Shakespeare in the Boardroom












Act I: A skeptic attends a Paris conference
One day in September 2010, Walt McFarland sat down with 23 other people—mostly men, mostly in their late 40s—for the final class of a master’s degree program taught by the Oxford Saïd Business School and the HEC Management School in Paris. The presentation, about inspiring organizational change within a company, was led by Richard Olivier, son of the late Shakespearean actor Laurence Olivier, who was there to walk the execs through The Tempest.


McFarland wasn’t familiar with the play, but he knew a thing or two about change. Over his career he’d helped several major U.S. federal entities including the FBI and Congress reorganize their management systems: He worked with 100,000 employees during the IRS modernization in the late 1990s and helped formulate the Department of Homeland Security after Sept. 11. “I’d been to a lot of presentations like this. Things can get pretty beaten down and cynical when it comes to change,” he says. “This was not my first rodeo.” But minutes into the program, as Olivier was explaining the story of the magical duke Prospero, McFarland swears Olivier looked right at him. The moment was as “brief as the lightning in the collied night,” as Shakespeare might have said, but it changed McFarland’s life forever. 6729f  etc 49opener  01  405inline Shakespeare in the BoardroomRichard Olivier found a new path into the family business
 
Act II: A legend’s son confronts his father’s ghost
In the mid-’90s, Olivier was a well-respected West End director who felt resentment toward his famous father, who died in 1989. “As a child it was hard to understand that he preferred playing Othello to being with me,” he told the London Times in 1999. Olivier had spent his career avoiding Shakespeare—“that was my father’s territory”—but in 1997, he was invited to direct Henry V at London’s Globe Theatre, an honor he couldn’t pass up. In rehearsal, he and his leading man, Mark Rylance, “wondered, what if, instead of an audience watching the play, we … allowed them to live through the play and apply it to their own lives?” Olivier explains. Henry V is about an inspirational political leader—the king famously rallies his troops before a battle with France—so they conducted a three-day workshop with several local public officials. “At the end, they said they’d learned more about leadership from Henry V than any other program that they’d been on in their career,” he says.












And thus was born Olivier Mythodrama. The company adapts some of the Bard’s greatest tales into lessons of corporate leadership, presenting them to corporations such as Rolls-Royce and FedEx (FDX), organizations such as the United Nations, and even the World Economic Forum in Davos. The idea, says Olivier, is that “in most of the great Shakespeare plays, there is some wisdom about human nature that’s encoded into the story and which can help guide us.” In other words, if something was rotten in Denmark, it’s probably rotten in UBS (UBS). Or MoneyGram (MGI). Or the CIA.
 
Act III: An industry searches for a king
“Truth is truth”: Corporate leadership programs are boring and rarely involve lessons about invading France. Companies often delegate training responsibilities to HR departments; you may even go to an “executive education program” at a B-school, but those aren’t much better. Chief executives keep trying: The HR research firm Bersin & Associates estimates that $ 13.6 billion was spent on such initiatives in 2012. “They’re all the same,” says John Kotter, a professor of leadership, emeritus, at Harvard Business School. “They put together a training program for middle and senior management, they show you a bunch of PowerPoint slides, and then you return to work and everything you learned just washes away.”


Effective programs, says Kotter, force you outside your comfort zone. The Gettysburg Leadership Experience analyzes the historic Civil War battle for management insights. (Uh, deliver a great speech?) The most extreme example may be Outward Bound, “but even then, it’s just a bunch of out-of-shape 45-year-old guys doing trust falls,” Kotter says. Mythodrama doesn’t involve mountains—or men in tights. Instead, it draws on Shakespeare’s insights into the human condition and plays on the universal emotions his words often evoke: pride, fear, joy. How’s that for a day in a conference room?
 
Act IV: A program hones its strengths
Each Mythodrama program is based on one of five plays: Henry V deals with inspiration, Julius Caesar with politics and power, As You Like It with sustainability, The Tempest with organizational change, and Macbeth with fraud. Whether it’s a one-time session or a weeklong program (prices depend on length and size; Olivier commands almost $ 24,000 for a single keynote), the presentations all have the same structure. A trained presenter runs through the CliffsNotes version of the story. After a major plot point—say, when Henry executes three traitors—the audience breaks into groups to discuss how their company’s problems relate. “I’m not suggesting for a minute that [execution] is how we deal with traitors in our organization,” Mythodrama’s Phyllida Hancock said during her Henry V talk at the 2011 National Leadership Conference, “but … how do you deal with voices of dissent? How do you deal with that same person in management meetings every week saying, ‘It’ll never work’?” At that, the audience laughed—they know what it’s like to want to execute someone.


