Discussion 1
http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2012/07/31/t-microsoft-touchscreens-everywhere.cnnmoney (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
It is a very interesting vedio, being skeptical about using Point of Sale (POS) technologies, be it Square/Levelup App/ApplePay (eWallet)/Google Pay, it makes me very nervous to leave my debit card/bank information on such websites. I find these technologies to be disruptive to some extent but I would like to draw attention to the McKinsey Report Link "Innovation and disruption in U.S. Merchant Payments" which states that electronic payments volume is expected to grow at about 7% annually over the next five years, but intense competition among the electronic payment processors will increase margin compression.
The key point to note in this discussion topic is that the underlying payment processor still remains to be a credit card company. This disruption seems like an "old wine in new bottle" to me. I think Bitcoin/crypto-currencies will be a better bet.
Discussion 2
Q How did you feel about the up-market impetus concept? Do you think it becomes a constraint in your company/companies you know, in pursuing innovation opportunities strategically-particularly disruptive innovation opportunities
Ans :
Up-market impetus is a well know strategy adopted by astute business managers to move the weighted average of the product sales in to progressively higher tiers of the market that is basically moving the product sales in to upscale/luxury segments to improve the gross margins for the company.
Ford's global profit margin of 5% on the core auto business last year was in the bottom tier of major auto companies. However, according to Bob Shanks, Chief Financial Officer at Ford, company's gross profit margin should be 8% or more. The F-150 is the most profitable and the most successful model for Ford to date, so the company makes every effort to provide the best quality vehicles with the most innovative technologies to enhance its market share. Lincoln brand is the second most successful product for Ford. The success of the Lincoln Link car is largely due to the updated redesign Ford has done on the vehicle in a decade.