December 2001
Penn State's E-Business Research Center Continues Pushing The Envelope
Penn State's eBusiness Research Center established itself as a pre-eminent research center during its first year, and Executive Director Nirmal Pal expects the eBRC to become the premier national resource for content and information about e-business during 2002.
HR Departments Should Play A More Prominent Role In Ethics Management
Although many large corporations now have formal programs for managing ethical behavior and legal compliance, human resources departments often play only a minor role in companies' ethics management efforts.
How Does The Stock Market React To Economic Distress?
The headlines throughout the past quarter have been filled with war, horror and pessimism-a sure sign that it is time to buy stocks. So says Gary Gray, visiting professor of finance in Penn State's Smeal College of Business.
Managing Your Boss
Sure, the ticket to getting great merit reviews and mega bonuses is being a superb performer, terrific colleague, and admirable organizational citizen. Is that enough? No. It's also about managing your boss.
Time To Get Rid Of The Auditors
The Enron debacle isn't an isolated incident, reminds J. Edward Ketz, associate professor of accounting in Penn State's Smeal College of Business.
Penn State's Smeal College Of Business Launches Renewed MBA Program
To be a leader in today's business environment, MBA students must be drivers of change and leaders in creating competitive advantage from non-traditional business opportunities. Penn State's Smeal College of Business is molding these new leaders with a dynamically renewed MBA program.
Managers In Public Firms Use Earnings To Influence Short-Run Stock Prices
The results of a recent study authored by a Penn State accounting professor could prove useful for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in its ongoing battle against earnings management.
Freight Transportation Industry Faces Major Challenges In New Year
Now that the Christmas rush for freight traffic is winding down, managers of freight transportation can soon take a break for the Christmas vacation. However, when work begins anew in early January, managers will have a lot to think about.
A Down Time Is Still A Boom Time For Business Education
The government has officially admitted to a recession, major companies are announcing large layoffs, and a recent survey from the Collegiate Employment Research Institute shows a decline in hiring. If you think this isn't the best time to apply to a business school, you're wrong.
Preliminary Lessons From Enron
Enron filed for bankruptcy protection last week after a stunning downfall from a stock trading high of about $85 a year ago, to less than $1 last week. Enron was the seventh largest corporation in the nation last year, generating $100 billion in revenues. Enron's crash will go down in history. What can we learn?
New Year's Resolutions For The Boss
Of course, you're the greatest boss ever, a legend in your own mind. Are you sure your employees feel that way? Perhaps not, so resolve to be a better boss next year. I'll offer ten options as New Year resolutions for the 'almost perfect' boss:
Changing Times Place New Demands On Business Leaders
Over my twenty-three years as a professor, I have had the great fortune to work with scores of business organizations and to spend time with their leaders. There is no question that the most effective leaders realize that the essence of their job is to get results and at the same time to build commitment to the organization's culture and values. But there also is little doubt that today's leaders must carry out those responsibilities in an incredibly complex environment.
Brick By Brick: Building Smeal College's Future
Robert A.M. Stern Architects, in association with Bower Lewis Thrower Architects, were selected to design the new home for business education at University Park.
On Leadership, Again
Surveys of business executives demonstrate a crying need for leadership skills. Yet leadership emerges in most surveys as the weakest skill among graduates, and among the toughest to teach or inculcate. You know it when you see it, and it's devastating when absent.
Tax-Efficient Investing Can Reduce Tax Bite
Tax strategies can sometimes be even more complex than investment strategies, but failing to consider tax implications can seriously undermine overall returns in certain situations.
Materialistic Children Expect More During 'Season For Giving'
The holiday season is known as "the season for giving" and materialistic youth expect their parents to give them more presents, reminds a Penn State Smeal College of Business marketing researcher.
In Spite Of The Long Odds, 'Tis The Shareholder Resolution Season
It's becoming more common for shareholders to try to force companies to be more socially responsible through resolutions that are presented at annual meetings for a shareholder vote. But the whole effort is like "tilting at windmills," says Dennis Sheehan, professor of finance in Penn State's Smeal College of Business.
Lucent Technologies' Grant Benefits Entrepreneurial Research In Smeal College
The Farrell Center for Entrepreneurship in Penn State's Smeal College of Business recently received a $50,000 grant from Lucent Technologies in support of research aimed at gaining a better understanding of corporate entrepreneurship.
Penn State Faculty To Review Several Brigham Young University Centers & Institutes
Nirmal Pal, executive director of Penn State's eBusiness Research Center, will serve as an external reviewer for the comprehensive review of the academic departments in Brigham Young University's Marriott School Centers & Institutes.
Inserting Greater Guarantees Into Your Company's Future
The tumult in the business environment is, if anything, accelerating, with the upward and downward spikes in business cycles hitting closer together. The recent crash of the dot-coms has been especially unsettling because many of us had been lulled into expecting their stratospheric valuations and the continuing upward momentum of markets.
Penn State Offers Online Instant Polls On E-Business Topics
Penn State's eBusiness Research Center (eBRC) is now conducting monthly online surveys on various e-business topics. The new "Instant Poll" is found online at http://www.ebrc.psu.edu .
Don't Blame Accounting For Enron's Collapse
Several Enron managers, their auditors and friends have written op-ed pieces recently, arguing that this bankruptcy demonstrates the failure of "old economy" accounting. This thesis proceeds by claiming that the old way of doing accounting doesn't meet the new challenges of today's world, and thus we yearn for a "new economy" accounting. This is a blatant falsehood.
Penn State To Hold Supply Chain Contingency Planning Workshop
Contingency planning will be the topic of a special one-day workshop hosted by the Center for Supply Chain Research in Penn State's Smeal College of Business.