For years, Olivier worked mostly with British and European companies (“Britons have a deep connection with Shakespeare, whereas in the U.S. it can seem quaint,” says William Ayot, who holds the quaint title of Mythodrama’s poet in residence). That’s changing. This fall it hosted an informational presentation at American University in the hopes of increasing its presence in Washington. “We usually have to tell the participants, ‘Look, this is going be different,’ ” says Ron Meeks, a senior partner at Pivot Leadership in Portland, Ore., which has brought Mythodrama to such corporations as McDonald’s (MCD) and Wal-Mart Stores (WMT). “But once it starts, people usually get into it.”


People like Walt McFarland. After he and Olivier locked eyes in Paris, “Olivier said, ‘If you’re leading a major change, you have to be willing to change yourself. You might have to be willing to die for it.’ ” McFarland was stunned. He felt the weight of his job—tens of thousands of employees’ lives and careers depended on his success. He had no idea that working for the IRS could be like The Tempest.


When he talks about the play’s most climactic moment—when Prospero relinquishes his power by snapping his magical staff—McFarland sounds as if he’s about to cry. “At the peak of his power he gave it up,” he says. He vowed to conduct himself the same way when he got back to work.
 
Act V: A conflicted leader finds his epilogue
The true test of any corporate leadership program is whether its lessons will stick with participants when they reenter the real world. And while there isn’t a comprehensive survey of the effectiveness of such programs, a 2000 Harvard Business Review article reported that 70 percent of all corporate change initiatives fail. Add to that the fact that nearly 90 percent of New Year’s resolutions falter, and it’s clear that changing a person’s behavior is a difficult battle to win. McFarland, however, maintains that Mythodrama has turned him into a different man. He’s cagey about the details, but says that months after his session, as he was leading a roomful of people through one of his plans, he realized that he’d made a mistake. “I didn’t take responsibility,” he says. “I blamed it on something else.” McFarland told his team to take a break and walked around the block. “After one loop, I still didn’t want to do the right thing, so I walked around the block again,” he says. “Then I came back and I did it. I threw my staff on the ground.” As Prospero declared: “Now my charms are all o’erthrown. And what strength I have’s mine own.”


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African Union asks UN for immediate action on Mali












DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — In an open letter Thursday to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the president of the African Union urged the U.N. to take immediate military action in northern Mali, which was seized by al-Qaida-linked rebels earlier this year.


Yayi Boni, the president of Benin who is also head of the African Union, said any reticence on the part of the U.N. will be interpreted as a sign of weakness by the terrorists now operating in Mali. The AU is waiting for the U.N. to sign off on a military plan to take back the occupied territory, and the Security Council is expected to discuss it in coming days.












In a report to the Security Council late Wednesday, Ban said the AU plan “needs to be developed further” because fundamental questions on how the force will be led, trained and equipped. Ban acknowledged that with each day, al-Qaida-linked fighters were becoming further entrenched in northern Mali, but he cautioned that a botched military operation could result in human rights abuses.


The sprawling African nation of Mali, once an example of a stable democracy, fell apart in March following a coup by junior officers. In the uncertainty that ensued, rebels including at least three groups with ties to al-Qaida, grabbed control of the nation’s distant north. The Islamists now control an area the size of France or Texas, an enormous triangle of land that includes borders with Mauritania, Algeria and Niger.


Two weeks ago, the African Union asked the U.N. to endorse a military intervention to free northern Mali, calling for 3,300 African soldiers to be deployed for one year. A U.S.-based counterterrorism official who saw the military plan said it was “amateurish” and had “huge, gaping holes.” The official insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter.


Boni, in his letter, said Africa was counting on the U.N. to take decisive action.


“I need to tell you with how much impatience the African continent is awaiting a strong message from the international community regarding the resolution of the crisis in Mali. … What we need to avoid is the impression that we are lacking in resolve in the face of these determined terrorists,” he said.


