Microsoft and Bing: The Hits Just Keep on Comin’
June 7, 2010
At the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ keynote speech introducing the iPhone’s facelift was big news. The buzz leading up to the rollout was deafening. Any time Mr. Jobs makes a presentation, it’s exciting for Apple aficionados.
The big news was supposed to be all about Apple when Mr. Jobs unveiled the new-look iPhone 4. With 16GB and 32GB capacities, it’s priced at $199 and $299, respectively. It’s 25 percent slimmer than its predecessor. It has twice the picture resolution, and has a computing brain with video-chat function. It will be sold in 88 nations.
As expected, Google is the iPhone’s default search engine. But wait, here’s some surprising news – a big secondary angle is that Bing is a search option on the iPhone. Now we know why we’ve heard rumblings in recent weeks about meetings between Apple and Microsoft.
“…Bing will be included as one of the search engine choices within Safari on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and within the Safari browser on the Mac and PC,” announced Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president at Microsoft, in a blog according to CNET.
“Needless to say, we are excited that Bing will be included as an option in Safari because it will make it easier for you to search and get the benefits of Bing,” he added.
“In addition, we are continuing to improve our existing Bing mobile application for iPhone which makes it easy to search, map, and find commerce and movie times,” Mr. Mehdi said. “We will have a new release with even more great features very soon. For those of you that have not already tried it, you can find it in the App Store today.”
Microsoft’s track record in partnerships is really terrific. Indeed, in its first year, Bing also scored by being the search engine for Facebook and Verizon phones.
And I’m not certain it’s getting full credit for its successes. Depending on the research firm, Bing is credited with a 10 to 11 percent market share. (But based on this Web site’s visitor’s data, Bing’s share appears to be at least 50 percent higher.)
It’s also worth noting Google has been tinkering with it home page appearance, including offering an option to change the background. To use football-announcing vernacular, “Is Google hearing Bing’s footsteps?”
From the start, Bing has been offering colorful, informative schemes. For my SEO taste, Bing has a more objective search process compared to Google’s quirky approach. And I love the Bing mouse-over option on the news videos.
Frankly, I don’t get it when I’ve read bloggers’ posts about Microsoft having a so-so year. The company has had a stellar year in forming partnerships. That’s an excellent lesson for any company.
So regarding Bing’s progress, as I used to say as a young rock ‘n’ roll DJ working my way through college, “The hits just keep on comin’.”
From the Coach’s Corner, here’s more on the new iPhone.
Trends in Human Resources Management – Wharton Study
Some intriguing revelations have to come to light concerning developments in human resources management, according to a Wharton study.
The study considered trends in the human resources management of Fortune 100 firms – in 1999 and again in 2009 – and it provides insights for the future. All the answers led to one conclusion. HR is being accorded higher regard as a profession.
The study: “Who gets the top job? Changes in the attributes of human resource heads and implications for the future.”
It was researched by Dr. Peter Cappelli, a Wharton management professor, and Yang Yang, a Wharton post-doctoral fellow.
As for who gets the top job, 27 percent of the HR managers were women before the decade began. Now, 42 percent of HR managers are women.
The average HR manager is 53 years old. That’s up from 50.
“Why is not completely clear,” said Dr. Cappelli. “It could be a sign that the area has been stagnant as opposed to others.”
Conventional wisdom is that HR managers are required to have a broad business background. That was especially true in 1999 during a period of high employment.
During the Great Recession with dwindling union membership rolls and high unemployment, HR executives tend to have more of a traditional HR background. But Dr. Cappelli indicates it’s expected “top leaders” have general-business acumen to understand the big picture facing their companies.
The data shows they’re hired as HR managers 39 percent of the time from other firms. That’s down from 41 percent in 1999.
However, it also indicates the managers were hired at lower levels and promoted in a short period of time to the top HR spots later.
Preferred Experience
Many had experience working in these companies: Citibank, Dell, Hallmark, Morgan Stanley, Pepsi and Verizon.
“When a new person takes over that top role, the change in his or her attributes is quite likely to say something about the change in the priorities the CEO has for human resources going forward. Looking at how the backgrounds of these top executives have been changing should tell us something very important about trends in how corporate leadership sees the HR function,” according to the researchers.
While HR managers in the Fortune 100 tend to have bachelor’s and master’s degrees, fewer have doctorates.
Nearly 50 percent had international experience – especially in top 60 – a 300 percent increase over 1999 levels.
Twenty percent in 2009 had communications and corporate affairs experience.
Accountability has taken on more importance.
“The adage, ‘You can’t manage what you don’t measure,’ reflects this move to get more serious about control systems, especially where the costs are high,” said Dr. Cappelli.
“While HR lacks the glamour within the business community of fields like strategy, its actions have a profound effect on the lives of employees,” the authors wrote. “Human resources is a crucial point of intersection between the broader society and business,” wrote the researchers.
The study showed just four of the HR managers remained lasted from 1999 to 2009.
The study was funded by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
From the Coach’s Corner, for more on the importance of HR management as a profession, please see this Biz Coach column: If Mergers & Acquisitions Tempt You, Consult HR Pros.