Media Coverage: February 2004

Media Coverage is a listing of current media placements featuring Smeal College faculty, staff and students. At the end of each month, items are moved into the Archive , accessible via the link at the end of this page.

BusinessWeek , 2/29/2004 -- Judy Olian dean of the Smeal College, discusses the shortage of business Ph.D.'s and the response of an Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business commission she chaired to investigate the trend. The Doctoral Faculty Commission's recommendations include attracting business faculty from alternative sources, increasing incentives for business Ph.D.'s, promoting the value of business Ph.D.'s to prospective students, and fostering innovation in Ph.D. delivery. The story featured a photo of Olian ( Is There A Doctor In The B-School? ).

Baltimore Sun , 2/27/2004 -- Jennifer Chang Coupland , assistant professor of marketing, discusses the implications for Polaroid due to the popular hip-hop song with the lyrics "Shake it like a Polaroid picture." "Polaroid is retro, something we think of having when we were kids," she says. "But they're also trying to update Polaroid and make it fun and hip again. In some ways it has helped revive Polaroid" ( Hip-hop Adds Snap To Polaroid's Image ).

The Associated Press , 2/26/2004 -- Donald Hambrick , Smeal Chaired Professor of Management, and his research about the usefulness of the chief operating officer within the corporate structure are featured. The study, which is forthcoming in the Strategic Management Journal , finds that companies relying on both the CEO and COO for organizational leadership substantially under perform those with only a CEO ( Study Says CEOs With COOs Deliver Lower Performance ). The story appeared in NEPA News (PA), MLive.com (MI), the Montgomery County Times (PA), and the Contra Costa Times (CA).

The Philadelphia Inquirer , 2/25/2004 -- Fariborz Ghadar , director of the Center for Global Business Studies, discusses the role of Microsoft in the Comcast takeover bid of Disney. "I'm sure there are teams within Microsoft saying: 'What can we do about this whole thing?'" he says. Adding, "The time we spend watching broadcast television has gone down dramatically. What has increased is the amount of hours spent on the Internet. There's a big battle: How do we access the Internet, and video on demand, and other media" ( Microsoft Role In Comcast-Disney: Partner ) The story also appeared in the San Jose Mercury News (CA) and on SiliconValley.com .

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , 2/24/2004 -- Albert Vicere , executive education professor of strategic leadership, says in a column that corporate innovation emerges when great leaders are in place. "The great leaders I've met, those with the knack for building organizations where both performance and innovation thrive, see themselves as champions of innovation" ( On Leadership: Great Leaders Inspire Troops ).

Time Magazine Global Business , 2/23/2004 -- Donald Hambrick , Smeal Chaired Professor of Management, and his research about the usefulness of the chief operating officer within the corporate structure are featured. The study, which is forthcoming in the Strategic Management Journal , finds that companies relying on both the CEO and COO for organizational leadership substantially under perform those with only a CEO ( Memo to the COO: Update Your Resume ).

Allentown Morning Call , 2/22/2004 -- Fariborz Ghadar , director of the Center for Global Business Studies, discusses the increase in warehouse jobs even in a lean job market. According to Ghadar, every region must learn to capitalize on its individual characteristics. "If Allentown has distribution and logostics, hey, that's what you've got," he says. "It is not necessarily a bad direction ( Warehouse Jobs Big In Tight Times ). The story also appeared in the Miami Herald .

The Oregonian , 2/21/2004 -- J. Edward Ketz , associate professor of accounting and MBA faculty director, discusses possible strategies to improve corporate ethics. His suggestion: Improve useful financial disclosure by requiring companies to show stock options as a business expense. Also, require businesses to show full pension-fund liabilities and actual gains and losses of pension funds instead of being allowed to report an assumed rate of return ( 10 Strategies To Help Ethics In Industry ).

Scripps Howard News Service , 2/20/2004 -- Judy Olian , dean of the Smeal College, discusses the critical elements that serve as the foundation of all business negotiations and can mean the difference between success or failure in her twice-monthly column ( The Complex Art of Negotiations ). The column also appeared in the Centre Daily Times , and the Miami Herald .