The most feared group in northern Mali is al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, al-Qaida’s North African branch, which is holding at least seven French hostages, including a 61-year-old man kidnapped last week.


On Thursday, SITE Intelligence published a transcript of a recently released interview with AQIM leader, Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, in which he urges Malians to reject any foreign intervention in their country. He warned French President Francois Hollande that he was “digging the graves” of the French hostages by pushing for an intervention.


Also on Thursday, Islamists meted out the latest Shariah punishment in northern city of Timbuktu. Six young men and women were each given 100 lashes for having talked to each other on city streets, witnesses said.


___


Associated Press writer Virgile Ahissou in Cotonou, Benin and Baba Ahmed in Bamako, Mali contributed to this report.


Africa News Headlines – Yahoo! News


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France’s Depardieu detained for drunken driving












PARIS (Reuters) – French actor Gerard Depardieu was detained for driving his scooter while drunk on Thursday after he had a minor accident in Paris, prosecutors said.


The 63-year-old star of films such as “Jean de Florette” and “Green Card” was held for questioning after he fell from his scooter mid-afternoon, slightly injuring his elbow.












No-one else was hurt in the accident.


One of France’s best-known actors for roles in more than a hundred films, Depardieu has recently grabbed headlines for the wrong reasons.


The incident came just months after a car driver filed a legal complaint for assault and battery against Depardieu in August following an altercation in Paris.


Last year, Depardieu outraged fellow passengers by urinating in the aisle of an Air France flight as it prepared to take off, forcing the plane to turn back to its parking spot.


A passenger on the flight said Depardieu appeared to be drunk and insisted he be allowed to use the bathroom during takeoff, when passengers must remain seated.


(Reporting by Gerard Bon; Writing by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Jon Hemming)


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Toddler Dies of Flu; Sister Fights Cancer












Emily Lastinger, a wide-eyed toddler with a cherubic smile, had been sick with the flu for three days, but neither her parents nor her doctor were terribly worried.


“It was so weird: She would spike a fever and be really sick for a few hours, then she would bounce back and be hungry and want a Popsicle and run around a bit,” said her father, Joe Lastinger, a 40-year-old health care executive from Colleyville, Texas.












But on Super Bowl Sunday in 2004, she began vomiting and her condition suddenly worsened.


“It was a really rough night,” said Lastinger, who stayed up with the 3-year-old because his wife was pregnant, ready to deliver their fourth child.


On Monday morning, the toddler had a long shower and was sitting in bed watching cartoons. They had a doctor’s appointment at noon.


“I was doing emails and I heard my wife start screaming upstairs,” said Lastinger. “She had stopped breathing.”


He started CPR and his wife called 911. Emily was rushed to the hospital and pumped with medicine in intensive care, but there was nothing more doctors could do. She had suffered brain damage and died that night.


“How could it possibly happen?” Lastinger and his wife asked themselves. “Honestly, you worry about your kid being struck by lightning at pool, you worry about car accidents or should they go on a trampoline or a car seat — those kinds of things, but not the flu.”


Learn more about the flu at the ABCNews.com Cold and Flu page.


Both Lastinger and his wife had gotten flu shots that winter. But at 3, Emily fell outside the recommended age group — then only children 6 months to 2 years old.


Two years later, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) would broaden its guidelines to recommend vaccination for all children, not just those at risk, up to the age of 5.


“Emily was normal and healthy, and that’s the thing,” said Lastinger. “They weren’t recommending vaccine for kids who were normal. … Meanwhile healthy kids were sick and dying.”


Today, thanks to efforts of parent support groups like the one Lastinger co-founded, Families Fighting Flu, the CDC recommends universal immunization from the age of 6 months.


In 2004, the CDC expanded vaccine guidelines up to age 59 months. In 2006, it was recommended through age 18. And in 2010, it voted for universal vaccination over the age of 6 months.


“We applauded it, though it came slowly from our perspective,” said Lastinger. “We certainly feel like had they been in place, we would have followed them, our pediatrician would have followed them and our daughter would be alive today.”


An estimated 100 otherwise healthy children die of the flu each year and about 20,000 under the age of 5 are hospitalized. Influenza kills anywhere between 3,000 and 49,000 adults annually, as well, according to the CDC.


