This short post, is to introduce to some and maybe help to refresh to others, the thoughts and ideas of Chris Argyris, probably one of the most relevant scholars in management science. It is quite difficult to summarize his contributions in a short entry, but other people have tried to do so in the last days. He passed away only 5 days ago, but his legacy will be with us for the years to come. He touched many different areas of management science, his writings have been very influential to understand decision making and leadership in organizations. In particular, his contributions are relevant as they help us to better understand what happens in organizations. Besides his work, it'...

The recent announcement of appointees/nominees of US Ambassadors have a common theme: political heavy hitters with a strong ability to raise money with close ties to business trade and investment.  This strategic move on could be a gearing up to win support for the TTIP Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership...  for 2014 Rufus Gifford- Denmark- Finance chairman.. brought in more than $700 million partly by finding new ways of maximizing small donors. Caroline Bouvier Kennedy- Japan, Philanthropist  Bruce Heyman - Canada  Chicago investment banker.  Known as a powerful fundraising force for the president, Heyman has been managing director of private wealth management at Goldm...

The UN has released a report pointing to insects as a food source for the future. This should open our eyes to a new way for us to feed ourselves. In a time of economic stagnation this food market can employ and create profit. Cultivation of insects can be a new economic industry with enormous potential.   Feeding the world's population is becoming harder and harder. The population is growing at exponential speed. By worldometers.info's calculations the earth will populate 8 billion people in 2025. Simultaneously, more and more people are escaping poverty. With more money to spend, higher demands are set to the food that is eaten. As people leaves poverty vegetarian meals are r...

Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his work in microfinance loans. Investment loans were given to poor people with no assets who otherwise do not qualify for for credit. Today nobody talks of these loans as salvation of the poor anymore. The internet site microfinanceschool.com wants the viewer to reflect on this tool against poverty. The idea of giving people loans as means to realize their business idea sounds logical, but loans always come with a price. A client must never forget that loans must be paid back with interests and that there is never a guarantee for success. But in pursuit of prosperity there are always temptations. Creditors can get rich of their, clients a...

El enfoque de la Base de la Pirámide (BdP) ha centrado su análisis exclusivamente en las limitaciones económicas que tienen las comunidades de bajos ingresos. El desarrollo de iniciativas empresariales en la BdP parte fundamentalmente de esta premisa y  elabora diversas estrategias para hacer frente a esta limitación de ingresos. En el informe “Understanding the BoP from an Access to Opportunities” ampliamos este enfoque y reconocemos la multidimensionalidad del concepto de pobreza, incluyendo un análisis de la BdP en función de su acceso a un conjunto de cinco necesidades básicas: agua, energía, educación, vivienda y tecnologías de la información y comunicación. El análisi...

Joffe-walt (2013) has found that 14 million Americans receive disability checks. This does not necessary mean that peoples' health is deteriorating, despite what the charts suggest. Beside the people that truly qualify for the programs are the oportunitists that are struggling for a tiring job when simultaneously disability programs are promoted by the state? With no universal definition on disability to receive a disability check is more a question of a good attorney than a question of the state of one's health. With the state authorities promoting disability programs payed exit from unemployment seems like a golden opportunity. Today’s work market requires skills. Uneducat...

USA issues business tax incentives on a State and Local Level....  Roughly $80.4 billion in incentives each year, totaling 1,874 programs.    FILM -- 86 programs in 40 states total:  $1.51 billion. THE TOP FIVE STATES FOR FILM: New York- $359 million California- $191 million Louisiana- $179 million Pennsylvania -$96.3 million Massachusetts- $85.8 million Alternative Energy--23 states, for a total of $235 million THE TOP FIVE STATES FOR ALTERNATIVE ENERGY http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/12/01/us/government-incentives.html#alternativeenergy  California-$60 million   Michigan-$56.5 million  Hawaii -$34.5 million   Nebraska-$26.5 million  ...

Last week I returned to Spain for some days, after living there for two years. I´ve been following the financial crisis closely the last years, especially in Spain. The contrast of coming from Norway is enormous. We, as Norwegians, can´t hardly say we have experienced the crisis -- apart from one thing; the immigration of people, and -- once again -- especially from Spain.   According to a Wall Street Journal article, half a million Spaniards left Spain last year looking for work, some of them ended up in Norway. These decisions are made upon needs, the need of work. Few, if any, make a decision like this for fun. Moving from friends and family, from your house, your culture and once your h...

Para quien ha estudiado Macroeconomía, tienen que sonar raras las medidas que el gobierno Argentino, así como aquellos de otros países cercanos, ha tomado para proteger su economía. A corto plazo las ventajas pueden quizás superar a las desventajas, pero es difícil creer que esta nueva ola proteccio...

Just recently I read an article in The Economist. It´s about how different countries see China as an economic threat or an opportunity. Not surprisingly, United States see China as a threat. However, what I find surprising is that France sees China more as a threat than the United States - maybe bec...