Korea-based LG Electronics is recognized today as a market leader in India, but getting there has required a "will to succeed," according to Yasho V. Verma, who has been director of human resources and management support for the company's India division since 1997. In addition to the usual bumps that multinationals can expect when entering a new market, Verma describes the company's brushes with local "mafia" and other challenges in his book, Passion: The Untold Story of LG Electronics India. In a country known for its talent shortage, LG India's employee attrition rate has dropped from 19% to 6% in the past two years alone. At the recent Wharton India Economic Forum, Verma spoke with Knowledge@Wharton about how LG has used non-traditional methods for recruiting and retaining talent and empowering employees "at the lowest levels."

The economy seems to be sinking toward recession, with new home sales at their lowest since the early 1990s. At the same time, inflation is picking up. Some Americans are paying $4 for a gallon of gas and coming home from the supermarket with sticker shock. Today, the Fed deemed recession the bigger worry and cut short-term interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, from 2.25% to 2%. Was this the right choice? How will it affect the financial markets? Should investors bet on a stock market rebound or hide on the sidelines? Knowledge@Wharton put these questions to Wharton finance professor Jeremy Siegel, author of The Future for Investors.

The ongoing takeover battle between Microsoft and Yahoo has taken several surprising turns over the past few weeks. After rejecting Microsoft's unsolicited $44.6 billion offer in late February, Yahoo has announced a two-week ad testing program with its main search rival, Google, and has reportedly entertained a possible merger with Time Warner's AOL. Meanwhile, Microsoft was rumored to be considering News Corp. as a possible ally in acquiring Yahoo. While spectators wait for the next twist in this saga, another headline-making deal has been announced: a merger between Delta and Northwest Airlines to become the world's largest airline. Knowledge@Wharton spoke with Wharton management professor Saikat Chaudhuri and Wharton legal studies and business ethics professor Kevin Werbach to find out whether these deals make sense and for whom.

Ask any CEO or senior level executive what his or her biggest challenge is, and the answer is almost always finding and keeping good people. Yet most executives fail to manage their company's needs in a way that recognizes the unpredictability of the global marketplace. In a book titled, Talent on Demand: Managing Talent in an Age of Uncertainty, Peter Cappelli, director of Wharton's Center for Human Resources, proposes a new approach to this issue based on applying the principles of supply chain management to people. He and Joyce Bradley, senior vice president and general manager, Delaware Valley region, of Lee Hecht Harrison, spoke with Knowledge@Wharton about talent management, including the challenges of managing employees in a recessionary economy.

Kevin Roberts has been CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi since 1997, and in the space of 11 years has cemented the ad agency's reputation as one of the most successful and creative companies in the industry. Roberts is perhaps most well known for an idea he came up with called "lovemarks" -- which means creating a brand for which the consumer has "loyalty beyond reason." During a visit to campus last week, he talked with Knowledge@Wharton about lovemarks and other initiatives. In addition, as part of the Wharton Leadership Lecture series, he spoke about the skills needed to be a successful marketer, what consumers really want, his personal management style and the need to have a dream.

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