Obamacare and Romneycare Share a Lot in Common

The Wonk Room (here) provides this handy-dandy table comparing major provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act and the Massachusetts Health Law, which shows the challenge Mitt Romney faces in trying to distinguish "Romneycare" from "Obamacare":

Major Provisions	Affordable Care Act	Massachusetts Health Law
Individual Mandate	Yes	Yes
Employer Responsibility	Yes — but not required to provide coverage	Yes — required to provide coverage
Affordability Credits	Yes	Yes
Standard Benefit Package	Yes — w/o abortion services	Yes — w/ abortion services
Establishes Exchanges	Yes	Yes
Prohibits Insurance Company From Canceling Coverage	Yes	Yes
Bans Denying Medical Coverage For Pre-existing Conditions	Yes	Yes
Medicaid Expansion	Yes	Yes
Medicare Cuts	Yes	No Authority

Happy Trails Paul Scholes

The great Manchester United midfielder is retiring after 17 years as a professional. Scholes was part of an amazing collection of home-grown talent, rising from the ranks of the Man.U. youth squad along with David Beckham, Gary and Phil Neville, and Ryan Giggs. With the retirements of Scholes and Gary Neville this season, only Ryan Giggs remains in the Red Devils squad. As an Arsenal fan, the greatest compliment I can pay Scholes is that I wish he had been a Gunner. During the course of his career, he converted himself from a scoring midfielder to a distributing midfielder, all the while playing at the highest level. Never one to gloat or grab the spotlight for himself, Scholes was a player's player, who would have featured in any side in the world. He is among the true greats of the modern footballing era.

There are Great Opportunities to Conduct Business Abroad

By recognizing that borders still matter, says Pankaj Ghemawat, author of World 3.0:  Global Prosperity and How to Achieve It, companies can better calibrate which markets and trading partners offer the best chance for truly global gains -- further clarifying that there are great opportunities to do business abroad.

Read the entire article:

Creating a Smart Export Strategy

Related posts:

The Regional Slice of Your Global Strategy (2/4/06)

Redefining Global Strategy (8/17/07)

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

TOP ITUNES WORLDWIDE

1. PITBULL FEAT. AFROJACK, NE-YO & NAYER - GIVE ME EVERYTHING

2) [=] LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem
3) [=] Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - On The Floor
4) [=] Adele - Rolling In The Deep
5) [=] Snoop Dogg - Sweat (David Guetta Remix)
6) [+3] Alexandra Stan - Mr. Saxobeat
7) [+1] Adele - Set Fire To The Rain
8) [-2] Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song
9) [RE] Lady Gaga - Born This Way
10) [NEW] Adele - Someone Like You

TOP LATINO

1.JENNIFER LOPEZ FEAT. PITBULL - ON THE FLOOR

2) [-1] Maná - Lluvia Al Corazón
3) [+1] Camila - Entre Tus Alas
4) [-1] Lady Gaga - Born This Way
5) [+4] Katy Perry - E.T.
6) [-1] Shakira - Sale El Sol
7) [+6] Ricky Martin - Mas
8) [+16] Britney Spears - Till The World Ends
9) [-1] Marco Di Mauro feat. Maite Perroni - Apartir De Hoy
10) [+2] Alejandra Guzman - Día De Suerte

TOP AUSTRALIA

1.LMFAO - PARTY ROCK ANTHEM

2) [=] Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer - Give Me Everything

3) [=] Adele - Rolling In The Deep

4) [+4] Rihanna - California King Bed

5)[-1] Jessie J feat. B.o.B - Price Tag

6)[=] Marvin Priest - Own This Club

7)[+4] Dj Havana Brown - We Run The Night

8) [-3] Snoop Dogg - Sweat (David Guetta Remix)

9)[=] Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song
10)[=] David Guetta feat. Flo Rida & Nicki Minaj - Where Them Girls At

TOP ASIA

1. JENNIFER LOPEZ FEAT. PITBULL - ON THE FLOOR

2) [-1] Katy Perry feat. Kanye West - E.T.
3) [=] LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem
4) [+1] Britney Spears - Till The World Ends
5) [-1] Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song
6) [=] Lady Gaga - Born This Way
7) [=] Wiz Khalifa - Black & Yellow
8) [=] Dr. Dre feat. Eminem & Skylar Grey - I Need A Doctor
9) [=] Rihanna - S&M
10) [=] Ke$ha - Blow

