Olin Business School

In its fourth annual International Business Outlook Conference (IBOC), the Olin School of Business will once again provide the St. Louis business community with a chance to explore the most pressing challenges to conducting international business. The MBA student-organizers chose to highlight intellectual property rights and international finance for this year’s conference. IBOC takes place Friday, April 7, from 7:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. in the Knight Center on Washington University’s Hilltop Campus

Below is a link to the Washington University news release about the U.S. News & World Report undergraduate rankings for 2004-05: http://news-info.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/3627.html To view a full listing of U.S. News magazine, book and Web-only rankings for 2004-05, please visit the U.S. News & World Report site: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php

Thursday, March 30 at 5 p.m., the finalists will be selected and announced for the Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition, co-sponsored by Washington University and the YouthBridge Association. The event features Theresa Wilson, founder of The Blessing Basket, as a keynote speaker. Currently there are 14 semi-finalists. The finalists will be selected based on their two-minute presentations about their projects. The event takes place in May Auditorium in Simon Hall on the Washington University Hilltop Campus

BigelowLyda Bigelow, assistant professor of organization and strategy, has little sympathy for the difficulties American car makers are experiencing. She says that American car makers had a long time to work out the pension and benefits problems they’re now facing, but the companies failed to do so, even when they had the resources to do so.

Thursday, March 30 at 5 p.m., the finalists will be announced for the Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition, co-sponsored by Washington University and the YouthBridge Association. The event features Theresa Wilson, founder of The Blessing Basket, as a keynote speaker. Currently there are 14 semi-finalists. The finalists will be selected based on their two-minute presenations about their projects. The event takes place in May Auditorium in Simon Hall on the Washington University Hilltop Campus.

The Bush administration’s plan to push through health savings accounts is limited in how much it can lower healthcare costs, according to a business professor in the Olin School of Business at Washington University. He says that health savings accounts could work for some things – if the relationship between most doctors and patients changes, and if there were greater acceptance of the variety of ways to keep people healthy. More…

What is a ‘fair’ price for fairness? New research from Washington University’s Olin School of Business reveals that a just system of governance may not enhance trust when returns do not meet investors’ expectations. This is sobering news for businesses that have spent countless hours and large amounts of money complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in the hopes of building stronger corporate governance. More…

In recognition of the role that William H. (Bill) Danforth, life trustee and chancellor emeritus, his family and the Danforth Foundation have played in the evolution of Washington University in St. Louis, the Hilltop Campus will be renamed the Danforth Campus, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. An official recognition ceremony will be held Sept. 17, when the new name takes effect.

Businesses today are turning to quantifiable analysis to map strategies. According to a professor at the Olin School of Business, companies can address specific problems in a scientific way by using basic principals of game theory.

People’s suspicions about outsourcing are sometimes right; it is just a way for firms to save a buck. But when firms outsource IT projects or share resources with a supplier, they might be creating competitors who could steal customers or profit making ideas, says a professor from the Olin School of Business. Without knowing when it is appropriate to outsource, the financial impact could be quite harmful.