotels big time," says that it's 1.7% less expensive to stay in a hotel in NYC this year than it was last year. Hotel stake owner Richard Born says, "If Airbnb were to go away, room rates would go up by 15 percent."
Students may see this as a single-cause fallacy, and they may be right: new hotel development added 30,000 rooms to the city this year. But Mark VanStekelenburg, managing director of CBRE Hotels, points to Airbnb's $80-per-room average rate and says that Airbnb rooms "account for" between 12 and 20% of all hotel rooms.
Born also says, "Anyone who says Airbnb is not affecting NYC hotels is an idiot or hired by Airbnb to say that."
Discussion Starters:
- Do you believe that Airbnb is to blame for declining NYC hotel rates? Why or why not?
- What are the implications either way? How, if at all, should Airbnb respond to these accusations?
Layoffs at Intel
'Tis the week of layoffs. Intel is cutting 12,000 jobs, and Nordstrom is cutting about 400. In a press release, Intel explained the rationale:
Intel Announces Restructuring Initiative to Accelerate Transformation
SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 19, 2016 - Intel Corporation today announced a restructuring initiative to accelerate its evolution from a PC company to one that powers the cloud and billions of smart, connected computing devices. Intel will intensify its focus in high-growth areas where it is positioned for long-term leadership, customer value and growth, while making the company more efficient and profitable.
The data center and Internet of Things (IoT) businesses are Intel's primary growth engines, with memory and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) accelerating these opportunities - fueling a virtuous cycle of growth for the company. These growth businesses delivered $2.2 billion in revenue growth last year, and made up 40 percent of revenue and the majority of operating profit, which largely offset the decline in the PC market segment.
The restructuring initiative was outlined in an e-mail from Intel CEO Brian Krzanich to Intel employees.
"Our results over the last year demonstrate a strategy that is working and a solid foundation for growth," said Krzanich. "The opportunity now is to accelerate this momentum and build on our strengths.
"These actions drive long-term change to further establish Intel as the leader for the smart, connected world," he added. "I am confident that we'll emerge as a more productive company with broader reach and sharper execution."
While making the company more efficient, Intel plans to increase investments in the products and technologies that that will fuel revenue growth, and drive more profitable mobile and PC businesses. Through this comprehensive initiative, the company plans to increase investments in its data center, IoT, memory and connectivity businesses, as well as growing client segments such as 2-in-1s, gaming and home gateways.
These changes will result in the reduction of up to 12,000 positions globally -- approximately 11 percent of employees -- by mid-2017 through site consolidations worldwide, a combination of voluntary and involuntary departures, and a re-evaluation of programs. The majority of these actions will be communicated to affected employees over the next 60 days with some actions spanning in to 2017.
Intel expects the program to deliver $750 million in savings this year and annual run rate savings of $1.4 billion by mid-2017. The company will record a one-time charge of approximately $1.2 billion in the second quarter.
Webcast Intel also announced first-quarter 2016 earnings today. The company will discuss the restructuring initiative during the earnings webcast scheduled today at 2:00 pm PDT on its Investor Relations website at www.intc.com. A webcast replay and audio download will also be available on the site.
According to Krzanich, the layoffs will result in "the highest revenue per employee in Intel's history."
For a while in class, I used former Intel CEO Paul Otellini's email announcing layoffs of about 1,000 managers. That seems like child's play now.
Discussion Starters:
- How would you summarize Krzanich's rationale for the layoffs?
- 12,000 is a big number. How well does Krzanich justify the decision? What should be done internally?
Nordstrom: Latest Company Laying Off Employees
Although Nordstrom has been a "Wall Street darling," as a Seattle Times article says, the company has announced layoffs of up to 400 employees. Sales for Nordstrom and discount store Nordstrom Rack are falling. The news comes after 120 technology positions and 14 manager positions were cut earlier this year.
In a press release, the company emphasized keeping up with changing market demand.
A Business Insider article explains the conundrum between facing an American consumer who doesn't want to pay full price and the company's desire to maintain its identify as a high-end retailer. According to one writer, heavy discounting "will ultimately drag everything down with it, including brand image, potentially quality and essentially the value of all things."
Discussion Starters:
- How should Nordstrom deliver the news internally?
- Write an email that the company could send to its employees announcing the decision. Try to adapt the press release to an internal audience.