TOP ESPAÑA

1.RIHANNA - S&M

>

2)[+2] Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - On The Floor
3)[-1] Alexandra Stan - Mr. Saxobeat
4)[-1] Carlos Jean - Lead The Way
5)[+3] Jessie J - Price Tag
6)[=] Black Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough
7)[+3] Lady Gaga - Judas
8)[-1] Pablo Alborán - Solamente Tu
9)[-4] Britney Spears - Till The World Ends
10)[NEW] Maldita Nerea - Fácil

TOP UK

1. PITBULL FEAT. AFROJACK, NE-YO & NAYER - GIVE ME EVERYTHING

2) [=] Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song
3) [+1] Aloe Blacc - I Need A Dollar
4) [-1] LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem
5) [+9] Alexandra Stan - Mr. Saxobeat
6) [-1] Chris Brown - Beautiful People
7) [+2] Snoop Dogg - Sweat (David Guetta Remix)
8) [NEW] The Saturdays - Notorious
9) [-1] Lady Gaga - Judas
10) [+1] Swedish House Mafia - Save The World

TOP USA

1.ADELE - ROLLING IN THE DEEP

2) [=] Katy Perry feat. Kanye West - E.T.

3) [+1] Pitbull feat. Afrojack, Ne-Yo & Nayer - Give Me Everything
4) [+1] Black Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough
5) [+1] Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - On The Floor
6) [+1] Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song
7) [+1] Britney Spears - Till The World Ends
8) [+12] LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem
9) [+3] Lupe Fiasco - The Show Goes On

10) [-1] Chris Brown - Look At Me Now

TOP SOUTH AFRICA

1.TRAVIE MCCOY - WE'LL BE ALRIGHT



2) [+1] Far East Movement feat. Ryan Tedder - Rocketeer
3) [+5] Britney Spears - Till The World Ends 
4) [+1] Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song
5) [-4] Alexis Jordan - Happiness
6) [+3] Lloyd - Make It Easy
7) [=] Jamali - Incurable
8) [-4] Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - On The Floor
9) [-3] Katy Perry feat. Kanye West - E.T.
10) [=] Jessie J - Price Tag

The Tea Party Wants to Curtail All Federal Spending (It Does Not Like)

According to a story from today's L.A. Times (here), "Republicans are under enormous pressure from 'tea party' conservatives to curtail spending."

I think it would be more accurate to say that 'tea party' conservatives want to curtail spending that does not benefit tea partiers. In case you needed a stark reminder (Rep. Ryan clearly does), see the poster below: <

Tan Man

"we currently just use black and white for our citizens in the us and uk to demarcate race. so for all these others who aren't black or white, would need a separate color like "tan" any cultural/geographical label only marginalizes them, and makes people think of them as perpetual foreigners." -brooss

Metric Century Saturday

A challenging 62.5-mile ride with the Wilkes-Raynor group today, after interval training in the Eagle Creek Park yesterday evening. Collapsed when I got home. Then, I received a message from Dr. Raynor about a 50-mile hill ride tomorrow, including Observatory Hill and several other really tough climbs south of Mooresville. At first, I thought he must be kidding, but, like several of my cycling buddies, he really does seem to enjoy suffering. I don't, so I'll be on a recovery ride tomorrow, closer to home. I'll ride with the gang again on Monday, to finish up the holiday weekend with somewhere between 150-200 total miles.

Memorial Day: Coming Together Globally To Honor Those Who Gave Their All

Remembering those who have died in our nation's service.  Memorial Day in the United States is observed on the last Monday of May (May 30, 2011).

Back with you on Tuesday, May 31st.

Photo credit:  ©Laurel Delaney

Top Dubai SME Exporting Awards

Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry honored the top export performing companies during SME Exporter of the Month recognition ceremony held at the Chamber facility.

Certificates of Recognition and the SME Exporter of the Month trophies went to:

1. Afegra Middle East FZE as a start-up company with the highest invoice value for the month of February.
2. Lisec Middle East Ltd FZE as most progressing company with the highest export growth rate during 2011.
3. Meka Emirates Trading for achieving the highest total invoice value during April 2011.