“Children under 6 months of age have not been studied yet. Therefore, the flu vaccines are not licensed for use in that tender age group,” said Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the department of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.


“To protect them, we rely on mother’s vaccination during pregnancy — protection passes through the placenta into the baby — as well as all contacts of the baby being vaccinated,” Schaffner said.


Children under the age of 9 who get the flu shot for the first time need two immunizations in either a shot or nasal spray, to get maximum protection, “which puts a lot of responsibility on the parents,” Schaffner said.


Getting just one shot is not enough, as the Moise family of Kansas City, Mo., learned.


Ian Moise died of complications from influenza A in 2003. The family’s 7-month-old baby had only gotten the first of two recommended flu vaccine doses before it fell ill two weeks later.


Under 9, Child Gets 2 Flu Shots


“I vowed to tell our story to as many people as possible so that they will take the flu seriously,” said Moise, a 41-year-old flight attendant. “We pray that no else has to go through what we go through every day.”


Denise Palmer of Lakeland, Fla., lost her 15-month-old daughter Breanne to the flu.


“There is nothing worse than losing a child,” said Palmer, 34. “You can’t describe it.”


As Christmas approaches, Palmer worries more than ever about her family — an 8-year-old son and now another daughter, only two months old. Breanne died Dec. 23, 2003.


“This time of year freaks me out, and now we have a little one,” Palmer said.


The family was visiting relatives in Maryland when Breanne developed a fever and, soon afterward, had trouble breathing. By the time they reached the hospital, the baby’s temperature was 107 degrees.


“It happened really fast,” said Palmer. “They worked to get her temperature down and said she needed more intensive care and transferred her to another hospital. When she got there, they told us she needed to be put on life support.”


After airlifting Breanne to yet another hospital, doctors told the family there was nothing more they could do for the little girl.


Breanne never got her recommended flu shot because she had been sick with an ear infection.


“She had just finished a course of antibiotics the day before we left,” said Palmer. “There was no time to get a shot. I sit there and wish I had been able to protect her.”


Now, the entire family gets their flu shots every year. The baby gets her protection through Palmer’s antibodies.


“We are very in tune with the recommendations,” she said. “And with the new baby, we have a rule that anybody who has not gotten the flu vaccine cannot visit her. So it’s their choice: If they don’t get it, they don’t get to see the baby.”


As for the Lastingers, they welcomed a baby daughter just after Emily died.


“It was surreal,” he said. “It turned out to be a good thing — not right away, but it was helpful to have something to focus on other than ourselves.”


Today, their daughter, Alea, is 8. Her older brothers, Chris and Andrew, are 16 and 14, respectively.


“We vaccinate them all,” said Lastinger. “We’ve never missed a year.”


But in a weird twist of fate, Alea was diagnosed with leukemia in 2007, at 3, the same age as Emily when she died. She underwent a grueling chemotherapy regimen and, as a result, vaccination became even more important.


“We had to live with someone who was severely immune compromised,” said Lastinger. “It really hit home how important it is to protect yourself, to protect other people.”


Today, Alea is in remission and “doing great,” according to her father.


Even that ordeal seemed less daunting than the flu, according to Lastinger.


“For us, we can fight the cancer,” he said. “We have the power to influence what we’re doing.”


As for Emily’s senseless death from flu, “It was the hardest thing we ever had to go through,” said Lastinger. “I cannot imagine anything being worse.”


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Supermarkets pledge prices action













Eight supermarkets have agreed to ensure that special offers and price promotions are fair.












The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has been investigating the way prices are displayed, advertised and promoted in stores.


It raised concerns about prices being artificially inflated to make later discounts look more attractive.


The major UK supermarkets have now agreed to adopt a set of principles drawn up by the OFT.


They are Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose, Marks and Spencer, Aldi, the Co-op and Lidl.


Asda, which has not yet signed up, said it was considering the revised code.


In a statement Asda argued that as it aims to keep prices for customers “as low as possible for them week in week out”, a code covering special offer price promotions was not relevant.


