Under financial pressure from the pandemic, many airlines are turning to their loyalty programs as collateral for loan programs. They are discovering that these programs are often worth more than their market capitalizations. But experience suggests that the relationship between the programs and the airlines is symbiotic and that airlines should retain control of them…
It is possible for hospitals to consistently provide patients with a positive experience. Research by Press Ganey found that while common themes run through the experiences of happy patients, variation characterizes the experiences of unhappy patients. These findings demonstrate that preventing negative experiences requires the same kind of vigilance needed to prevent the vast range of potential…
The disruption to world trade could be largeTHE FLOTILLA of tugs and a giant digger look tiny against the backdrop of Ever Given, reflecting the scale of their task. One of the world’s largest container ships was wedged athwart the Suez Canal on March 23rd, blown off course by high winds. The problem for global…
And moreTHE MISSION statement of Bilibili, often dubbed “China’s YouTube”, stands out for its modesty. Instead of promising to change the world, the firm aspires merely to “enrich the everyday life of young generations in China”. If user figures are a guide, the Chinese young feel enriched. In the last quarter of 2020 the number…
Although phishing tests can be helpful to protect users, using questionable tactics has the potential for harming relationships between a company and its employees. The authors suggest that managers avoid this damage by employing phishing tests with three criteria: Test teams, not individuals; don’t embarrass anyone; and gamify and reward. Last December, the website hosting…
Companies that use AI know that they need to worry about ethics, but when they start, they tend to follow the same broken three-step process: They identify ethics with “fairness,” they focus on bias, and they look to use technical tools and stakeholder outreach to mitigate their risks. Unfortunately, this sets them up for failure.…
DATA MAY be the new oil, but it is semiconductors—the brains of the data economy—that these days vie with hydrocarbons as the business world’s biggest economic flashpoint. Like crude, the $500bn computer-chip industry is essential to industrial economies. It is regularly buffeted, as are oilmen, by excesses of supply and demand. And it is at…
BOYCOTTS OF FOREIGN brands are so common in China that managers have a ready-made playbook when caught in a storm of nationalist outrage. Start with an apology. Then stay mostly quiet, perhaps expressing respect for Chinese culture. Wait for the anger to subside. Over the past week the list of companies consulting the manual has…
BIG OIL EQUALS big payouts. The covid-induced collapse in the price of crude, which wiped billions from supermajors’ profits, tested this regularity—but not to breaking point. ExxonMobil booked an annual net loss of $22bn but still paid $15bn to shareholders. On March 21st Saudi Aramco said it, too, would maintain its $75bn dividend, on which…
Factory owners are benefiting from the greatest convergence of pro-industry forces in decadesON MARCH 21ST Canadian Pacific Railway unveiled a $25bn bid for Kansas City Southern, a smaller American rival. The biggest-ever tie-up of freight railways would, if blessed by antitrust authorities, leave the merged firm with tracks linking Canada with Mexico, via the entire…
