In his book "OBD: Obsessive Branding Disorder," Lucas Conley asserts that branding has gotten out of hand. At it's worst it is deceptive, he writes, and it diverts companies away from real product improvement to focus on superficial details.

The Chinese don't do things halfway, as anyone who's visited Beijing in the run-up to the Olympics can attest.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Americans began doing all of the things they had always wanted to do, including, apparently, a whole lot of shopping.

The customer is king, an old service mantra says. But today a few industry leaders argue the employee, not the customer, is most important.

While most companies agree on the importance of a loyal customer base, it remains an elusive goal. Many companies that track customer satisfaction quickly become frustrated and sometimes abandon loyalty efforts, according to Dr.

User communities, usually associated with technology products, help customers connect with each other and the brand. User communities are not just for computer products, however. An exceptional example of developing and sustaining an active, dynamic user community is Harley-Davidson Motorcycles.

China is no stranger to revolution, so it's hardly surprising that the country's business leaders and academics are talking about an approaching service revolution that will transform the manufacturing behemoth into a leading global services provider.

Books touting ways to improve business communication skills command acres of shelf space in local bookstores, mostly in the Bargain Bin section. They're literally "a dime a dozen." Then there are the true classics that take pride of place in front of the store, year after year.

Arizona brought its "A" game to the Super Bowl — both on the field and off — with a winning coordination of events at Glendale's University of Phoenix Stadium.

For those of us who diet – counting our cookies, watching our calories and paying more per mouthful for chow that we perceive as "diet food" – researchers from the W. P. Carey School of Business offer a bitter insight to swallow.