Continue reading the main story
  • Product is sold at an inflated price for a limited period at low volume in just a few stores, then rolled out across all stores at the lower price – known as “yo-yo pricing”

  • The “discount” price period lasts much longer than the original higher price period, making the discount price really the normal selling price

  • Using a previous selling price from months ago as a comparison

  • Charging one price in store A, a lower price in store B, then saying “was £x, now £y” when the higher price was never actually charged in store B

  • Saying a product price has been reduced without mentioning that this is only because the package size has shrunk

  • Buy One Get One Free deals where the same volume of the same product can be bought more cheaply in a larger pack

Source: Office of Fair Trading



Clive Maxwell, OFT chief executive, told the BBC: “It is particularly welcome that we’ve reached this agreement at this stage with household budgets under pressure”.


‘Squeezed finances’


The OFT says that “half price” or “was £3, now £2″ offers must be sold at the new discounted price for the same, or less, time than the previously higher price.


This would prevent short-term, artificially inflated prices masking the offer.


Items that suggest they are “better value” because they are in a “bigger pack” must have a comparable product elsewhere in the same store,


“Shoppers should be able to trust that special offers and promotions really are bargains,” said Mr Maxwell.


“Prices and promotions need to be fair and meaningful so shoppers can make the right decisions. Nowhere is this more important than during regular shopping for groceries.


“[This] provides supermarkets with a clear benchmark for how they should be operating so that their food and drink promotions reflect the spirit as well as the letter of the law.”


Richard Lloyd, executive director of consumer group Which?, said: “When household budgets are squeezed and food prices are one of people’s top financial worries, it’s unacceptable that shoppers are confused into thinking that they’re getting a good deal when that might not be the case.


“Regulators should be prepared to take enforcement action against traders found breaking the rules.”


A Which? investigation in May suggested that some customers had been misled by supermarkets over discounts and multi-buy offers.


It analysed more than 700,000 prices and suggested that in some cases “discounts” ran for much longer than the original price. Following that investigation, some supermarkets admitted isolated errors amid a huge volume of pricing.



‘Inconsistency’


Misleading advertising is illegal under the 2008 unfair trading regulations, and the OFT is not making any recommendation that the law should be changed.


The regulator said it did not discover any illegality during its investigation, but did find some “inconsistency” in the way the law was interpreted and applied.


Meanwhile, nearly 40% of fast-moving consumer goods could be on some sort of promotion or discount.


Many of the supermarkets said they were happy to work with the OFT.


“We will continue to ensure that our pricing and promotions are as clear as possible for our customers,” said a spokesman for Sainsbury’s.


The Co-op said: “We understand how important it is for shoppers to be able to easily understand what the promotional offer is, so they can spot the best deal, and we are committed to providing clear and accurate labelling for our customers so they can make informed purchasing decisions.”


Aldi said it supported any initiative that encouraged “transparent pricing and a fair deal for consumers”, although the agreement would have no effect on its own prices.


A Marks and Spencer spokesman said: “It is right that we sign up to these new guidelines.”


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Myanmar cracks down on mine protest; dozens hurt












MONYWA, Myanmar (AP) — Security forces used water cannons and other riot gear Thursday to clear protesters from a copper mine in in northwestern Myanmar, wounding villagers and Buddhist monks just hours before opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was to visit the area to hear their grievances.


The crackdown at the Letpadaung mine near the town of Monywa risks becoming a public relations and political fiasco for the reformist government of President Thein Sein, which has been touting its transition to democracy after almost five decades of repressive military rule.












The environmental and social damage allegedly produced by the mine has become a popular cause in activist circles, but was not yet a matter of broad public concern. However, hurting monks — as admired for their social activism as they are revered for their spiritual beliefs — is sure to antagonize many ordinary people, especially as Suu Kyi’s visit highlights the events.


“This is unacceptable,” said Ottama Thara, a 25-year-old monk who was at the protest. “This kind of violence should not happen under a government that says it is committed to democratic reforms.”


According to a nurse at a Monywa hospital, 27 monks and one other person were admitted with burns caused by some sort of projectile that released sparks or embers. Two of the monks with serious injuries were sent for treatment in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second biggest city, a 2 ½ hour drive away. Other evicted protesters gathered at a Buddhist temple about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the mine’s gates.


Lending further sympathy to the protesters’ cause is whom they are fighting against. The mining operation is a joint venture between a Chinese company and a holding company controlled by Myanmar’s military. Most people remain suspicious of the military, while China is widely seen as having propped up army rule for years, in addition to being an aggressive investor exploiting the country’s many natural resources.


