Business & Entrepreneurship

ZengerIt takes more than a firm handshake to guarantee trust in any business relationship that’s going to last. In empirical research recently published in Strategic Management Journal, Olin School of Business Professor of Organization and Strategy Todd R. Zenger completed an in-depth survey of senior corporate managers that confirms his suspicions about the importance of contracts in generating trust.

Few MBA classes have ever headed into so much oozing opportunity as the Class of ’98. But their education, it seems, was only beginning, and the hard lesson ahead was that five years, or even 18 months, can seem a lifetime. But the Olin School of Business MBA Class of 1998 is a standout. The Olin School class is featured in a special cover story survey in the nation’s largest circulation newspaper, USA Today.

MoretonThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted June 2 on the most significant overhaul of media ownership rules in decades, including a change that allows television networks to own more local stations. The new rule loosens the national television network ownership cap — raising the number of viewers the networks can reach to 45 percent from 35 percent of the nation’s viewers. Patrick Moreton, Ph.D., a professor of organization and strategy at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis, says that the changes are in a very real sense, a “catch-up exercise,” forced on it by changes in the technology used to produce and deliver entertainment and news.

FergusonRoger W. Ferguson, Jr., Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, gave the commencement address to M.B.A. and Ph.D. graduates of the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis on May 16. Dr. Ferguson became a Member of the Board of Governors in 1997 to fill an unexpired term and was reappointed in 2001 to a full term ending in 2014. The complete text of his commencement address to the Olin School of Business is available from the Federal Reserve System.

McLean ParksNear one end of the spectrum are the Arthur Andersen employees who, out of loyalty to their employer and at great personal risk, destroyed files to cover up corporate scandal. At the other end is the disgruntled worker at another company who surreptitiously spread poison-ivy sap on executive-washroom toilet seats. “A clear signal to management,” says Judi McLean Parks, Ph.D., professor of organizational behavior at Washington University in St. Louis, “that something is wrong.” McLean Parks’ research at the Olin School of Business finds that both forms of organizational behavior grow from the same seed of organizational identity.

PanchapagesanThe issues that confront the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. equity markets are highly complex and while the SEC has not set a timetable to resolve these issues, Venkatesh Panchapagesan, Ph.D., a professor of finance at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis, says that speedy resolution is imperative for the survival of many markets.

Business, Law & Economics Tip Sheet

Though the labor unions have agreed to concession plans and new CEO, Gerard J. Arpey, is in place, the future of American Airlines still remains uncertain. Besides American Airlines’ looming financial issues, the company may have continuing labor problems. Neil N. Bernstein, professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis and an expert in labor law, is available to comment.

KouvelisDetermining the right mix of products to offer in the marketplace has long been considered the purview of a firm’s marketing team. Research conducted by Panos Kouvelis, Ph.D., a professor of operations and manufacturing at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis, reveals that operational implications of product line decisions are not to be overlooked. Kouvelis shows that integrating marketing strategies with manufacturing and supply chain efficiencies serves to maximize profitability. His model for product line selection accounts for both diverse customer preferences and manufacturing costs that vary with product line composition.

ChenIn the age of SARS, what the world needs is a better respirator, or breathing mask. As hospitals worldwide face major shortages of masks, Da-Ren Chen, Ph.D., assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, has developed material for a breathing mask using nanofibers so tiny and skinny that the entry of harmful particles as minute as viruses and bacteria is nearly impossible. Comprised of just less than two percent material, it is inexpensive to mass-produce, allowing companies a good profit opportunity.