Media Coverage: December 2004

Seattle Post-Intelligencer , 12/20/2004— Albert Vicere , professor of strategic leadership, writes in a column that "leadership is essential to an organization, especially in times of change. Vicere investigates whether there is a crises in leadership talent and what organizations can do about it in a Q&A with Jay Jamrog, director of the Human Resource Institute ( We're Facing A Dearth Of Good Leaders ).

Scripps Howard News Service , 12/19/2004— Judy Olian , dean of the Smeal College, writes in a column that "although it will be a while until we can determine the 'right' answer to the outsourcing debate, there should be little disagreement on at least one point. Education and reeducation is an investment we can't afford to outsource" ( The Good, Bad And Ugly About Outsourcing ). The column also ran in the Centre Daily Times.

San Francisco Chronicle , 12/19/2004— Fariborz Ghadar , director of Smeal's Center for Global Business Studies, discusses the long-term outlook for success in hostile takeover bids like the one between Oracle and PeopleSoft. "It may start out hostile, but you have to move very quickly to bring these people into the fold," Ghadar says. "If your people aren't happy, they aren't going to treat your customers very well. And if you don't treat your customers very well, it's going to make it easy for niche players to eat your lunch" ( When Hostile Takeovers Backfire ).

Associated Press , 12/17/2004— J. Edward Ketz , associate professor of accounting, discusses the requirement by the Financial Accounting Standards Board for companies to begin expensing stock options in 2005. According to Ketz, most companies that issue options have to repurchase their own stock at market prices so the extra shares created by the options do not lower their earnings per share. "'The spending of that precious cash is what in essence makes this whole thing absolutely critical in terms of reporting the truth on what's going on" ( Stock Options Must Be Deducted ). The story appeared on the Web sites of more than 100 news outlets including USA Today, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, Detroit Free Press, Kansas City Star, Philadelphia Inquirer, Miami Herald, Newsday, Chicago Tribune, and Baltimore Sun .

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , 12/14/2004— Albert Vicere , professor of strategic leadership, writes in a column that "there is more to becoming an effective leader than just getting a promotion. Aspiring leaders need to develop new skills and a broader leadership point of view." According to Vicere, "leaders first must understand the difference between being an individual contributor and a leader" ( Experience Builds Aspiring Leaders' Skills ).

CBS MarketWatch , 12/13/2004— Jennifer Chang Coupland , assistant professor of marketing, discusses the changing face of the American household and what it means for marketers. According to Coupland, many recent holiday ads focus on the individual. "It's a departure from the traditional approach, where the focus is usually on family" ( The New Face Of America ). The story also appeared on the Web site of Investor's Business Daily .

Centre Daily Times , 12/13/2004— Phillip Bolda , director of development, discusses Smeal's campaign to raise $29 million to help pay for the $68 million building now under construction. "Things are better now than they were immediately after 2001," Bolda says. "There was a lot of uncertainty." According to Bolda, the college has achieved 80 percent of its fundraising goal ( PSU Firing Up Money Machine ).

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , 12/10/2004— Donald Hambrick , Smeal Chaired Professor of Management, discusses the unwillingness of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to announce changes to its board of trustees. According to Hambrick, UPMC's failure to announce the resignation of U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill from the board nearly three months ago was "at a minimum, poor form." ( O'Neill's Exit Stirs Criticism Of UPMC ).

Accounting Web , 12/9/2004— J. Edward Ketz , associate professor of accounting, discusses increased hiring at big and small accounting firms. "More of the accounting graduates are getting jobs with the better firms than in the past few years," Ketz says ( Big Four Accounting Firms Steering Clear Of Risky Business ).

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , 12/7/2004— Albert Vicere , professor of strategic leadership, writes in a column that "the demand for leadership development and executive education is stronger than ever, especially given its recognized role as a catalyst to drive corporate performance." According to Vicere, "in today's environment of change and transition, creating a talent pool may be an organization's most critical investment" ( Creating Talent Leadership Pool May Be Critical ).

Centre Daily Times , 12/3/2004— Judy Olian , dean of the Smeal College, writes in a column that the trick with e-mail is to manage the downsides as effectively as possible with firewalls, e-mail management and "netiquette" guidelines, sound legal procedures, and strategies to counter the impersonality of the medium" ( The Dark Side Of E-mail ).

Workforce Management , December 2004— Albert Vicere , professor of strategic leadership, discusses the emerging trend of corporate mentoring. "Everyone has seen the demographics—the majority of companies will lose half their senior management teams by 2010," Vicere says. "As a result, companies are asking, 'Do we have the talent to deal with all this transition at the top?'" ( Logging On To Link Mentors, Proteges; Keyword: Matchmaking ).

Business Strategies , December 2004— Nirmal Pal , executive director of Smeal's eBusiness Research Center, discusses the future of e-business in an interview. "Big companies will dictate technology to their suppliers. That is the bad news," Pal says. "The good news is that in most cases they will teach it and make it available to you for their own sake. There are a lot of distance-learning programs available today and more will be available in the future" ( National Perspective ).

SmartPros.com , December 2004— J. Edward Ketz , associate professor of accounting, writes in a column that Peregrine Systems' disclosure that it "does not have an internal control system, and therefore it cannot issue financial statements" is a good thing. "If the corporate culture is so infected with problems that they have not yet been solved and if they are selling a product that is suspect on its face," Ketz writes, "then maybe society is better off if Peregrine Systems is laid to rest" ( Peregrine Systems -- Or The Lack Of Them ).

SmartPros.com , December 2004— J. Edward Ketz , associate professor of accounting, writes in a column that "disclosures in the pension footnote prove very useful in analyzing the economics of the entity" and that "the FASB could improve financial reporting by moving these items from the footnote to the financial statements themselves" ( Delphi Pensions And The SEC ).

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