Blockbuster CEO Steers Company Toward Cliff

I couldn't believe this story in today's Dallas Morning News:

Blockbuster Executive Emphasizes Brick-And-Mortar Stores

Blockbuster Inc. CEO Jim Keyes told shareholders Thursday that "there is life in the stores," and brick-and-mortar locations remain key to the company's growing multichannel pitch to customers.

It's analogous to the following headlines: "Blockbuster: Betamax Key To Our Success", "AOL: Dial-Up Internet Is The Future", "GM Bets On Horse and Buggy" or "Coal: The Fuel of Tomorrow" (oops, that one is really out there).

Right now, not only do I get unlimited Netflix movies in the mail for $15 a month (three rentals from Blockbuster), but through Fios on-demand I can watch new releases through my remote. And digital delivery is only going to grow in availability.

If I were a shareholder at that meeting, I would have bolted for the door and called my broker on the spot. Sell! Sell!

One Hurdle Down

It's official. I have now completed all my coursework toward my PhD. (And with a 4.0 GPA, no less.) In one sense, it seems that the past two years flew by, but on the other hand it seems like a really long two years.

Next are the qualifying exams in August, and then the dissertation. I plan to have completed my doctorate within the next 18-20 months. It feels good to be in control (for the most part) of my own destiny.

College Students As Customers

The student as customer (SAC) approach leads students to believe that they deserve grades that they didn't earn, and are entitled to complain if they don't receive them, according to a pair of researchers.

The two conducted a survey of 1,025 undergraduate students at the University of South Alabama in the spring of 2008 and presented their findings at the 24th Annual Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Conference in April. Of those surveyed, 52 percent perceived themselves as customers of the university, responding positively to the statement, "As a student, I believe that my role is that of a customer of the university."

After measuring other attitudes and behaviors, including entitlement, satisfaction with the university, attitude toward complaining, and involvement with education, the researchers found that students who considered themselves customers of their university were more likely to feel entitled to complain--regardless of their satisfaction with the university--but they were not any more involved in their education than were other students.

This study demonstrates the unintended consequences of treating students as customers, which seems to be a trend over the last few decades. The researchers suggests treating students as co-producers, rather than customers.