Groupon: A Startup Which Lost its Soul Too Soon

This case was written as Organizational Behavior study by Simone Viganò. It is intended to use as the basis for internal discussion and unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

The company

Groupon, Inc. is one of the worldwide leading online commerce marketplaces for searching businesses and merchandise around the world. Its operations span over three main line of business: Local (services offered by merchants in the cities), Travel (hotels and vacation packages), and Goods (merchandising). It is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and employed around 11,843 people as of December 31, 2014.

The business model of Groupon is simple: every day, per each city in which it operates, a new special deal is sent to the subscribers. Subscribers can then buy the deals on the website (see exhibit 1) for a limited period of time. These deals are sourced by a sales team which contacts local merchants (e.g. restaurant, saloon, spas, etc.) and negotiate the best offer.

Groupon’s mission is to give its customers a new experience every day, while helping merchants to grow their business. Read More “Groupon: A Startup Which Lost its Soul Too Soon” →

My Passion for Changes and Trasformation

Read More “My Passion for Changes and Trasformation” →

Essere buoni con gli altri è intelligente, non esserlo è da stupidi

In alcune società, come ad esempio quelle sud europee, essere buoni è associato all’essere stupidi, a lasciare che gli altri si avvantaggino, come si direbbe in alcune parti d’Italia a essere “fess”.

Definiamo essere buoni con gli altri come la tendenza a dare molto valore agli altri ed al fatto di piacere ed essere amati dagli altri. Significa dare fiducia, avere senso dell’umorismo, essere generoso, compassionevole, tollerante e cooperativo.

Non essere buoni significa essere freddo, scettico, essere guardingo nei confronti degli altri, essere costantemente in competizione (complesso di inferiorità), pensare che ogni cosa che dai è solo una privazione a te stesso. Read More “Essere buoni con gli altri è intelligente, non esserlo è da stupidi” →

Pre-exams Saturday night thinking

You arrive here, and you are basically thrown in a washing machine. Time flies. You soon realize that you have not time to do all the work you are supposed to do and you start de-prioritizing everything. The things that before the master seemed to be pillars of your motivation (“I want to master the art of economy!” or “I don’t want to miss any company presentation!”) become secondary to buying the best costume for DASH or to organize the Oktober Fest trip. So you start thinking… I really went to all this troubles to have one year of party and fun? Where are all the challenges? Where are the “smartest people out there”?

Than the P1 exams arrives, Read More “Pre-exams Saturday night thinking” →

Friendship when you get to go

During these days before I leave for my sabbatical, I am forcing myself to fix dates and meetings with friends and colleagues whom I care the most. I say “forcing” because I trust in friendship and I know that real friendship does not need extra-meetings, it just needs the meetings and contacts you feel natural to give. But in days like this it is different because you know that time is limited so you actually plan who and when meet with very detailed scheduling. Read More “Friendship when you get to go” →

Grecia: numeri, fatti e dati per capire, prima di tutto [G.Giudici]

Non potevo non scrivere qualcosa sulla Grecia, e quindi eccoci qua

Why Engineers Are Good Sales Managers

Engineers usually don’t understand sales. They see a sales person as a wizard. The concept of sales for an engineer is mathematical: you show a number to one person and this person will automatically decide to buy because the number you show is the demonstration that the object (or service) you are selling is the only solution for the need he or she has.
As you may know this is not sales in the 99% of the cases because a sales person (a good one) simply make you to take the decision to buy. He manipulates you to take this decision, no matter if it is  sustainable or right for you. The only thing that matter is that he closes the deal.
This is because a sales person work hard to influence what Nobel Memorial Prize winner in Economics Daniel Kahneman defines “System 1″ that is (in a very simplistic definition) the fast, instinctive and emotional method of thinking and of making decision (1). Read More “Why Engineers Are Good Sales Managers” →

Resilienza e strategie organizzative

Sia che per RESILIENZA si intenda la capacità di reagire alle situazioni avverse, sia che si intenda la capacità di “coping organizzativo” finalizzato a “tenere il passo” o creare nuove opportunità, i punti in comune sono la capacità di gestire il cambiamento ed innovare. Read More “Resilienza e strategie organizzative” →

ESSENTIALS OF ACCOUNTING 11TH – Pre-INSEAD reading

Essentials of Accounting is a workbook that provides introduction to financial accounting for active users of business data. This text presents the ideas and terminology essential to understanding balance sheets, income statements, and statements of cash flows in a unique format that enables students to study and learn with ease.

Sorgente: Foot-Note – INSEAD – ESSENTIALS OF ACCOUNTING 11TH – Pre-INSEAD reading