Tunneling Rate for Superparamagnetic Particles by the Instanton Method

We derive the tunneling rate for paramagnetic molecules in the context of a collective spin model. By means of path integral methods an analytical expression is derived. Given the very large spins in question (s ~ 3000 hbar), the observation of magnetization changes due to pure unitary tunnel effects is unlikely.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figure

Using cross-functional, cross-firm teams to co-create value: The role of financial measures

Increasingly, the involvement of representatives from all major business functions in cross-functional, crossfirmteams is being viewed as a means to develop and maintain profitable business-to-business relationships.However, if the measurements of the value co-created in these relationships with customers and suppliers donot incorporate the financial outcomes of joint cross-functional initiatives, managers can be led to makedecisions that jeopardize the long-term profitability of the two firms. In this paper, the authors explore thedifferences in value co-creation when a company is linked to key customers and key suppliers through crossfunctionalteams and when it is not. Using a case study approach, the authors measured value co-creation infinancial terms and describe how managers changed their behaviors toward customers and suppliers whenthey were able to compare the value that was being co-created in each relationship. In each pair ofrelationships, one involved cross-functional teams and the other did not. The results indicate that crossfunctional,cross-firm involvement leads to increased value co-creation. The research suggests that marketingscholars and managers should emphasize the use of cross-functional teams that involve all major functions tomanage relationships with key customers, and should incorporate financial measures in the evaluation ofrelationship performance

Has Dark Energy really been discovered in the Lab?

We show that Dark Energy contributions can not be determined from noise measurements of Josephson junctions, as was recently suggested in a paper by C. Beck and M.C. Mackey.Comment: The paper is accepted for publication in Physics Letters B; added equation

Measuring the external risk in the United Kingdom

This paper aims to describe the evolution of the external risk in the United Kingdom between 1961 and 2008. We first present a theoretical description of the risk indicator. Then, we calculate this measure for the British economy in the period of study. In general, the results reveal a very small increase of external risk. Finally, the relationship between the two dimensions of external risk: trade openness and external volatility is analysed.trade openness, terms of trade volatility, external risk, United Kingdom

The Commoditization of Starbucks

[Excerpt] Is the coffee empire that Starbucks built beginning to fall? In a memo sent to the senior management of the company in February 2007, Howard Schultz warned that Starbucks was in danger of losing its romance and theater, which he believes are fundamental to the Starbucks experience. He noted, “Over the past ten years in order to achieve the growth, development, and scale necessary to go from less than 1,000 stores to 13,000 stores and beyond, we have had to make a series of decisions that, in retrospect, have led to the watering down of the Starbucks experience, and, what some might call the commoditization of our brand.” Calling the memo subject “The Commoditization of the Starbucks Experience,” Schultz questioned corporate decisions to use automatic espresso machines and eliminate some in-store coffee grinding. He worried that store design decisions to gain scale efficiencies and higher sales-to-investment ratios had turned stores into sterile cookie-cutter properties, without the warmth of a neighborhood cafe. Streamlining store design was a financial decision, but the result was that stores no longer have the soul of the past. Schultz envisioned the cafes as a “third place” where people gather between home and work and feel some of the romance of the European cafe, but this feature may have disappeared, to be replaced by a chain store feel versus a neighborhood store

Organization Architectures for the 21th Century: The Redesign of Hospitality Firms

Changing customer needs, increased competition, technological advances, globalization, and a more diverse work force are current patterns which will lead toward a system-level redesign of tomorrow\u27s organizations. This article discusses the importance of rethinking how we do business and the necessity of working with the inherent contradictions of organizing in a dynamic environment. The article considers the plausibility of network organizational designs, contracted workers, and flexible part-time workers

The Relationship between Organizational Value Sharing and Influence Over Strategic Decisions

This study examines the relationship between influence in the strategic decision-making process and the sharing of organizational values. Findings from a quick service restaurant chain indicate that perceptions of value sharing are associated with the ability to influence critical strategic issues. The assessed ability of various corporate departments to influence specific strategic decisions differs according to the type of value shared and the degree of value sharing. Few differences in results exist as a function of value sharing with the top management team (vice presidents) versus value sharing with the founder/CEO. Implications of the results and the need to continue empirical exploration of value-based explanations for strategic decision making are discussed

Multibranding at Yum! Brands Inc.: Thinking Outside the Bun

[Excerpt] Multiple branding is likely to be a part of the future for all of the major players as they rethink their strategies. While McDonald’s strategy has been to develop its brands separately, the company could capitalize on cobranding in the future. In contrast, Yum! Brands Inc. is betting on a multibranding strategy, in which the firm puts more than one of its brands into the same store in the hope of raising sales and leveraging operating efficiency. This Fortune 300 company, based in Louisville, Kentucky, is able to execute a multibranding strategy easily because it operates five well-known brands: A&W All-American Food, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Long John Silver’s, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell. Sales for the global system totaled $24.2 billion in 2002, up from$22.3 billion in 2001

Creating a Competitive Advantage by Building Resource Capability: The Case of Outback Steakhouse Korea

The case of Outback Steakhouse Korea provides almost a textbook example of a five-point framework for competitive advantage. The framework suggests that companies must manage and blend resources in the following five categories: (1) financial resources, (2) physical resources, (3) human resources, (4) organizational knowledge and learning, and (5) general organizational resources (including brand names and relationships with stakeholders). Outback Korea has deftly combined resources in these five categories for considerable advantage and must continue to do so