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Nokia – the innovation killer?

I just found out that a web service that I have relied upon to track my travel is on a one way train to nowhere. Dopplr, an elegant alternative to TripIt, was acquired by Nokia for around 20 million USD last September in a deal that I hoped would help extend the service’s functionality. Not happening, according to this article in the Guardian. A statement released by Nokia (after the article, of course) said that the site is now in “maintenance mode” and will not be developed further. The article goes on to list a number of other Nokia acquisitions that have resulted in … nothing. Nothing visible, at least. Several of Dopplr’s founders remain with the company and presumably contribute some value. Still, this story highlights an innovation-related question: generate, convert, and diffuse from within? Or acquire and hope the company’s people and technologies make a long-term contribution to your strategic objectives.

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IBM’s Palmisano Rips HP for Lack of Inventiveness

Mark Hurd’s departure from HP caused quite a fervor. After all, what’s juicier than a sex scandal and defecting to the competition? But it gets better: IBM wants to get in on the fun. This isn’t TMZ, but it’s pretty rich nonetheless. From a story published in the Wall Street Journal on September 15, 2010:

In a rare public broadside, IBM Chief Executive Samuel J. Palmisano said he doesn’t worry about companies such as H-P that have slashed their investments in core technologies and need to make expensive acquisitions to keep up. “H-P used to be a very inventive company,” Mr. Palmisano said in an interview at a Wall Street Journal event on Tuesday.

Palmisano went on to suggest that Mark Hurd’s focus on cost-cutting has undercut HP’s ability to innovate. While people at HP might disagree, Palmisano believes there’s a serious kink in HP’s innovation supply chain. On the other hand, Palmisano praised the efforts of Oracle CEO’s Larry Ellison to invest in the development of new technologies.

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Innovation: using prizes

It has become popular to use prizes to generate ideas and solutions. Here is the latest one: prize for car that can go 100 miles. Netflix used a prize, $1m, for a team that could create a better algorithm to recommend movies. That is going outside the company to generate new ideas–external idea generation in the IVC concept. Morten

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Good sites to find management news etc.

Here are some useful sites to look for interesting things related to MIIC;
– Harvard Business Review blog site
http://hbr.org/
– Financial Times ft.com, see management page
– wall street journal, wsj.com,
go to business then management page
Morten

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Tata Motors disrupts with the Nano

Tata Motors is an Indian owned automotive company.  Their core business is in selling trucks in India, where they hold 61% of the market.  In recent years they have been expanding into the consumer car market.  Tata purchased Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford and has turned a profit in three consecutive quarters.  Better yet their innovation has disrupted the market with the Tata Nano, the world’s lowest-priced car.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/221696-tata-motors-puts-the-pedal-to-the-metal-in-indias-car-market

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Disrupting the Classroom

As Morten mentioned in class, here are some links about Sal Khan, the YouTube-based teacher who is disrupting our common conception of what a “classroom” means, as well as the requisite qualifications for teaching.  Traditional gatekeepers of knowledge are adopting similar methods: many universities now offer their courses online for free (e.g., MIT’s OpenCourseWare).  Degrees, however, are not included.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/23/technology/sal_khan_academy.fortune/index.htm
http://www.khanacademy.org/