Tigerhawk filled in for Wretchard during the latter's short walkabout. In a short post entitled "George P. Shultz and the origins of the Bush doctrine", he directed us to two posts:

I commend to you Dan Henninger's article this morning on George Shultz, "father of the Bush doctrine." I like to think that he read this post of mine on precisely the same subject. Both are well worth reading!

After reading those two essays, I left this reply:

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Posted by Starling Hunter at 10:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

During my time as an MBA student, doctoral candidate, and faculty member in US business schools, one of the funniest spectacles I ever watched was the yearly management follies. Typically these involved the creation and presentation of several parodies and skits, many of which lampooned the school's faculty, administrators, and leadership, sometimes mercilessly.

What I found most amazing about the follies was just how good they were. What I mean when I say good is that I laughed as hard and as frequently as I would at a good sit-com, a stand-up comic, or an episode of Saturday Night Live. The topic matter might be a little drier than Hollywood fare, but the humor was usually every bit as good and the sarcasm just as biting. Knowing full-well that the stereotype of businesspeople as stiffs in suits is very wide of the mark, it was with considerable joy that I greeted this email sent by a colleague today:

From the Columbia Business School Follies... (a video that) makes fun of the fact that the Dean of the Business School, Glenn Hubbard, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to the President, wanted to be Fed chairman. CBS refers to Columbia Business School. Apparently, the student who "plays" Hubbard is an uncanny look-alike of a young Hubbard.

The Youtube video above is entitled "Every Breath Bernanke Takes." In it, "Hubbard" expresses his sorrow at not being chosen to head the Fed. You don't have to have an MBA or PhD in monetary policy to appreciate the humor, but it might help.

Posted by Starling Hunter at 4:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Professor Hunter: Dear A, I see that you linked to one of my posts on my blog, "The Business of America is Business". In that post you wondered about the title. Here's a brief story behind it from Bartleby's New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy:

A statement made by President Calvin Coolidge in the 1920s. Coolidge's words are often mentioned as typical of the overconfidence in the American economy that preceded the Great Depression.

If you google this phrase in quotes you'll find well over 30,000 links. In the US it is a well-known phrase. Thanks again for linking to my site. I'll add yours to my blogroll the next time I update it. I invite you to do the same.

MBA Student: Dear Professor Hunter, Thanks for the mail and the explanation. This is an interesting phrase and frankly provides the wrong impression. I will surely add to my blogroll, which is non-existent now. I will need to update mine.

Professor Hunter: Dear S, good to hear back from you. As you will now notice, I have added your site to my blog roll. I do have one question for you. You mention that the title gives the "wrong impression". I find that an intriguing statement. Given the United States' leadership in business and business education, I didn't think this title would have any negative connotations. I may be mistaken. Perhaps it sounds arrogant? I am not trying to start an argument with you, but rather genuinely curious about how one non-US MBA student viewed the title.

MBA: Thanks for adding my site. ... I appreciate you asking me about my statement on the "quote". There a couple of things here and please bear with me as this is my personal opinion.

I agree with you with the fact that America has been the leading country in the world to do business, for technological and business innovations, for consumerism, for marketing and for the mecca of hi-tech - Silicon Valley. America has proved that "business" is a powerful force. With the creation of the MBA by Wharton and by the subsequent thinkers like Drucker and the following of the MBA program in the last 50-60 yrs in America there is no doubt that MBA is the creation of America and I believe it is an admirable creation as it has been successful in creating many professionals in the business.

Now comes my belief that a business is a force of good. It is a powerful force. In a society of organizations "business" has showed considerable progress in managing it and it is slowly entering the other organizations - not for profits, health care, education etc. However, and here comes the problem, a business focussed America is looking for "mazimizing shareholder's returns" or maximizing profits as the goal. Profits as such are not bad, in fact they are needed. As the proof of Economic sustainability or the reward for risk taken. But, the emphasis on maximization is the problem.

This may not be the same goal for other organizations and this will effect its progress. If I may say, I would not believe this to be the right goal for all business organizations. Considering that we could have hundreds of "cereals" for breakfast in developed countries and nobody could design and market basic necessities for the "poorest" of the consumers in the world - "bottom of the pyramid", shows the effect misplaced emphasis on profits has created. It has taken away a viable medium of providing services to the vast majority of people in the world. These are some of my thoughts. I would like to here form you, and may be continue this discussion.