"More than 90 per cent of businesses in Dubai are SMEs and so their success and performance is vital to the overall health of Dubai’s economy," says Dr. Belaid Rettab, Senior Director, Economic Research and Sustainable Business Development.

Read more about the top Dubai export honors here.

Life after Death and the Green Cheese Content of the Moon

An excellent column by Sean at Discover Magazine's blog (here), explains why the notion of life after death is incompatible with our scientific understanding of how the world works. He recognizes, of course that "everything we know about quantum field theory could be wrong. Also, the Moon could be made of green cheese."

Hat tip: The Browser.

I Don't Particularly Care Whether Judges and Lawyers Read My Scholarship

Over at Concurring Opinions (here), my colleague and friend Gerard Magliocca has just posted on the perennially controversial issue of the relevance of legal scholarship for the legal profession. Having butchered the comment I posted in the string following Gerard's post, I thought I would rephrase and expand on my remarks here.

Plenty of legal scholarship has been, and continues to be, written primarily for the benefit of practicing attorneys and judges. Personally, I find most such scholarship to be uninteresting, perhaps for the same reasons that legal practitioners find it useful. In any case, the subset of legal scholarship devoted to the practical affairs of judges and lawyers seems to have been shrinking, as a percentage of the entire corpus of legal scholarship. An increasing percentage of the literature is not written primarily to educate and/or influence lawyers and judges. Unsurprisingly, then, that they find the literature less relevant to their day-to-day work. It's not supposed to be relevant (at least not directly).

My sense is that Justice Roberts understands that point, but Judge Harry Edwards does not. The former considers much of legal scholarship to be irrelevant to his work on the Court, but does not denigrate it as the later has. I find bemusing the presumptuousness of judges and practitioners who believe that they comprise the only legitimate audience for legal scholarship.

I confess that some of my scholarship (for instance, my work on the Takings Clause) is intended to influence or educate (however ineffectually) lawyers and judges. But they are not the intended audience for much of my work. Much of what I publish is intended to influence or educate law-makers and regulators; and sometimes I am just working through problems and puzzles with my colleagues in academia. Even if some judges and lawyers cannot understand why I might want to do that, such scholarship has significant social value, contributing to the stock of useful knowledge in the world.

Quote of the Week: Donald Murray

 

"We currently see more upside in China from new emerging companies that are going global." ~ Resources Global CEO Donald Murray

See how Resources Global (RG), a unit of Irvine, California-based Resources Connection Inc. (Hoover's listing here), assigns its 3,000 full-time consultants spanning across four continents to work on clients' projects.

Resources Global Eyes Chinese Firms Going Global

RG competes with Deloitte, KPMG, Ernst and Young and Accenture.  Too bad there is no global small business practice.

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Biggest Barriers to Global Communications: Culture and Language

According to a study commissioned by the Public Relations Global Network, one of the top international networks of independent public relations agencies, organization surveyed indicated that the biggest barriers to global communication were culture and language, each cited by more than 40 percent of respondents.

That and one other interesting finding:

... even organizations that are not operating globally today said that they expect to have a global marketing communications function in the future,” said Francine Robbens, PRGN president and partner at Brussels-based PRP-Public Relations Partners.  “Communications professionals see clear benefits in fostering global relationships.” 

Read the entire news piece:  Marketing Executives Going Global:  Survey

The (Latest) Lance Armstrong Doping Story

Several friends have asked  me about this story since the 60 Minutes episode (which I didn't see) aired this past weekend, featuring Armstrong's former teammate, and convicted liar and doper, Tyler Hamilton. Hamilton, whom I'm told has a tell-all book coming out, alleged that he witnessed Armstrong dope. The problem, of course, is that Hamilton has no credibility. Neither does Armstrong's other former teammate, Floyd Landis, another convicted liar and doper. One former teammate who does have credibility, George Hincapie, isn't saying what he told the grand jury.

During an era of  rampant - nearly universal - doping in professional cycling, I would be surprised if Lance Armstrong did not dope. But he cannot be convicted in a court or law - and should not be convicted in the court of public opinion - only on the testimony of those who have been proven to lie and cheat, and seek to profit from telling what they now say is "the truth." I'm content to wait until we learn what Big George said.