Government officials had publicly stated that the protest risked scaring off foreign investment that is key to building the economy after decades of neglect.


State television had broadcast an announcement Tuesday night that ordered protesters to cease their occupation of the mine by midnight or face legal action. It said operations at the mine had been halted since Nov. 18, after protesters occupied the area.


Some villagers among a claimed 1,000 protesters left the six encampments they had at the mine after the order was issued. But others stayed through Wednesday, including about 100 monks.


Police moved in to disperse them early Thursday.


“Around 2:30 a.m. police announced they would give us five minutes to leave,” said protester Aung Myint Htway, a peanut farmer whose face and body were covered with black patches of burned skin. He said police fired water cannons first and then shot what he and others called flare guns.


“They fired black balls that exploded into fire sparks. They shot about six times. People ran away and they followed us,” he said, still writhing hours later from pain. “It’s very hot.”


Photos of the wounded monks showed they had sustained serious burns on parts of their bodies. It was unclear what sort of weapon caused them.


The protest is the latest major example of increased activism by citizens since the elected government took over last year. Political and economic liberalization under Thein Sein has won praise from Western governments, which have eased sanctions imposed on the previous military government because of its poor record on human and civil rights. However, the military still retains major influence over the government, and some critics fear that democratic gains could easily be rolled back.


In Myanmar’s main city of Yangon, six anti-mine activists who staged a small protest were detained Monday and Tuesday, said one of their colleagues, who asked not to be identified because he did not want to attract attention from the authorities.


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R&B star Mary J. Blige sued for defaulting on $2.2 million loan












(Reuters) – R&B star Mary J. Blige was hit with a lawsuit on Wednesday alleging the Grammy winner and her husband defaulted on a $ 2.2 million bank loan.


According to court documents filed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, Signature Bank is seeking to recoup the original loan plus $ 58,000 in interest.












Blige, 41, who has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, and her husband Martin Isaacs took out the loan in October 2011 and defaulted in July 2012, the suit alleges.


Blige’s publicist declined comment on the lawsuit. The singer’s attorney did not immediately return a request to comment.


The lawsuit also names Blige’s production company, Mary Jane Productions Inc.


The lawsuit is the latest financial headache for the New York City native. The “Family Affair” singer’s charity, The Mary J. Blige and Steve Stoute Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now Inc, was accused earlier in this year of mishandling funds and cheating scholarship students.


Blige acknowledged the problems in a June interview.


“The lives of young women are at stake,” the singer told Reuters when asked about the allegations. “I feel what they feel. I don’t want them to suffer. I promised them something and I’m gonna deliver. Period.”


(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Jill Serjeant and Todd Eastham)


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South Africa awards $667 million HIV drugs supply contract












JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa on Thursday awarded a $ 667 million contract to supply life-prolonging HIV medicine to 12 international and domestic firms, to deal with its biggest health problem.


Companies that include Aspen Pharmacare, Abbott Laboratories and Adcock Ingram would share the contract, the health department said.












The 5.9 billion rand ($ 667 million) contract, effective from April next year, aims to increase the number of people on treatment by nearly 50 percent, to 2.5 million next year.


South Africa has nearly 6 million people infected with HIV — one of the heaviest caseloads in the world. It also has one of largest treatment programs.


But drug makers are unlikely to rake in big profits from the government award, analysts have said, given the stiff competition in the bidding.


The health department said it saved 2.2 billion rand on the new contract, which it initially expected it would cost 8.1 billion rand.


Aspen Pharmacare, the country’s biggest generic drugs maker, was awarded 20 percent of the contract while its closest domestic rival, Adcock Ingram was given 14 percent, the health department said.


Other contracts winners included Chicago-based Abbott Laboratories with 8.1 percent, and domestic firm Cipla Medpro with 9 percent.


(Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng; editing by David Dolan)


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The Science Behind Those Obama Campaign E-Mails












One fascination in a presidential race mostly bereft of intrigue was the strange, incessant, and weirdly overfamiliar e-mails that emanated from the Obama campaign. Anyone who shared an address with the campaign soon started receiving messages from Barack Obama with subject lines such as “Join me for dinner?” “It’s officially over,” “It doesn’t have to be this way,” or just “Wow.” Jon Stewart mocked them on the Daily Show. The women’s website the Hairpin likened them to notes from a stalker.


