Thursday, December 13, 2007

General Electric

GE- Imagination at Work
"Why predict the future when you can create it?"

Overview: Been around for 125 years. Buzz words are innovation, company culture, imagination and eco friendly. Jeff Immelt is CEO, and it was his idea to make the company eco friendly. Operate all over the world. Focusing on cleaner power and nanotechnology. In the top 100 companies of "Best Companies for Working Mothers." Heavy focus on leadership, training and diversity.

Divided into 6 biz segs
- NBC Universal
- GE Infrastucture
- GE Healthcare
- GE Commercial Finance
- GE Money
- GE Industrial

Products
- appliances
- airplanes
- finances
- energy
- consumer electronics
- healthcare
- lighting
- oil and gas
- water

Career Fair Summaries

BMW Group

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW), is an independent German company and manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles. BMW is the parent company of the MINI and Rolls-Royce car brands. It is also one of the leading car and motorcycle manufacturers in the world. BMW was officially founded as a public company in 1922, but traces its origins to the pioneering days of German aviation all the way back to 1913. Two of these pioneering men, Karl Rapp and Gustav Otto, are credited by BMW as the "founding fathers". However, BMW owes its actual founding by three men- Josef Popp, Max Friz, and Camillo Castiglioni.

First Continental Trading

FCT Group is a derivative trading company that deals mainly with fixed income futures, bonda and interest rate. There is no information on this company available on the web.

Catalyst Natural Gas

Based in Atlanta, Catalyst Energy is now Catalyst Natural Gas. "Our name change gives customers clearer communication about who we are and what we do," said Fernando de Agüero, CEO. "Catalyst's drive to be an advocate for customers is the underpinning of our corporate culture. Our new messaging and branding campaign including our name change to Catalyst Natural Gas with the tag line " Empowering You", emphasizes this commitment."

Catalyst's mission is to provide a portfolio of energy products and services in selected markets across the country. The company believes that in the Georgia market it needs to have a stronger emphasis on its current natural gas offering, as well as a clearer message for communication with customers about a product fraught with complexity.

Catalyst Natural Gas invested heavily in 2006 in market research in an attempt to study the brand image of natural gas marketers in general and Catalyst Natural Gas specifically to the general public. The idea for the name change started with a consumer in one of several focus groups conducted by the Company in the fall of 2006. Consumers observed that "energy" does not equal "natural gas" in their minds. They wanted clearer information and not to be confused by labels.

One of the consistent feedback messages in the consumer focus groups is the need for better information on rates and plans in easy-to-understand formats empowering them to make good choices for themselves. "Making it easier to select a marketer is critical to developing our new brand. Making it easier to do business with us is a major part of our business formula," said Mike Kirschner, Chief Marketing Officer.

Catalyst Energy d/b/a Catalyst Natural Gas is a privately owned, owner operated natural gas marketer certified by the Georgia Public Service Commission (GPSC) to operate in all of Atlanta Gas Light Company's distribution area. Catalyst Natural Gas is a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) as certified by the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council (GMSDC). Through a commitment to innovation, customer service and community outreach, Catalyst Natural Gas d/b/a Catalyst Natural Gas, harnesses the power of positive change to deliver the full potential of deregulation to the Georgia natural gas market.

Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce

Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce

  • an independent, non-profit, member-funded organization that is not part of any government
  • representing 4,000+ member companies employing 700,000+ workers in the 28-county region
  • operated by a staff of more than 80, with more than 3,000 volunteers
  • our Board of Directors and Board of Advisors are drawn from among
    Atlanta 's top leaders

What does the Chamber do?

  • We bring the region's leaders together to tackle the big issues that matter most – quality jobs and quality of life.
  • Quality Jobs: The Chamber markets Atlanta as a business location, attracting companies that create quality jobs. We are particularly focused on attracting headquarters, expanding global commerce and attracting jobs in the high-tech and logistics industry clusters.
  • Quality of Life: We work with business and civic leaders to tackle quality-of-life issues such as traffic congestion, education, air and water quality and land use.

Economic Development
The Chamber is a powerful force in economic development. Areas of focus include

  • headquarters recruitment & general marketing : Proactively marketing metro Atlanta as a business location, attracting company headquarters and creating quality jobs.
  • logistics industry development: Positioning metro Atlanta as a global logistics center of innovation and growing and attracting logistics companies and jobs.
  • technology cluster development: Shaping Atlanta as a center of technology and innovation by attracting and growing companies in the IT, software, biotech and telecom industries.
  • international economic development: Developing metro Atlanta into an international business center and attracting foreign direct investment, companies and jobs – while assisting metro Atlanta companies who do business abroad.

Current events

On Monday, Dec. 10, the Chamber along with the Atlanta Regional Commission, the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District and GE Water & Process Technologies will host an all-day forum to discuss the state's water crisis and look at some possible resolutions for the issue. Below is information about both events.

Title: Communications Internship Position

Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce -

The Chamber Communications team seeks interns on a semester basis to provide year-round support.

Responsibilities include media outreach, writing news releases, assembling weekly news clips,

photography, coordinating media interviews, editing Chamber publications, developing Web site

content, media list databases and other assigned communication duties.

Internship requires a regular schedule of at least 25 hours per week. Applicants must be of junior or senior status with major coursework toward a degree in Public Relations, Communications, Journalism or English. Intern benefits include exposure to high-profile national and international public relations campaign development and execution, meeting key Georgia business contacts and working closely with high level PR executives. Candidates must have strong writing and organizational skills, knowledge of AP style and ability to work independently on a variety of projects simultaneously. Internships can be performed for class credit. Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and resume to Chanta Waller at cwaller@macoc.com . For more information, please visit www.metroatlantachamber.com.

