Olin Business School

For Bart Hamilton, it’s all about the questions. It’s the quest for answers that drives Hamilton, the Robert Brookings Smith Distinguished Professor in Entrepreneurship for the Olin School of Business, to teach, research and mentor. A professor of economics, management and entrepreneurship at Olin School since 1996, Hamilton jams his time between classes with researching, mentoring students and junior faculty, and taking care of his 11-month-old twins, Bogdan and Nina. “I love doing research. I come to work every day challenged,” Hamilton says. “This is the best job in the world.”

VeechTylenol, Bridgestone Firestone, Columbine High School, Exxon, McDonald’s, United Airlines, American Airlines — all of these organizations have been hit by a major crisis. Companies never know when they might be struck by a terrorist attack, a major product recall as a result of deaths or injury, workplace violence, a fire or explosion, a nasty scandal or sudden death of the company’s leader. In today’s media climate, any small or large organization can land on the front page of the daily newspaper or the six o’clock TV news before the dust has hit the ground. Business managers need to be prepared for such an eventuality with a detailed crises communication plan, says Annette Veech, senior lecturer of business communications at the Olin School of Business at Washington University.

Executive pay is sometimes appropriate, often not.In a perfect business world, corporate governance and decision-making would follow sound and rational processes. And, indeed, Professor Todd Milbourn has discovered that, at times, executives are compensated appropriately and appropriate decisions are taken. This finding is from what he calls the “bright side” of his research. But, the real world can also serve up Disneys, Enrons, and WorldComs. Not all mismanagement, however, makes the front pages or drives companies into bankruptcy. More commonly it goes on unnoticed or as accepted practice, says Milbourn, associate professor of finance at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis. His collaborative research also reveals a “dark side,” where companies reward chief executive officers simply for being lucky and where “yes men” often rule.

The right pricing strategy can keep the cash register full.Determining the right pricing strategy can make or break the overall profitability of a firm, especially during the all-important December holiday season. One such strategy, dynamic pricing, long practiced in the airline and hotel industries, is showing promise and profitability in the world of retail. When applied to products sold over a short sales season — new toys, skiwear, and the like — dynamic pricing can boost profits for a firm, say two professors of the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis.

The John M. Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis on Dec. 2 awarded a total of $70,000 in seed investment capital to two startup businesses in its annual Olin Cup entrepreneurship competition. The Olin Cup, along with $50,000 in seed money, went to Luminomics, a biotechnology company that develops regenerative drug therapies for degenerative diseases. An award of $20,000 went to The Blessing Basket, a not-for-profit company that imports baskets made by weavers in undeveloped countries. Honorable mention was given to Core Devices, maker of a portable anesthesia machine.

Beirne previously worked at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania as director of career development and placement.

A St. Louis-area native, he was a 2001 graduate of Chaminade College Preparatory School and lived in University City.

Photo by Mary ButkusSeveral traditional Thanksgiving dinners were held on campus to celebrate the holiday.

James J. Beirne has joined the Olin School of Business as the associate dean and director of the Weston Career Resources Center effective Nov. 29.

Kevin Louis Sobol, a senior in the Olin School of Business, died Saturday, Nov. 27 in a one-car accident in St. Charles County. He was 22. A St. Louis area native, Sobol was a 2001 graduate of Chaminade College Preparatory High School and lived in University City.