Olin Business School

Managers can find way to increase their compensation.Now that the U.S. Senate Finance Committee has returned from its summer holiday, members have put the recent spate of backdating stock options at the top of the agenda. Over the summer, several companies have been caught up in the practice, which skims the top off a firm’s profits. According to professors at the Olin School of Business, the backdating of options is just one of the ways to time executive compensation in a way that enable executives to maximize their own pay. More…

Group work is the name of the game in many companies. The thinking is that workers will learn more and help each other when they are put into groups composed of people with a variety of expertise. But does this always happen? Some recent research suggests that it may not … at least not always.

When investors buy stock at inflated prices, they have a right to sue the company for any losses. Unfortunately, securities litigation isn’t paying off for shareholders – even when they win. Instead, large institutional investors and lawyers rake in the money and existing shareholders end up losing out.

Low quality threatens the high end.What company wouldn’t attribute its profits to the quality product it produces? The answer might be: the company that competes on price. According to research from Washington University in St. Louis, producers of lower quality products actually have better prospects for gaining market share and improving their bottom line. The findings indicate the Chinese manufacturers could easily gain an edge over American producers. More…

It’s not just social security and health-care that could be adversely affected when the baby boomers leave the workforce; the stock market could go into shock as well. According to research at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis, when people retire, they tend not invest as much they did in their younger years. With the boomer generation starting to pull out of the workforce, Wall Street is bound to feel the blow. More…

Temperature is rising as St. Louis tackles the ramifications of a flu epidemic.St. Louis is one of the few cities trying to stay ahead of the pandemic curve, thanks to workshops being conducted this spring and summer that bring together area institutions and businesses in round table formats. The Business Community and Pandemic Flu Roundtable is sponsored by the Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Center for the Application of Information Technology (CAIT) and the University’s School of Medicine. CAIT is St. Louis’ center for IT training, professional development, and executive interaction for more than 25 years. More than 100 business and institutional attendees are learning to address everything from potential vaccines and medications to sick leave policy and protective gear. More…

On May 10 at 5:30 p.m., at Washington University — Hilltop Campus, Simon Hall, May Auditorium, the winners of the first-ever Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition will be named. More than $100,000 is available to winners in different categories.

The winners of the inaugural Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition (SEIC) will be announced at a special awards ceremony held on Washington University’s campus. The competition is designed to foster growth for social entrepreneurs who craft innovative processes, approaches, and solutions to help resolve social issues. Over $100,000 is available to winners under a variety of categories.

“U.S.-China Business Relations” is the focus of a three-day academic symposium that kicks off with a public conference from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. May 11 in Room 311, Anheuser-Busch Hall. U.S.-China commercial relations and intellectual property rights are among topics to be covered.

Bob Boston/WUSTL PhotoTwo surgeons at the same hospital perform the same operations on patients with similar medical histories. Their costs to the hospital are similar, right? Not necessarily. There could be a difference as high as 45 percent. New research from Washington University in St. Louis finds that even when controlling for complexity of the operation and patient risk, surgeons incurred a wide range of hospital costs. More…