GADEcD

Georgia Department of Economic Development is a conduit for domestic and international trade in Georgia, its website describes the following:

Georgia is a place where hopes and dreams become reality. The state possesses a rare combination of assets, resources and people that come together to create a fertile environment where success comes faster. Want to be a part of our dynamic team? Visit our career opportunities page.

The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is your one-stop-shop for accessing these assets and amassing the right components for success. Through our staff of business development and industry experts, and partnerships with public and private sector resources, Georgia can meet your specific needs. Combine this business savvy with a rich landscape and world-renowned facilities that allow residents and vacationers alike to expand their horizons, and it's little wonder that growth and prosperity are so readily available.

Georgia works for your business. When you consider Georgia, GDEcD's professional and knowledgeable staff provides the right information and resources in order to help your company achieve its goals.

GDEcD's business specialists assist in business expansion and relocation, international trade, small business development, and technology and biotech development. Project managers in each of Georgia's regional economic development offices, as well as throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia, will provide you with access to the state's resources and assets, connect you to a vast network of skilled workers, and broker partnerships with other organizations and support systems.

Georgia also entertains you. Filmmakers and music producers access state-of-the-art production services and facilities, professional crews and talent, and countless, diverse locations in Georgia. Location and production experts in the Georgia Film, Video & Music Office build connections throughout the state, allowing film and music companies to make the most of Georgia's resources.

Last but not least, Georgia plays. Georgia's landscape lets you define your own experience and realize your own goals. From the Appalachian Trail to the Cumberland Plateau, Georgia's unparalleled diversity of vacation and meeting locations brings you rich possibilities. GDEcD's tourism professionals will help you tap into the state's many destinations and create the kind of experience you're seeking.

By providing a unified voice for Georgia, the GDEcD proactively promotes Georgia's resources, spirit and successes to a global audience – and to you.

Tim Devlin is the representative who will be here Friday from the GDEcD.

 

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

bottle notes

Bottlenotes is a customized wine club service and wine retail website featuring wines from some of the best producers around the world.
a small online wine firm with a focus on wine clubs and a user friendly system of helping the customer select a wine.

Panama Canal Authority

The Panama Canal Authority (Spanish: Autoridad del Canal de Panamá, or ACP) is the agency of the government of Panama responsible for the operation and management of the Panama Canal. The ACP took over the administration of the Panama Canal from the Panama Canal Commission (the joint US-Panama agency that managed the Canal) on December 31, 1999, when the canal was handed over from the United States to Panama as the Torrijos-Carter Treaties stated.

Daniel--the guy from GPMBA 2007 worked mostly with shipping through the canal and logistics.

Friday, December 7, 2007

The Work of Leadership By Heifetz and Laurie

Leadership is like a doctor that tells a heart attack patient to change his lifestyle.

Companies face adaptive challenges that require overall change.

Leaders cannot just take responsibility and provide solutions, because these solutions must come from the collective intelligence of employees at all levels.

Adaptive change is distressing for the people going through it.

Six Principles for leading adaptive work:

 
Get on the Balcony

Magic Johnson and Bobby Orr in hockey play hard while keeping the whole game situation in mind, as if on a balcony above the field of play. See the larger patterns of play, make observations.

Leaders should see a context for change or create one. Give employees perspective of past and current market forces, identify struggles over values and power, and recognize patterns of work avoidance and dysfunctional reactions to change.

Prerequisite for the next five principles.

 
Identify the adaptive challenge

Chimpanzees know how to react to a predatory leopard, but not to a hunter or poacher.

British Airways changed from "Bloody Awful" to "the world's favorite airline" by reorienting on serving people, acting on trust, respecting the individual, and making teamwork happen across boundaries. Values had to change.

CEO Colin Marshall looked:

1) at the organization, meeting crews, employees, and passengers

2) at conflicts as symptoms of adaptive challenges – procedures, schedules and lines of authority

3) Mirror up to themselves – executive management would lead in adaptive work.

 
Regulate distress

Realize that people can learn only so much so fast. Strike delicate balance – people should feel the need to change without feeling overwhelmed.

1) Create Holding Environment – a "place" to frame and debate issues, clarify assumptions

2) Use Authority – responsible for direction, protection, orientation, managing conflict, and shaping norms.

3) Have presence and poise

Pressure Cooker Analogy – maintain pressure, but release steam

 

Maintain disciplined attention

Value diversity, invite competing perspectives, but maintain focus

Reign in work avoidance tactics. Encourage dialogue, prevent sterile conflict.

 
Giving the work back to people

Your people will recognize their own problems and often supply the solutions

Protecting voices of leadership from below 

Monday, December 3, 2007

COMPLETE EXXON PAPER FINAL!!

I've shared a document with you called "COMPLETE EXXON PAPER FINAL!!":
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dwhwk9n_1fzswn6&invite=cqtsw7

It's not an attachment -- it's stored online at Google Docs. To open this document, just click the link above.
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don't update until thursday at 8pm

About Us

My photo
Atlanta, GA, United States
Shown in picture top-bottom, left-right: Denis Asonganyi, Carol Sautter, Del Moses, Shawn Butler, Christopher Kittrel, Michael Burke, Kim Parrish, Emily Tsang, Cherie Berkley, Lena Kim, Alaina Inman, Fumu Gakodi, Jaime LaTorre, Caro Katis, Melissa Efferth, Leslie Brown, Bridget Boyer, Rebecca Gould, Stas Garmash, Maggie Mariscal.