Courtesy photoSculpture by Wesley Anderegg, Lompoc, CASo you think you know mosquitoes? Consider the venerable law that rainy weather is the cause of increased mosquito populations. An ecologist at Washington University in St. Louis says if you believe that, you’re all wet.
KouvelisThe concept of hiring another company to handle “non-core” functions has been around since companies began. But it’s only been in the last several decades that the term “outsourcing” has been coined. Selecting which functions to be outsourced is as individual as each company and the goods and services it provides. Panos Kouvelis, a professor of operations and manufacturing management at the Olin School of Business at Washington University, says that it is often argued that outsourcing helps share risks with suppliers, but new risks enter the picture. “Often difficult tasks, if not appropriately managed, can get out of control,” Kouvelis says. “However, these are the tasks in which a firm can build competency and appropriate market value.” Kouvelis explains the pros and cons of outsourcing.
Troubling new evidence on corporate governance and CEO pay.In 1980, the average CEO was paid around 40 times as much as the average worker, but the multiple is now above 400 for the largest U.S. companies. With such increases in top executive pay, including New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso’s $139.5 million retirement-pay package, an expert on executive compensation says that corporate governance practices should come under even greater scrutiny. Todd Milbourn, Ph.D., a professor of finance at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis, has recently documented other troubling evidence with regard to the efficacy of corporate governance and CEO pay.
Joe Angeles/WUSTL PhotoSobelGlobalization is creating divisive tensions between developed and developing nations. Many fear globalization, blaming it for their societal ills. Yet, globalization has produced opportunity and improvements in social welfare for those nations able to take advantage of its benefits. Nations who fail to take full advantage of globalization may have only themselves to blame, according to a study in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of International Management.
The recent decisions by Oklahoma and Colorado federal courts invalidating the Federal Trade Commission’s “Do Not Call List” were major victories for telemarketing companies, “but a tragedy for the rest of us,” says Neil M. Richards, associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “Even with the quick reversal of the Oklahoma decision by Congress and President Bush, the Colorado decision remains a major roadblock for the List,” notes Richards. “The FTC and the Federal Communications Commission have been warned by Judge Harrington in Colorado not to go against his order, and Congress has no power to overrule the judge’s decision- they cannot change the meaning of the First Amendment as interpreted by the Courts.”
Marine biologist Jane Lubchenco and atmospheric chemist and Nobel laureate Mario Molina will deliver the second Sesquicentennial Environmental Initiative Lecture at 3 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 9. The lecture, which focuses on science and the impact of human society on ecological systems, is free and open to the public and will be held in Graham Chapel, located just north of Mallinckrodt Center (6445 Forsyth Blvd.) on the Washington University campus. During its Sesquicentennial year, Washington University is launching an initiative to help better understand the role that research universities can play in addressing issues related to the environment.
Author and essayist Richard Rodriguez will deliver the Association of Latin American Students lecture for the Assembly Series at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 8. The lecture, entitled “The Browning of America,” is free and open to the public, and will be held in Graham Chapel, located just north of Mallinckrodt Center (6445 Forsyth Blvd.) on the Washington University campus.