Here are stories of interest from Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management.
Business boot camp: Accelerator is not your average summer internship
Vanderbilt’s Accelerator program offers undergraduates and recent graduates an intensive immersion in the world of business. Accelerator participants are assigned to competitive teams and are expected to provide solutions to problems and opportunities presented by real corporations. Partners in this year’s program, which runs for 30 days beginning June 2, include American Airlines, Griffin Technology, Caterpillar Financial, Bridgestone, Humana, Gresham Smith Partners and Yum Brands. Michael Burcham, professor of the practice of management, is faculty director of Accelerator. Here is a link to more information about Accelerator: http://www.owen.vanderbilt.edu/vanderbilt/Programs/accelerator/index.cfm.
Are people who live in high crime areas less happy overall? Just a bit
The effect of the crime rate on overall life satisfaction is relatively small, a Vanderbilt researcher has reported. Crime appears to be only a small factor in a person’s feeling of well-being, according to the study’s author, Mark Cohen, the Justin Potter Professor of American Competitive Enterprise. "The Effect of Crime on Life Satisfaction" is scheduled for publication in an upcoming issue of Journal of Legal Studies and is available for download at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1091542.
Free expression in the workplace potent topic in election year
As the election year lurches into its final months, the banter between the candidates will continue to heat up, and so will workplace discussions about politics. Bruce Barry, professor of management and sociology, has focused recent research on free expression in and around the workplace from a legal, managerial and ethical perspective. He is the author of Speechless: The Erosion of Free Expression in the American Workplace. For a link to his faculty profile, go to: http://www.owen.vanderbilt.edu/vanderbilt/About/faculty-research/f_profile.cfm?id=80.
Corporate lobbying pays off for firms, improving bottom line
New findings by management professor David Parsley suggest that lobbying activities significantly and positively impact the bottom line of companies who do it. In addition, lobbying expenses appear to positively impact firms’ stock prices and returns. The findings are outlined in Corporate Lobbying and Financial Performance and are available for download at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1014264.
Society saves millions by investing in early intervention programs targeting high-risk youths
The value to society of saving a high-risk youth from a life of crime is between $2.6 million and $5.3 million each at age 18, according to a study by Mark Cohen, the Justin Potter Professor of American Competitive Enterprise at Vanderbilt’s Owen School. The findings highlight why quality high-risk intervention programs are critical, according to Cohen, lead author of "New Evidence on the Monetary Value of Saving a High- Risk Youth." A download is available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1077214.
Consistent cost of Big Mac meal across countries proves euro didn’t cause expected price jump
Contrary to popular belief, the introduction of the euro in 2002 did not result in price increases, even for food items, a Vanderbilt researcher found by comparing prices of a Big Mac meal in 13 European countries using their own currency with 12 who adopted the euro currency. While the costs of a Big Mac meal did go up, they did so everywhere, not just in those countries that adopted the currency, according to David Parsley, management professor. "In Search of a Euro Effect: Big Lessons from a Big Mac Meal" is scheduled for publication in a forthcoming Journal of International Money and Finance (Volume 27/2 pp 260-276). Here is a link to the working paper: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=995491.
NIH-funded research seeks ways to avoid information overload
Seniors facing critical decisions about health care can become overwhelmed, and the resulting bad decisions come at a high cost to society, according to Michael Shor, assistant professor of management and principal investigator of a $360,000 National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to suggest guidelines that improve decision-making for Medicare Part D, the prescription benefit. Here is a link to Shor’s faculty profile: http://www.owen.vanderbilt.edu/vanderbilt/About/faculty-research/f_profile.cfm?id=133.
Retail investors losing big bucks by failing to exercise call options
Hundreds of millions of retail investor dollars are being left "on the table" because of carelessness or misunderstanding about the mechanics of call options, according to new research from Robert E. Whaley, Valere Blair Potter Professor of Management. The failure to exercise options leaves these profits exposed to professional traders, who are pocketing the overlooked cash. "We were shocked to see the vast amount of money that is being left behind," Whaley said. Here is a link to Whaley’s faculty profile: http://www.owen.vanderbilt.edu/vanderbilt/About/faculty-research/f_profile.cfm?id=191.
Siloam Center administrator awarded full tuition to Vanderbilt’s Executive MBA program
Mark McCaw, once so destitute that he himself sought out medical care at Siloam Family Health Care Center, became an administrator there and now, as the 2008 recipient of the Executive MBA/Center for Nonprofit Management Sponsorship, will pursue an Executive MBA degree at Owen. He plans to use his business education to begin a training program to help other communities start facilities such as Siloam, which provides medical care to a primarily refugee and immigrant population. The award is financed by Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management and the winner is chosen through a partnership with the Center for Nonprofit Management.
Vanderbilt Executive MBA graduates devise new method of transplant organ transport and preservation
A team of Executive MBA students from Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management developed an award-winning proposal for a start-up company, Organ Transplant Technology, to market a new method for preserving and transporting donor organs. The company would combine a newly developed perfusion solution for preserving transplanted organs with a transportable compressed-air driven perfusion system to replace the currently used method of transporting organs on ice in coolers. Members of the winning team are all May graduates of Vanderbilt’s Executive MBA program: Dr. Ravi Chari, professor of surgery and cancer biology and chief of the division of hepatobiliary surgery and liver transplantation at Vanderbilt; Ted Klee, vice president of Square D/Schneider Electric Company; Andrew Bordas, director, warehouse management systems, Ingram Book; and Fernando Sanchez, chief financial officer of Gibson Guitar.
Media Contact: Amy Wolf (615) 322-NEWS
Amy.wolf@vanderbilt.edu