Olin Business School

With trade barriers decreasing and outsourcing becoming a common practice even for white-collar workers, every business—no matter the size – has been affected by globalization. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that American companies have to react intelligently to this reality, but instead of trying to respond on their own, many companies are turning to experts and researchers in the field

Good team work means not trusting each other too much.There’s no denying that trust is essential in a healthy work place. It’s expected that you trust your co-workers and your boss. And you hope that your boss and peers trust you. Common wisdom is that trust brings numerous benefits: it improves communication, raises group performance, reduces conflict, and provides greater job satisfaction. However, a recent study by a professor at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis found that too much trust could actually be bad for business…when it comes to working on team projects.

Stock options or pure stock — what’s the trade-off?In recent years, the practice of motivating CEOs and managers with stock options rather than pure stock has been linked to corruption and fraud. But companies shouldn’t fear the option, according to two professors in the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis. Moving away from stock options as a way to reward good work may be a bad business move. The professors argue that in most cases stock options provide better incentives to motivate employees and they’re less expensive for the company to issue. At the same time, the researchers found that if a company is just starting out or facing possible bankruptcy, then stocks are your best bet.

It’s tax-time. For many people that means handing some hard-earned money over to Uncle Sam. But for others tax time is refund time. Theoretically, that refund is money you’ve earned as a part of your salary, and should be accounted for and spent like regular income. However, most people view it as “found money” and generally find a way to justify spending it on something they didn’t necessarily need. According to a professor of marketing at the Olin School of Business, people mentally credit their refunds to specific budgetary accounts to justify spending it on desirable luxuries. The result is people end up spending too much, making it harder to pay other, more essential accounts.

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is rated the third best medical school in the nation, according to this year’s U.S. News & World Report rankings of graduate and professional programs released April 1.

Photo by Mary ButkusDean Stuart I. Greenbaum visits with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez after the latter spoke at the Olin School of Business.

With the latest news that Hewlett Packard has dubbed Mark Hurd as its new CEO, I wanted to make you aware of the expertise Professor Todd Zenger, the Robert and Barbara Frick Professor of Business Strategy at Washington University in St. Louis, has on Hewlett Packard’s success and failures over the years. Zenger has had […]

The Monsanto Fund has awarded Washington University $3.7 million to develop, build and operate two custom mobile classrooms. Washington University will lead a partnership, including the St. Louis Science Center, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Saint Louis Zoo, and the University of Missouri-St. Louis, to create and provide programming on the vehicles. The program will help young elementary school students develop enthusiasm for learning and doing science, through interactive experiences and exhibits.

Photo by Mary ButkusWilliam P. Bottom was installed March 9 as the first Joyce and Howard Wood Distinguished Professor in Business.

There are times when bending over backwards to make customers happy won’t result in better profits; in fact, it could cause a drop in profits. Unprofitable customers show up in every industry, causing companies to reconsider the value of customer service and to even consider “firing” those customers that cause the most loss.