The magazine for alumni and friends of the UB School of Management
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Autumn.2013Final_layout 8/1/13 12:48 PM Page 21 NewsBites Several influential media featured the accomplishments of the School of Management and the expertise of its faculty over the past year. Below is a summary of some of the school's citations in prominent national and regional media. These media "hits" enhance the school's national reputation and help to brand it as one of the nation's top business schools. The School of Management was again ranked a best business school by U.S. News & World Report in its annual ranking of MBA programs. The school was ranked No. 75 out of 448 MBA programs surveyed, up 14 places from the previous year. The MBA ranking is part of U.S. News & World Report's ranking of America's Best Graduate Schools. Lewis Mandell, professor emeritus of finance and managerial economics and current professor in the School of Management's Singapore EMBA program, was quoted on Time.com about children's allowances. Citing findings from the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, Mandell says giving a child an allowance that is not "earned" through such things as chores is detrimental to learning money management. In fact, Mandell said, "Regular, unconditional allowance may be akin to cruelty to children." (Huffington Post logo) Mandell's research also was cited in an article on the Huffington Post website about making children's allowances effective. Because Mandell has found that unconditional allowances may lead to a negative impact on a person's financial responsibility later in life, the author advocated that parents set terms for children receiving allowances and regularly discuss finances and financial decisions with their children. Ram Bezawada, associate professor of marketing, was quoted on Inc.com about his study showing that customers who participate in a business' social media will visit more and contribute more to the bottom line. Bezawada said measurable social media results will help retailers determine where to focus their marketing efforts. "Companies can actually plan their marketing budgets based on what kind of response they get," he said. "If sales increase by a certain amount they can allocate more dollars to social media, and their budgets are optimized." His research also was cited on Yahoo! News and numerous media outlets and blogs throughout the world. Research by Darren Treadway, associate professor of organization and human resources, was cited on the websites of Time, the Washington Post and Forbes, in addition to many other media outlets. Treadway's research was the first to study the correlation between bullying and job performance and found that, unfortunately for their coworkers, workplace bullies achieve a high level of career success. "Due to their social competence, [bullies] are able to strategically abuse co-workers and yet be evaluated positively by their supervisor," Treadway said. In addition, Treadway was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal about why workplace bullies can achieve success. His research showed that many bullies can be charming and manipulative, even while abusing their co-workers. "If people are politically skilled, they can do bad things really well," he said. Gwen Appelbaum, assistant dean and director of the school's Frank L. Ciminelli Family Career Resource Center, was quoted in USA Today about the CRC's proactive efforts to help graduates secure jobs, such as arranging Skype interviews with employers who do not come to campus to recruit and recording students' practice interviews for their review. "The more competitive the student needs to be, the more competitive the career office needs to be," Appelbaum said. Martha Salzman, assistant professor of accounting and law, was quoted on Bloomberg Businessweek and USA Today's websites about Eastman Kodak Co.'s bankruptcy. The company has racked up $125 million in bankruptcy expenses in one year. "That doesn't shock me," Salzman said. "Bankruptcy's expensive." Arun Jain, the Samuel P. Capen Professor of Marketing Research, was quoted on Bloomberg Businessweek's website on the merger of OfficeMax and Office Depot, which leaves the Buffalo area with only one big-box office supply chain. "I don't see a monopoly," Jain said. "You can find the same items almost anywhere," noting that the new, merged stores will have to compete with the likes of Walmart, supermarkets and drugstore chains that sell office and school supplies. Harold Star, assistant professor of operations management and strategy, was quoted in a Buffalo News story on the merger of American Airlines and US Airways. The airlines expect the merger will result in $1 billion in combined benefits, and Star said it could result in stronger joint buying power to negotiate better prices on fuel or parts. "The real question is: How sure are you in your analysis of the expected efficiencies?" Star said, noting that the answer could hinge on whether the airlines fly the same planes. Tom Ulbrich, executive director of the School of Management's Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, was quoted in an article on a local teacher-turned-entrepreneur who has made a profitable business selling classroom worksheets via the Internet. Ulbrich said someone taking his or her unique experience and leveraging the Internet's reach is a powerful formula. "A lot of us have ideas, but an idea is not an opportunity," he said. "An opportunity is when there is a market; someone has to be willing to pay for it." Cristian Tiu, associate professor of finance and managerial economics, was quoted by WKBW-TV for a story on management changes at First Niagara. President and CEO John Koelmel left First Niagara in a mutual decision with the company. "It's possible that there's hype over whether this is a good or bad move, so we can expect some volatility as well," Tiu said, discussing the transition period to new leadership. Autumn 2013 Buffalo Business 21 Autumn 2013 Buffalo Business 21