Minnesota Public Radio , 2/15/2004 -- J. Edward Ketz associate professor of accounting and MBA faculty director, discusses the practice of channel stuffing, or sending customers more product than they may need or want, usually with some incentive to take it. According to Ketz, "the only real trouble is how you account for it. You are not supposed to put something into the income statement as revenue unless you have provided the good or service. And in the case of channel stuffing, you are providing the goods, but the customer may send it back to you" ( 'Loading,' Key Issue For General Mills, Has Long History ).

Centre Daily Times , 2/15/2004 -- Linda Trevi�o , professor of management and the Franklin H. Cook Fellow in Business Ethics, is profiled in an article tracing her path to becoming a tenured professor. Trevi�o says that in order to succeed, she has had to juggle the demands of research, service, and teaching ( Professor Juggles Tenure Demands ).

Investor's Business Daily , 2/13/2004 � Linda Trevi�o , professor of management and the Franklin H. Cook Fellow in Business Ethics, discusses her book, "Managing Business Ethics," and the four roadblocks to ethics: the "we'll take care of it" response, groupthink syndrome, divided responsibility, and psychological distance. "In organizations, an individual often becomes disconnected from the consequences of his or her actions," she says. "If no individual feels the need to take responsibility, in the end no one does, and unethical behavior is more likely" ( Take Ethics Personally ).

Scripps Howard News Service , 2/13/2004 -- Albert Vicere , executive education professor of strategic leadership, says in his twice-monthly column that the most astute leaders realize it takes more than one person to make an organization successful. "It requires a team of energetic, capable people to help create and manage the initiatives that drive change across the organization," he writes. "It helps if the team is comprised of both business leaders and human resource development experts. And it is essential that the members of the team have a real feel for the people, the culture, and the organizational climate ( An Example Of Dynamic Leadership ).

Newark Star-Ledger , 2/12/2003 � Donald Hambrick , Smeal Chaired Professor of Management, discusses the challenges facing Disney chairman Michael Eisner in the face of a takeover bid from Comcast.

The Wall Street Journal , 2/10/2004 -- A Web site created by Steven Huddart, associate professor of accounting, is mentioned in a story about stock options. Huddart's site helps users compare the value of exercising stock options today vs. waiting until later ( As Market Rebounds, Number of Employees Cashing In Shares Jumps; Timing Your Move ).

The Associated Press , 2/9/2004 -- J. Edward Ketz , associate professor of accounting and MBA faculty director, discusses recent findings that executives massage earnings reports to meet or beat Wall Street expectations and sacrifice shareholder value to keep earnings on a smooth upward slope. Ketz said the study was less a surprise than an indication of how cynically executives treat earnings reports, and he questions whether executives are looking at the long-term effects ( Study: Executives Sacrifice Shareholder Value To Please Street ). The story appeared in the Wilmington Morning Star (NC), the Times Daily (AL), the Ocala Star-Banner (FL), the Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL), the Biloxi Sun Herald (MS), the Lakeland Ledger (FL), the Fort Worth Star Telegram (TX), and the Web sites of WTVD (NC), WVEC (VA), and WCNC (NC).

Scripps Howard News Service , 2/6/2003 -- Judy Olian , dean of the Smeal College, discusses the shortage of business Ph.D.'s and the impact that shortage is having on business schools and by extension the business world. Olian was chair of an Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business commission to investigate the trend and offer suggested responses ( Dwindling Business Ph.D.'s Pose Problems ). The column also appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Centre Daily Times .

BusinessWeek Online , 2/4/2004 -- Paul Poissant , director of MBA career management and corporate relations, says that hiring by technology companies at Smeal, like at many other schools, is down vs. peak years, and that IT stalwarts such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Intel have the largest presence at the school. Poissant encourages Smeal students to set their job goals before they arrive at school, and says that if candidates aren't focused, "it's pretty much over in the employer screening review" ( Tech Hiring: No Longer An Oxymoron ). The story also appeared in E-Commerce Times .