One further issue question is what happens if Armstrong is legally convicted of having doped. Can the Tour de France strip him of his titles, even though he never tested positive before, during or after the race? If they do strip his titles, who gets them?  Those who finished second in those years? Ullrich (known doper)?  Beloki (known doper)? Basso (known doper)? Zulle (known doper)? Perhaps they can give all seven titles to current Radio Shack rider Andreas Kloden, who finished second to Armstrong in 2004 and has not (yet) been found to dope.

Mad About Trade and By Golly, I Am Going To Do Something About It!

Okay, first things first, I have not read this book, just love the idea of it because I have always felt there is value in international trade.  I am so pro-global trade, can't you tell?  International trade expert Daniel T. Griswold, director of the Cato Institute's trade policy center, makes a persuasive case against U.S. protectionism.

Mad About Trade appears to be a readable and enjoyable defense of free trade which tells the (debated) story of how a more global U.S. economy has created better jobs and higher living standards for American workers.

That said, it might be worth a serious look.

Mad About Trade:  Why Main Street America Should Embrace Globalization

Related article: Free or Protected Trade?

Posted by: The Global Small Business Blog

How many "races" are there?

For people who roll with the idea of biological "race":

Over the vast geography of Africa how many different "races" of Africans are there? Ethiopians look vastly different from Congolese.

Over the vast geography of Europe how many "races" of Europeans are there? Swedish look vastly different from Italians.

Over the vast geography of Asia how many "races" of Asians are there? Japanese look vastly different from Burmese.

TOP LAST.FM

1.LADY GAGA - JUDAS

2. [-1] Adele - Rolling In The Deep
3. [=] Lady Gaga - Born This Way
4. [+12] Lady Gaga - The Edge Of Glory
5.  [NEW] Lady Gaga - Hair
6. [NEW] Lady Gaga - Marry The Night
7. [NEW] Lady Gaga - Goverment Hooker
8. [NEW] Lady Gaga - Americano
9. [NEW] Lady Gaga - Scheiße
10. [NEW] Lady Gaga - Bloody Mary

TOP ITUNES WORLDWIDE

1. PITBULL FEAT. AFROJACK, NE-YO & NAYER - GIVE ME EVERYTHING

2) [=] LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem
3) [-2] Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - On The Floor
4) [+1] Adele - Rolling In The Deep
5) [+2] Snoop Dogg - Sweat (David Guetta Remix)
6) [+3] Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song
7) [RE] Lady Gaga - Judas
8) [NEW] Adele - Set Fire To The Rain
9) [+1] Alexandra Stan - Mr. Saxobeat
10) [RE] Black Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough

TOP LATINO

1.MANÁ - LLUVIA AL CORAZÓN

2) [=] Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - On The Floor
3) [+1] Lady Gaga - Born This Way
4) [+1] Camila - Entre Tus Alas
5) [-2] Shakira - Sale El Sol
6) [+2] Rihanna - S&M
7) [=] Black Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough
8) [-2] Marco Di Mauro feat. Maite Perroni - Apartir De Hoy
9) [+6] Katy Perry - E.T.
10) [=] Gloria Trevi - Me Rio De Ti

TOP AUSTRALIA

1.LMFAO - PARTY ROCK ANTHEM

2) [=] Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer - Give Me Everything

3) [+4] Adele - Rolling In The Deep

4) [-1] Jessie J feat. B.o.B - Price Tag

5)[-1] Snoop Dogg - Sweat (David Guetta Remix)

6)[+3] Marvin Priest - Own This Club

7)[-2] Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - On The Floor

8) [+11] Rihanna - California King Bed

9)[-1] Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song
10)[-4] David Guetta feat. Flo Rida & Nicki Minaj - Where Them Girls At

TOP ASIA

1. KATY PERRY FEAT. KANYE WEST - E.T.

2) [=] Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - On The Floor
3) [=] LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem
4) [=] Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song
5) [=] Britney Spears - Till The World Ends
6) [=] Lady Gaga - Born This Way
7) [=] Wiz Khalifa - Black & Yellow
8) [=] Dr. Dre feat. Eminem & Skylar Grey - I Need A Doctor
9) [=] Rihanna - S&M
10) [+4] Ke$ha - Blow

