Media Coverage: February 2005

Dow Jones Newswires , 02/25/2005— J. Edward Ketz , associate professor of accounting, discusses a surge in lease-accounting errors following a recent SEC warning. "Where were the auditors?" Ketz asks. "Where were the people approving these things? This doesn't seem like something that really requires new discussion. If we have to go back and revisit every single rule because companies and their professional advisers aren't going to follow the rules, then I think we're in very serious trouble in this country" ( Lease-Accounting Errors Surge Amid SEC Warning ).

Scripps Howard News Service , 02/25/2005— Albert Vicere , professor of strategic leadership, writes about a looming retention crisis in his regular column. "Search firms are gearing up for a boom in business," Vicere writes. "While many companies will try to fill leadership voids through recruiting, other firms will counter with pay raises and other perks in order to hang on to their talent. But forward thinking companies are not just relying on short-term solutions like retention bonuses. Instead, they are investing in talent management systems to retain leaders and strengthen organizational culture" ( Retaining Leadership Talent A Critical Business Priority ).

Patriot-News , 02/24/2005— Jennifer Chang Coupland , clinical assistant professor of marketing, discusses the proposed name change for Hershey Foods Corp. According to Coupland, The Hershey Co. may simply sound more prestigious to consumers than Hershey Foods Corp. or the proposed moniker may seem more global and all-encompassing, while the current name may sound more narrow or limiting. "There could be some underlying or symbolic meanings attached to the word 'company' as opposed to the word ''food,'" Coupland says. "It broadens the sense of what industry they play in" ( Hershey Foods Prepares To Grow ).

CBS 2 Chicago , 02/23/2005— Peter Swan , assistant professor of supply chain management, discusses the safety of chassis in the long-haul trucking industry. Swan was hired by the American Trucking Association to study chassis safety. "This is an issue that if something were done a lot of lives would be saved," Swan says. "The industry clearly has not and will not self police. The government needs to move in and step up" ( Loaded For Trouble ).

Centre Daily Times , 02/20/2005— Judy Olian , dean of the Smeal College, and Ginger Breon , director of administrative and information services, discuss the college's new building, which will open its doors in summer 2005. "Our students take courses in 17 different buildings and don't really have a sense of home and taking courses in one facility," Olian says. "I think it'll change the quality of the learning experience" ( Minds Incorporated: Penn State's New Business Building Will Unify College ).

Daily Collegian , 02/16/2005— The Nittany Lion Fund , Smeal's new $2.2-million student-managed investment portfolio, is profiled. According to J. Randall Woolridge , professor of finance, "Many of the investors, including myself, committed to the project because they have faith in Penn State's students and their ability to manage real money" ( Students Handle Big Bucks ).

USA Today , 02/15/2004— Fariborz Ghadar , director of the Center for Global Business Studies, discusses megamergers in the telecommunications industry, which may prompt smaller companies like Qwest to seek partners. "I don't think they have the scale and scope to go it alone," Ghadar says ( Megamergers May Push Others To Seek Partners ).

United Press International , 02/15/2005— Fariborz Ghadar , director of the Center for Global Business Studies, discusses a predicted slowdown of the world's economy in 2005. According to Ghadar, it's nothing to worry about with rapid gross domestic product growth rate in China of 9.5 percent, United States of 4.4 percent and a pickup in growth in Europe. "You would anticipate that when everybody starts to pick up, the growth rate will be faster and if the economy is more or less matured it becomes slower," Ghadar says. "So I don't think it is disconcerting at all" ( Economists Predict World Economic Slowdown ).

Scripps Howard News Service , 02/11/2005— Albert Vicere , professor of strategic leadership, writes in his regular column that "corporations and their leaders have both the ability and the responsibility to foresee environmental shifts and adjust their strategies to these trends as they unfold." Vicere offers a Q&A with Fariborz Ghadar , director of Smeal's Center for Global Business Studies, who co-authored the forthcoming book "Global Tectonics" with Erik Peterson of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Ghadar and Petersen creatively frame this challenge with the tectonic metaphor," Vicere writes. "It is incumbent upon every senior leader to ensure that their firm's early warning systems are in place" ( Leaders Need To Monitor For Tectonic Shifts ). The column appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Seattle Post-Intelligencer , and Commercial Appeal .

MSNBC , 02/10/2005— John Spychalski , professor of supply chain and information systems, discusses the fate of Amtrak. According to Spychalski, Amtrak has been systematically starved of investment over the years and subject to unrealistic expectations that it could somehow get up on its own feet and become a profitable enterprise. "It has struggled ever since it was formed,” Spychalski says. “You cannot operate intercity rail service at a profit” ( Amtrak On The Chopping Block—Again ).

CBS MarketWatch , 02/09/2005— Judy Olian , dean of the Smeal College, discusses the ouster of Carly Fiorina as the head of Hewlett-Packard and its impact on women in the longer term. "The perils are there for a male," Olian says. "Look at [real estate mogul Donald] Trump; people gloat whenever he falls. He's much more out in front than Carly ever was, but there's no doubt that her leadership was signified by a much more personal imprint on the company than a lot of chief executives have." Adds Olian, "I think it will have an impact on future women who want to become chief executives in terms of the style they adopt, but not necessarily on the decision itself. They can just as well look at [eBay's] Meg Whitman or Andrea Jung or Anne Mulcahy, who's the reluctant chief executive. There's a range of styles they can look to" ( Experts Split On How Fiorina's Legacy Will Affect Women ). The story also appeared on the Web sites of Investor's Business Daily and The Spokesman Review .

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , 02/08/2005— Albert Vicere , professor of strategic leadership, writes in a column that "leadership effectiveness is directly related to how well leaders know themselves, how confident they are in being who they are and how able they are to engage others in the pursuit of their goals" ( 'Know Thyself' Could Be Valuable Counsel For Leaders ).

Centre Daily Times , 02/07/2005— J. Edward Ketz , associate professor of accounting, discusses Social Security in an op-ed. "If the President and members of Congress and those responsible for the management of the federal government were CEOs and CFOs and directors of business enterprises, they might be in prison today," Ketz writes. "Congress must repeal the unified budget act to prevent further looting of Social Security and to report budget deficits correctly. The second step is to find a way of fairly generating $2 trillion over the next few years to pay back the American workers ( The Biggest Accounting Fraud: Social Security ). The op-ed also appeared in the Allentown Morning Call .

Investor's Business Daily , 02/02/2005— Peter Swan , assistant professor of supply chain management, discusses truck driver shortages "The trucking industry's general opinion is that there is a shortage of drivers and it is going to get worse," Swan says ( Trucker Keeps A Steady Hand On The Wheel ).

Baltimore Sun , 02/01/2005— Fariborz Ghadar , director of the Center for Global Business Studies, discusses the rise in mergers and acquisitions in corporate America. "We're at the beginning of the cycle," Ghadar says. "We've got so much pent-up demand and so much cash that '05 is going to definitely be much bigger than '04." According to Ghadar, the most recent deals have been justifiable, with SBC gaining AT&T's global customer base and the Procter & Gamble-Gillette deal promising significant cost savings ( January Signals Blazing Year For Business Marriage ).

Town & Student , Spring 2005— Smeal's Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship is highlighted in a story about entrepreneurship opportunities at Penn State. According to Tony Warren , director of the Farrell Center, Smeal students learn about entrepreneurship not just in startup companies but also within larger corporations. "We need a new range of workers who understand how you innovate within a restrictive organizations," Warren says ( Be Your Own Boss ).

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