Herald Sun (Australia) , 2/4/2004 -- Ralph Oliva , executive director of the Institute for the Study of Business Markets, discusses the emerging trend of retro technology. He cites the work of watch and handbag company Fossil, which realized early on "that for all of the blazing chrome and silver-and-black kinds of things people are seeing, there's a balance of people who want something organic, earth-tone, rounded, and that led him into this retro look, even in his highest-tech stuff ( Retro-Gadgets All The Rage ).

The Daily Collegian , 2/4/2004 -- Andrew Bergstein , instructor of marketing, offers his thoughts on four Smeal students who created an online menu Web site, which has become a flourishing local business. "This is a great example of kids who have ideas and actually making them work," he said ( Students Seek Success, Fortune Through Online Menu Campaign ).

WPSX-TV / WPSU-FM (Central Pennsylvania), 2/3/2004 -- Judy Olian dean of the Smeal College, hosts "About Business," a call-in show focused on the state of women in today's workplace. Joining Olian as guests are Robert Drago, professor of labor studies and women's studies at Penn State; Kelly Grimes, president and owner of Wendpenn Corporation; and Sue Molina, partner and national director of Deloitte & Touche's Initiative for the Retention and Advancement of Women.

Newsday , 2/3/2004 -- Andrew Bergstein , instructor of marketing, offers the overall assessment of the latest Super Bowl ads by students in his classroom. According to Bergstein, student feedback indicated that this year's spots weren't up to par, and he doesn't think "the ads, in and of themselves, were a particularly good body of work" ( Super Bowl Ads Don't Score; Most Viewers Unimpressed ).

Investor's Business Daily , 2/2/2004 -- Donald Hambrick , Smeal Chaired Professor of Management, finds in his recent study that companies relying on both a chief executive officer and chief operating officer substantially under perform those with only a CEO at the helm. Hambrick says that either "the CEO/COO duo is an inferior arrangement, or that it is a sign of an inferior CEO, such as when the CEO is not comfortable with managing the internal organization" ( Executive Briefing ).

Times-Picayune , 2/1/2004 -- Fariborz Ghadar , director of the Center for Global Business Studies, discusses the worldwide nature of the food industry. "We are seeing a globalization in food products," he says. "Travel is much easier, people go to all kinds of places and try all kinds of food, transport is cheap. The cost of production of all kinds of food in the U.S. has shot up. Farming abroad has become more efficient. Our grapes come from Chile, our tomatoes come from Mexico, we like South African or Australian wine, meat comes from Canada" ( Import Risks Lurk On United States Buffet Of Plenty; Globalization Yields More Choices, Fears ).

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , 2/1/2004 -- Fariborz Ghadar , director of the Center for Global Business Studies, discusses the inherent background issues with all mergers such as employee concerns over job loss, transfers, and the new company environment. Ghadar says grasping the reality of taking orders from a new company is "not as easy as one thinks" ( New Economy Workers Have Feelings Too ).

Operations & Fulfillment , 2/1/2004 -- Terry Harrison , professor of supply chain and information systems, discusses ways to cut global shipping costs. "All firms, regardless of size, should go through a strategic series of questioning -- what are we doing, and why are we doing it," he says. "They need to ask themselves, 'How am I going to get done what needs to get done?'" In the end, Harrison says cutting costs is all about the variety and quality of information and how efficiently that information is transmitted ( Got That Sinking Feeling? ).

REPORTERS & EDITORS: For more information, please contact Wyatt DuBois in the Smeal College of Business Media Relations Office at 814-863-3798 or wed112@psu.edu .

Penn State's Smeal College of Business offers highly ranked undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, Ph.D., and executive education opportunities to more than 5,500 students at all levels. Featuring academic departments of accounting, finance, marketing, insurance and real estate, management, and supply chain and information systems, the college is also home to major research centers such as the Center for Supply Chain Research, the Institute for the Study of Business Markets, the eBusiness Research Center, the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Center for Global Business Studies, and the Center for the Management of Technological and Organizational Change.

Click here for more news.