TOP ESPAÑA

1.RIHANNA - S&M

>

2)[-1] Alexandra Stan - Mr. Saxobeat
3)[-1] Carlos Jean - Lead The Way
4)[=] Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - On The Floor
5)[+3] Britney Spears - Till The World Ends
6)[-1] Black Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough
7)[-1] Pablo Alborán - Solamente Tú
8)[NEW] Jessie J - Price Tag
9)[=] Bruno Mars - Grenade
10)[NEW] Lady Gaga - Judas

TOP UK

1. PITBULL FEAT. AFROJACK, NE-YO & NAYER - GIVE ME EVERYTHING

2) [-1] Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song
3) [-1] LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem
4) [+5] Aloe Blacc - I Need A Dollar
5) [=] Chris Brown - Beautiful People
6) [=] Lady Gaga - The Edge Of Glory
7) [-4] David Guetta feat. Flo Rida & Nicki Minaj - Where Them Girls At
8) [+3] Lady Gaga - Judas
9) [-1] Snoop Dogg - Sweat (David Guetta Remix)
10) [-3] Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - On The Floor

TOP USA

1.ADELE - ROLLING IN THE DEEP

2) [=] Katy Perry feat. Kanye West - E.T.

3) [NEW] Lady Gaga - The Edge Of Glory
4) [+4] Pitbull feat. Afrojack, Ne-Yo & Nayer - Give Me Everything
5) [-1] Black Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough
6) [-3] Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - On The Floor
7) [-2] Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song
8) [-2] Britney Spears - Till The World Ends
9) [+1] Chris Brown - Look At Me Now

10) [+2] Jeremih - Down On Me

TOP SOUTH AFRICA

1.ALEXIS JORDAN - HAPPINESS



2) [+2] Travie McCoy - We'll Be Alright
3) [-1] Far East Movement feat. Ryan Tedder - Rocketeer
4) [-3] Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - On The Floor
5) [+8] Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song
6) [-1] Katy Perry feat. Kanye West - E.T.
7) [-1] Jamali - Incurable
8) [+6] Britney Spears - Till The World Ends
9) [-2] Lloyd - Make It Easy
10) [-1] Jessie J - Price Tag

Reinventing the World of 'Cars'

“Wherever you can go in our world, we can go in the world of ‘Cars.’” ~ Director John Lasseter

... it was during the international publicity tour for “Cars” that the director first imagined his car-cast in a global setting. Lasseter says he took in the mayhem of international locales like Tokyo and Paris laughed to himself thinking, “what would Mater do?” “The story of ‘Cars 2′ was sparked by the idea of taking Lightning McQueen and Mater overseas,” says Lasseter. “Lighting McQueen is invited to compete in the World Grand Prix to race against the fastest cars in the world in three fantastic locations: Japan (shown above), Italy and the U.K. Of course Mater, who has never left Radiator Springs, is completely out of place in these distinctive cultures, which leads to hilarious comedic moments.”

Read the entire spread (it's phenomenal in terms of the color graphics and the historical aspect of taking 'Cars' global):  Pixar's 25th Anniversary/CARS 2:  Going Global

Illustration credits here.

What is "race" and why do people care?

Is "race" real?
How many "races" are there?
Why does our government want to know what "race" we are?


The answers depend on who you ask.


Lawyers use the legal definitions of race that coincide with hate crime laws.

Biologist refer to phenotype: the appearance of an organism based on a multifactorial combination of genetic traits and environmental factors.

Anthropologist use the word cline (A gradation in a phenotype within a species).

Sociologists and politicians use the social construct definition - the superficial-blurry-one-drop-myth-of-hypodecent; but even this pseudo-science doesn't say how far back to count the drop; nor what the label is for people who have half a drop. All humanity originated in Africa; so in turn, people who accept the one-drop-myth-of-hypodecent would reason that everyone in the world is "Black".

But how many "races" are there?
‎"Write-ins from the race item numbered over 300 separate race responses and approximately 600 different American Indian tribes." -Modernizing the U.S. Census

And why does the government want to know what "race" we are?
For a modern reason, I'm still trying to figure that out. For historical reasons there was the Three-Fifths compromise and old immigration policies based on "race". For further detailed information you can read "Legal History of the Color Line" by Frank W. Sweet

To learn more about what we are click here.

What ARE you?!