Professor Hunter: Dear A, in your email you said something very interesting:

"Considering that we could have hundreds of "cereals" for breakfast in developed countries and nobody could design and market basic necessities for the "poorest" of the consumers in the world - "bottom of the pyramid", shows the effect misplaced emphasis on profits has created. It has taken away a viable medium of providing services to the vast majority of people in the world. "

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Posted by Starling Hunter at 5:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Back in February, at the very same time that much of the Muslim world was calling for a boycott of Danish goods, there was some (Middle) East meets West business activity taking place that escaped my notice. Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter, arguably the most influential and widely-read management scholar of the last quarter century, made a visit to Libya. And what, you might be asking, occasioned a visit to the shores of Tripoli by the world's most famous strategy professor? It was to present to the Libyan government with the results of an in-depth study that Porter and his associates undertook on the Libyan economy. While the specifics of the report have not been made public, several websites have discussed its broad outlines. The Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation described the talk this way:

The competition in the Libya market is positively impact(ing) the Libyan citizens, Professor Michael E. Porter has said. In an interview with Al-Shamis newspaper, Porter expected bright economic future for Libya. Porter presided a team of local and foreign experts to set up a long-term economic strategy for Libya.

Continue reading "Mr. Porter Goes to Tripoli" »

Posted by Starling Hunter at 7:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (1)

A Belmont Club post entitled "The First Front" examines the intellectual battle against Islamic extremism:

If developing "norms that challenge and expose extremist thought" are a prerequisite to challenging Islamic extremism then the road will be long and hard. Intellectual challenges to radical Islamism have largely been the effort of outcast intellectuals like Oriana Fallaci, Bat Y'eor, Hirsi Ali and others like them. They live in a shadow world, "scorned by the academic establishment for their politically incorrect views", as Bruce Bawer puts it; and literally on the run. Fallaci in fact, has been ordered to stand trial for "defaming Islam" in her native Italy. Hirsi Ali leads a precarious existence under round-the-clock protection from the Dutch government. ... Islam's intellectual challengers live a fugitive existence while its defenders move in a celebrity world. If challenging Islamic extremism intellectually is a necessity then the enterprise has gotten off to a bad start.

Comment "Skipsailing" said: "If there are any so called moderate muslims out there, let's see them." I replied to Skip with these remarks:

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Posted by Starling Hunter at 9:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In the comments section of the Red Harvest post at the Belmont Club, several people wondered about the apparent inability of mainstream media (MSM) organizations, particularly newspapers and TV news programs, to provide contextual, proportional, and comparative analyses of the events in Iraq. Here's a sample of the comments:

Dan said:

"If only more mainstream journalistic attention - and more op-ed attention - was devoted to the actual political parties, players, affiliations and intentions. This ought to have been far more of a focus - with far less emphasis, when discussed, on "US-backed" this and that - from the first provisional government. A journalistic failing of the first order. And we know how much they love pointing out failings."

Wretchard, the Belmont Club's proprietor, replied:

Dan, there were expectations that the manuever force that implemented OIF should have adapted faster to the insurgency. Maybe it should have. But by comparison the MSM doesn't seem to have adapted particularly well to covering stories in places where intimidation, disinformation and propaganda ops are not only practiced, but are actually a principal mode of combat.

Maybe the MSM should get more language capability for their correspondents, find ways of operating more securely (perhaps clandestinely) to avoid intimidation; run stringers like agents so they can cross check reports, etc. Perhaps they can realign resources too. I read somewhere that the CBS News Anchor's salary is equal to 50 correspondents. Maybe the MSM simply isn't structured to cover a story like this very well. Just speculating.

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Posted by Starling Hunter at 4:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Regardless of what one thinks about the practice of abortion, this much is clear: since the landmark Roe v. Wade decision abortion services have grown into a full-fledged industry - by some estimates a $400 million to $1 Billion industry. Partly because of the sensitive nature of the subject and partly because of the dogged determined of those who oppose the practice, abortion providers keep low organizational and individual profiles.

Given how many Planned Parenthood clinics and their staff have been threatened or killed, people working in this industry understandably loathe speak publicly and candidly about their strategic plans. If and when they do, the focus is always more on the needs of the clients than of that of the provider. A recent article appearing on MSNBC coming from KNBN-TV in Rapid City, South Dakota entitled "Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to offer abortions" illustrates all of this quite clearly:

If South Dakota's abortion ban stands, it won't ban them from all parts of the state. The Oglala Sioux tribe president wants to open a women's clinic on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation that will offer abortions only if House Bill 1215 becomes law.

(According to) Cecilia Fire Thunder, President, Oglala Sioux Tribe, "The best solution to abortion is to make sure that women have access to contraceptives, have access to family planning options, and that information needs to be out there at all times where all women of childbearing age have that information and use it."

Continue reading "A New Entrant into a Beleaguered Industry" »

Posted by Starling Hunter at 9:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)