But they worked. Most of the $ 690 million Obama raised online came from fundraising e-mails. During the campaign, Obama’s staff wouldn’t answer questions about them or the alchemy that made them so successful. Now, with the election over, they’re opening the black box.












063bb  405 email49 REV The Science Behind Those Obama Campaign E Mails


The appeals were the product of rigorous experimentation by a large team of analysts. “We did extensive A-B testing not just on the subject lines and the amount of money we would ask people for,” says Amelia Showalter, director of digital analytics, “but on the messages themselves and even the formatting.” The campaign would test multiple drafts and subject lines—often as many as 18 variations—before picking a winner to blast out to tens of millions of subscribers. “When we saw something that really moved the dial, we would adopt it,” says Toby Fallsgraff, the campaign’s e-mail director, who oversaw a staff of 20 writers.


It quickly became clear that a casual tone was usually most effective. “The subject lines that worked best were things you might see in your in-box from other people,” Fallsgraff says. “ ‘Hey’ was probably the best one we had over the duration.” Another blockbuster in June simply read, “I will be outspent.” According to testing data shared with Bloomberg Businessweek, that outperformed 17 other variants and raised more than $ 2.6 million.


Writers, analysts, and managers routinely bet on which lines would perform best and worst. “We were so bad at predicting what would win that it only reinforced the need to constantly keep testing,” says Showalter. “Every time something really ugly won, it would shock me: giant-size fonts for links, plain-text links vs. pretty ‘Donate’ buttons. Eventually we got to thinking, ‘How could we make things even less attractive?’ That’s how we arrived at the ugly yellow highlighting on the sections we wanted to draw people’s eye to.”


Another unexpected hit: profanity. Dropping in mild curse words such as “Hell yeah, I like Obamacare” got big clicks. But these triumphs were fleeting. There was no such thing as the perfect e-mail; every breakthrough had a shelf life. “Eventually the novelty wore off, and we had to go back and retest,” says Showalter.


Fortunately for Obama and all political campaigns that will follow, the tests did yield one major counterintuitive insight: Most people have a nearly limitless capacity for e-mail and won’t unsubscribe no matter how many they’re sent. “At the end, we had 18 or 20 writers going at this stuff for as many hours a day as they could stay awake,” says Fallsgraff. “The data didn’t show any negative consequences to sending more.”


After a pause, he offered a qualification: “We do know that getting all those e-mails in your in-box is at least mildly irritating to some people. Even my father would point that out to me.”


The bottom line: Obama’s e-mail fundraising team tested hundreds of grabby subject lines. The most successful—“Hey”— brought in millions of dollars.


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Nokia wins tribunal ruling on wireless patents












HELSINKI (Reuters) – Nokia has won its dispute with BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) over use of its patents related to wireless local access network (WLAN) technology, the Finnish company said on Wednesday.


Announcing that an arbitrator had ruled in its favor, Nokia said: “It found that RIM was in breach of contract and is not entitled to manufacture or sell WLAN products without first agreeing royalties.”












Nokia, which is trying to boost its royalty income as its phone business tumbles, said that it had filed cases in the United States, Britain and Canada to enforce the arbitrator’s ruling.


“This could have a significant financial impact, as all BlackBerry devices support WLAN, although the volumes are currently very low in these countries,” IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo said.


RIM was not immediately available to comment.


Nokia said it signed a cross-license agreement with RIM covering standards-essential cellular patents in 2003; a deal that was amended in 2008. RIM sought arbitration in 2011, arguing that the license should be extended to cover WLAN patents.


Nokia, along with Ericsson and Qualcomm, is among the leading patent holders in the wireless industry. Patent royalties generate annual revenue of about 500 million euros ($ 646 million) for Nokia.


Based on a Nortel patent sale and Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility, some investors and analysts say that Nokia’s patent portfolio alone merits its current share price of 2.50 euros.


However, the patent market has cooled since those deals were made and industry experts say that fair value of patents in large portfolios is $ 100,000 to $ 200,000, pricing Nokia’s portfolio at up to 0.50 euros per share. ($ 1 = 0.7733 euros)


(Editing by David Goodman)


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