Business & Entrepreneurship

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.

Dean H. Kropp, the Dan Broida Professor of Operations and Manufacturing Management and Co-Director of The Boeing Center for Technology, Information, and Manufacturing and Operations at Washington University, left an indelible impression on all he touched, including the thousands of students he taught since 1986 at the John M. Olin School of Business and his fellow Olin faculty and higher education colleagues. He died April 11 at Barnes Hospital after a three-year battle with leukemia. He was 57 years old.

HutchingsIt’s going to be another tough year for grads looking for that perfect job they hope their newly minted degrees will help them nab. Though the war in Iraq could impact hiring, the outlook is still pretty good for business school grads, says Gregory Hutchings, associate dean and executive director of the Weston Career Resources Center (WCRC) at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis. Accounting, financial services, and healthcare are a few of the industries where Hutchings sees “pockets of opportunity.”

Entertainment Economics: The Movie Industry,” is the topic of a public forum to be held from 9:30 to 4:45 p.m. April 3 in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom, Anheuser-Busch Hall at Washington University in St. Louis.