When Does A Case Study Expire?

Someone recently raised a very interesting point regarding the age (and relevance) of any given case study. For a recent class we read an interesting case about contact lenses for the poultry industry that was written in 1975 (and revised in 1999). Based on the animated discussion that took place during class, I thought that this was quite relevant.

As a class, how do we feel about using material that is "older"? Should our materials be relevant to our current business practices? Or are these case study exercises more about understanding the underlying concepts? What about the opposite, in other words, learning from material that is still happening/playing itself out right now and using that information on a more real-time basis, like using an article in last week's Wall Street Journal like JB did? A combination of both? What are the pros and cons? What are your thoughts on this?

Coworking Spaces: Business Incubator Lounges?

During your time as EMBA students, have any of you ever wondered if there was a place to get some serious work done that was not at the office, not at home and not at a cafe or a public space? Have you ever found yourself setting up shop informally in a hotel lobby somewhere to meet with your fellow students face-to-face... and then discovering that there's no WiFi?

Coworking spaces might be an interesting solution to this problem.

What if the Smith School could set up a series of these coworking lounges all over metro DC?

M&A info from Board Member Inc.

All,

This is a great source of CEO/Board-level business information. For Joe, Eddie, and Chris, the resource center's articles on M&A transactions might help with your ALP... (http://www.boardmember.com/) - you need to register once for the free content.

Hope this helps,

Al

The Best & The Brightest

This is the book I mentioned in class:

The Best and the Brightest
by David Halberstam

"[The] most comprehensive saga of how America became involved in Vietnam. It is also the Iliad of the American empire and the Odyssey of this nation's search for its idealistic soul..." -- The Boston Globe