July 2008

In Hard Economic Times, Take Care Of Customers So They’ll Take Care Of You

As I sit down to write this column, the stock market has lost 13 percent of its value, down some 900 points since April. Major indicators now point to an economy just outside of bear-market territory. In business, as with most everything else, people will see that the glass is either half empty or half full.

Smeal EMBA Renews Philadelphia Venue Contract, Improves Facilities

The Smeal College of Business Executive MBA Program has renewed its contract with The ACE Conference Center in Philadelphia, keeping the program at the same convenient location while upgrading the facility to provide students with more comforts and amenities.

Research: To Win In Baseball And Business, Spend More On Pitchers

Major League Baseball teams with more highly skilled and experienced pitchers and catchers fare better than those with equally skilled and experienced position players, according to a new report coauthored by a professor at Penn State's Smeal College of Business. The study suggests that baseball teams—and teams, in general—could do better by allocating more resources to their strategically core roles.

Newspaper: Skilled Work Force Still Needed In Manufacturing

Even as the number of overall manufacturing jobs declines in the United States, manufacturers continue to be in need of highly skilled manufacturing engineers and that trend is projected to continue, according to a recent article in the Western Michigan Business Review.

Voigt Appointed Co-Director Of QMM Program

Robert Voigt, professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering, has been named co-director of the Quality and Manufacturing Management (QMM) Program.

Smeal CIO Elected Chair Of National Business School Technology Group

Ginger Breon, chief information officer at Penn State's Smeal College of Business, has been elected chair of the Technology in Business Schools (TBS) Roundtable, an affinity group of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) dedicated to advancing business school information technology.

Smeal Professors Pen Eighth Edition Of Supply Chain Textbook

South-Western Cengage Learning has published the eighth edition of Supply Chain Management: A Logistics Perspective, a textbook coauthored by five supply chain academics, including two professors at Penn State's Smeal College of Business.