Friday, January 2, 2015

The Daily Stat from Harvard Business Review

  The Daily Stat - Harvard Business Review

January 1, 2015



Countries Can Boost Business by Increasing Citizens’ Rights


Companies find it cheaper to acquire growth capital in countries where civil rights are stronger, because investors see less risk that their capital will be arbitrarily expropriated, according to a study of firms in 44 countries by Narjess Boubakri of American University of Sharjah in the UAE and colleagues. A 1-standard-deviation increase in political rights is associated with a 38-basis-point decrease in corporations’ cost of equity capital. Thus there are strong economic reasons for countries to ensure their citizens’ civil rights.





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Thursday, January 1, 2015

The Management Tip of the Day from Harvard Business Review

  HBR Management Tip of the Day - Harvard Business Review

January 1, 2014

To Learn Something New, Spend Time with Other Companies


The most innovative ideas often come from crossing boundaries. So if you want to learn new things this year, try spending time at other smart companies – even those outside of your industry. Learning directly from other companies is a useful, underutilized form of research for finding ways to improve performance. Venture out to see other firms or invite another organization to visit yours. By taking the time to visit other companies, you’ll have the chance to see how other organizations do their work and approach problem-solving. You’ll see how peers set goals, find ways of achieving them, and measure performance. Encouraging visits from other companies can also help connect you to possible future employees. It lets the frontline staff serve as tour guides, thereby honing their communication and presentation skills. And it shows off what you can do.

Adapted from “Learning New Things Means Getting Up From Your Desk” by Brad Power.







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The Daily Stat from Harvard Business Review

  The Daily Stat - Harvard Business Review

December 31, 2014



Two Steps Forward, One Backward in Using fMRI to Predict Product Popularity


In a study that lasted several years, low responses to unfamiliar songs in two areas of adolescent listeners' brains (the orbitofrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens) were moderately accurate in predicting those songs' later failure to achieve commercial success, according to an analysis of functional MRI data by Gregory S. Berns and Sara E. Moore of Emory University. Although the researchers didn't find a way to predict hits based on the fMRI results, the low levels of brain activity correctly predicted 80% of the non-hits in a selection of 87 new songs released on MySpace. Unfortunately, the method also incorrectly predicted failure for songs that did eventually become hits, the researchers say.





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