So many of us have had to deal with this question; sometimes cloaked as "Where are you from?". Both questions can feel like a micro agression. However, their motive may simply be selfish curiosity, but often in a dubious attempt to categorize us into a "race" or ethnicity box.
The way I answer depends on the intension I perceive from the interrogator. The best universal answer is:

"I'll tell you -- if you first tell me what you are / where you're from."

If you feel the interrogator has dubious intent, have a little fun and create a teaching moment.
Q. Where are you from?
A1. (city of residence)

Q. No, I mean originally.

A2. (city of birth)

Q. No, I mean where are your parents from?

A3. Oh, Do you mean "What's my ethnic heritage?"

OR

Q. What are you?

A. How do you mean?

Q. What "race" are you?

A. I'm from the human race. Do you mean "What's my ethnic heritage?"

To learn more about what we are click here

Climate Science Is Less Murky than Climate Politics

The US National Research Council released a new report last week. America's Climate Choices (2011) offers a much-needed reminder that rampant climate denial in Congress is not about sound science but mere political posturing or wishful thinking. The complete report can be read here. Below is a brief synopsis of the report.

America's Climate Choices, Report in Brief

Daniels Not Running for President

The New York Times is reporting that Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has decided against running for president. I take this to mean that he does not believe he can defeat the incumbent in the general election. For a long time, I believed that Daniels could not win the Republican nomination. I changed my mind about that in recent weeks as the Republican field began to form, and as Daniels burnished his social-conservative credentials by signing a controversial abortion law defunding Planned Parenthood in the state of Indiana.

To what extent was Daniels' decision determined by the recent killing of Osama bin Laden? I believe that event secured reelection for President Obama, absent the occurrence of some equally dramatic disaster between now and election day.  

Nearly 100 million indigenous Native Americans were in the Americas before arrival of Europeans. Roughly 5% remain.

Map from EmersonKent
Data from the Understanding Prejudice website

Nowe Maestro w Indianapolis

As long as I already broke my hiatus earlier today, I might as well do it again to say how impressed I am by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's new musical director,  the 28-year-old prodigy from Poland, Krzysztof Urbanski. He has not even officially taken the reins yet, and already the orchestra is sounding better than it ever did under previous director, Mario Venzago.

Today's concert featured two pieces by Mendelssohn, surrounding an absolutely brilliant performance of Scriabin's extraordinary violin concerto by Hungarian virtuouso (and former winner of the Indianapolis International Violin Competition), Barnabas Kelemen.

At the post-concert reception, hosted by the Polish Cultural Society of Indiana, a story was told about Maestro Urbanski's ability not just to conduct without a score, but to actually rehearse complex pieces, ranging from Dvorak to Lutoslawski, completely from memory. That's impressive, but no more so than his apparent musicianship. The ISO has done brilliantly in hiring its new music director. The orchestra and its audience should benefit greatly for the next several years.

Giving Up on United Airlines and Mileage Plus

I'm breaking my hiatus, momentarily, to publicly register my dissatisfaction with United Airlines' Mileage Plus program, of which I have been a member for more than a decade. It was once fairly easy to use miles obtain upgrades on United flights, including to Europe. Now, it is nearly impossible. Even when seats are available, they charge a ridiculous premium on top of the already over-priced upgradeable coach fare. United upgrades are no longer worth the effort and cost. Consequently, I will be cashing in my miles for whatever crap I can get, then cancel my Mileage Plus membership and my United Visa Card.

Tiptoeing Through Tulips Today, Tomorrow and Tuesday

"Life isn't a tiptoe through the tulips." ~ Shannon Hoon

Enjoy your weekend!

Photo credit:  ©Laurel Delaney

Understand the Demands of Customers in Global Markets

Building strong emotional bonds between consumers and Chinese brands remains a work in progress.  Take Haier (Haier America), for example, which ramped up efforts to go global in 1999.

It sold niche products such as small refrigerators to college students and wine cellars, and opened manufacturing plants in the U.S. and elsewhere to bring production centers closer to priority consumer markets.  Haier has distinguished itself among Chinese companies in efforts to build a global brand.

Understanding the demands of customers in global markets is just one of the many challenges Chinese companies face in light of increased global competition and operating in a fast, interconnected world.

Learn what other challenges lie ahead for Chinese companies here.

Related post:  Why China Has So Few Good Brands