Media Coverage: July 2008

Bloomberg News, 07/31/2008—J. Edward Ketz, associate professor of accounting, comments on Lehman Brothers' relationship with R3 Capital Partners. Ketz "said Lehman's potential 48 percent stake in R3's master fund by itself would be 'significant influence in anybody's book,' even without voting rights." (Lehman Brothers Should Come Clean on R3 Capital).

Modern Healthcare, 07/28/2008—Tim Pollock, professor of management, comments on executive compensation. "I personally think restricted stock is better than options," Pollock says. "It gives them real skin in the game. Until an option is exercised, it isn't worth much. If it's underwater, you haven't lost anything. The restricted stock, if the value goes down, the executive has lost something." (Still Making Their Ascent).

MichiganTalkNetwork.com, 07/26/2008—Patrick Cataldo, associate dean for executive education, is interviewed on the program "Everyday Leadership." (Reinvention).

Canada Stockwatch, 07/14/2008—Article mentions research by J. Randall Woolridge, professor of finance. "One study, by J. Randall Woolridge, a Penn State business professor, found that analysts predicted long-term growth in share profit of 14.7 percent in the companies they followed. The earnings growth during the same period was, in fact, 9.1 percent." (Globe Says RIM Finds Analysts Still An Influential Lot).

The Globe and Mail (Canada), 07/12/2008—Article mentions research by J. Randall Woolridge, professor of finance. "There have been a number of studies on analyst behavior, including one released in the spring by J. Randall Woolridge, a Penn State business professor, who looked at 1,200 U.S. companies from 1984 to 2006 and found analysts' recommendations wanting." (Rating The Analysts).

CentreDaily.com, 07/10/2008—Blog entry on research by Stephen Humphrey, assistant professor of management. "Major League Baseball teams with more highly skilled and experienced pitchers and catchers fare better than those with equally skilled and experienced position players, according to a new report coauthored by a professor at Penn State's Smeal College of Business." (Importance Of Developing Core Roles In Baseball).

The Washington Times, 07/09/2008—Article on research by Stephen Humphrey, assistant professor of management. "Scholars from Penn State, Michigan State, and Notre Dame concluded that pitchers are part of a team's 'strategic core' and that teams that devoted more payroll to this 'strategic core' historically have been the most successful. The authors contended that their findings can apply to team-like settings in the traditional business world." (At Core, It's Pitching).

CareerBuilder.com, 07/08/2008—Article on a new book coauthored by Dulin Clark, associate director of MBA career and executive coaching. "It's pretty easy to recognize when working with a difficult co-worker has gotten the best of you. ... Robert Orndorff and Dulin Clark know your plight and have written an entire book, The PITA Principle, on how to deal with difficult co-workers." (Difficult Co-Workers Getting You Down?).

Economist.com, 07/07/2008—Fariborz Ghadar, director of the Center for Global Business Studies, comments on economic development in China. Ghadar "says that on the five- to ten-year horizon the key to China's future will be to ensure that inland regions rise with the rest of the country. The country can partly do so by training more engineers and scientists, and educating the workforce at a higher level." (Rebuilding). This article also appeared in Business China.

Centre Daily Times, 07/06/2008—Patrick Cataldo, associate dean for executive education, quotes Bill Ross, professor of marketing, in his column on taking care of customers during a slowing economy. "The business climate today has companies looking for creative and innovative solutions," Ross says. "While strategic account management is important, it's not enough unless account managers are presenting their most valued customers with unique solutions to help with their most critical needs." (In Hard Economic Times, Take Care Of Customers So They'll Take Care Of You).

CentreDaily.com, 07/06/2008—Patrick Cataldo, associate dean for executive education, writes in his blog about building relationships in a struggling economy. "How do account managers differentiate themselves in an era of stiff competition for a client's time and continued business?" Cataldo writes. "They offer unexcelled products and services. They anticipate needs. And the most effective account managers excel by listening, observation, and creativity at every customer interaction." (Take Care Of Customers).

The (Allentown) Morning Call, 07/02/2008—Terrence Guay, clinical associate professor of international business, writes in an op-ed about the economic troubles facing American airlines. "As our trade representatives demand that other countries open their financial, retail and service industries to U.S. competition, we refuse to open our airline market to others. Yet, this is the best strategy to improve the financial health of U.S. airlines." (Foreign Competition Would Help U.S. Airlines). This article also appeared in June in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Tampa Tribune, Patriot-News, and Centre Daily Times.

Shape, 07/01/2008—David Harrison, Smeal Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management, comments on his research on telecommuting. "It's not like 20 years ago, when you would have been one of the few working remotely and could have been seen as less committed to your job," says Harrison. (The Best Way To Achieve Work-Life Balance).

Mergers & Acquisitions, 07/01/2008—Excerpt from an op-ed by Terrence Guay, clinical associate professor of international business. "Relaxing the restrictions on foreign ownership would allow British Airways and other foreign carriers to serve U.S. locations that are underserved now. It also would avoid the reduction in routes and elimination of cities served when two U.S. carriers merge." (Polite Conversation).

Logistics Management, 07/01/2008—William Grenoble, executive director of the Center for Supply Chain Research, comments on supply chain education. "The core is being taught well at the university level, but there are gaps at the ancillary talent stations," Grenoble says. "It's not an indictment of the universities, but it's due to the fact that these in-depth topics may only be covered in one or two lectures within one course that students take." (Continuing Education Update).

BizEd, July/August 2008—Brief article on the appointment of Abdullah Yavas, Elliott Professor of Business Administration, to the Monetary Policy Committee of the Turkish Central Bank. (Short Takes).

Corporate Business Taxation Monthly, July 2008—Michael Rosenberg, instructor in accounting, writes about resident alien and nonresident alien classifications for U.S. tax purposes. (Expanding The Exceptions To The U.S. Income Tax Resident Alien Definition).

Bookviews.com, July 2008—Article on a new book coauthored by Dulin Clark, associate director of MBA career and executive coaching. "If I were you, I would invest instead in The PITA Principle: How to Work with and Avoid Becoming a Pain in the Ass by Robert Orndorff, D.Ed., and Dulin Clark, Ph.D., due out next month; but I would suggest, if you're just entering the workplace or have encountered a lot of interpersonal problems in the workplace, you better get in line to buy this excellent book." (Getting Down To Business). 

SmartPros.com, July 2008—J. Edward Ketz, associate professor of accounting, writes in his column on an exposure draft issued by the FASB. "U.S. investors and creditors witnessed unprecedented distortions in financial reporting during the last decade or so," Ketz writes. "With this context in mind, I wonder whether this document will improve financial accounting and reporting or itself become part of the problem." (Objective Of Financial Reporting And Qualitative Characteristics: Some Comments).

SmartPros.com, July 2008—J. Edward Ketz, associate professor of accounting, writes in his column on the accounting misdeeds of Nortel Networks Corp. "Nortel paid $35 million in fines for these behaviors," Ketz writes. "I wonder why the SEC fines corporations since the innocent stockholders are the ones who pay these fines." (Nortel's Accounting Scheme).