News Archive
College Guide Highlights Smeal MBA Program's Social, Environmental Components
August 23, 2010
A new guide to MBA programs focusing on the social responsibility and sustainability aspects of the graduate programs features a profile of the Smeal College of Business MBA Program and its efforts in these areas.
Extend or Expire?
October 6, 2010
Smeal’s Charles Enis, tax expert and associate professor of accounting, discusses the fate of the Bush-era tax cuts. Enis suggests Congress should strive to increase the transparency of the tax codes, fix the alternative minimum tax, and phase out itemized deductions and exemption allowances.
Better Quality of Earnings: Public or Private Equity Firms?
October 6, 2010
Management incentives and demand by investors for earnings quality are important factors that shape the financial reporting of public equity firms. Dan Givoly and coauthors compare the quality of accounting numbers produced by two types of public firms—those with publicly traded equity and those with privately held equity that are considered public because of their publicly traded debt.
Tied to the Land
September 22, 2010
Terry Harrison has a passion for the good stewardship of natural resources, which stems from his love of the outdoors and an early job as a logger and forester. He shares how this passion shines through in his teaching, research, course projects, and daily life.
Former Congressman Michael Oxley to Open Smeal Executive Insights Speaker Series
September 2, 2010
Former U.S. Representative Michael Oxley, coauthor of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, is scheduled to speak at the Penn State Smeal College of Business on Sept. 24 as the first guest in this year's Leadership in Focus: Executive Insights speaker series.
Gaining a Competitive Advantage Within Your Market
September 2, 2010
Recent research from Wenpin Tsai, professor of business administration at Smeal, suggests ways for firms to gain market share and undermine their competitors. The most important point is for firms to put themselves in the shoes of their competitors and their competitors’ competitors. Firms who are well versed on their competitors’ strengths and weaknesses have a better chance of gaining market share and attacking their rivals without being counterattacked.
The Impact of RFID on Supply Chains
August 27, 2010
Companies are experimenting with radio frequency identification, or RFID, to increase the efficiency and productivity of their supply chains. By using these RFID tags, retail stores, manufacturing companies, and warehouses are capable of providing better customer service, quickly replenishing inventory, lowering labor costs, and managing quality control.
Going Steady: Inter-Firm Relationships
August 26, 2010
In a business-to-business environment, some buyers and suppliers have long histories together, in which they become familiar with one another’s behavior. If one party deviates from the normal behavior, this could create uncertainty for the other and damage the relationship. Qiong Wang discusses ways top managers can prevent this from happening.
Video: The Role of Cognitive Appraisals in Emotional Blunting
August 3, 2010
Smeal's Karen Winterich looks at how one emotion impacts another emotion and how this influences decision making. Discussing concepts like cognitive appraisals and emotional blunting provide answers to why people feel the way they do in certain situations. She explains how these processes are applicable in everyday life.
Room For Error
July 29, 2010
Both mandatory and voluntary disclosures require managers to project or estimate future earnings and accruals. Given environmental uncertainty, these business assessments unavoidably involve some errors. Allowing greater flexibility in the disclosure process may increase the likelihood of these errors being conveyed to the capital market. Smeal’s Guojin Gong discusses how environmental uncertainty and disclosure flexibility affect the quality of information conveyed through mandatory and voluntary disclosures.