Wake Forest Alumni Discuss Credit Crisis

Wake Forest University and Annaly Capital Management, Inc. hosted a special panel discussion in conjunction with Wake Forest on Wall Street on July 27 at the New York Stock Exchange. The program was titled: The Credit Crisis: Where Are We Now, Where Are We Going?

Highly respected senior professionals and leaders in the finance industry offered perspectives and insights on such topics as: credit availability, the strength of banks, hedge funds, and the importance of cash assets. Annaly was represented by Michael Farrell, the company’s chairman, CEO and president. Farrell (right) is a member of the Wake Forest University Schools of Business Board of Visitors.

Other panelists included Jim Dunn, the chief investment officer at Wake Forest; Michael Genereux, a senior managing director at The Blackstone Group; Loyd Henderson, a senior vice president at Oaktree Capital; and James Woolery, a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP.

FOX Business Network anchor Dagen McDowell served as the moderator.

A webcast of the event will be available on the Wake Forest University Schools of Business website in the next week. We will keep you posted with a more precise link when it goes online.

Summer Tradition: Camp Teaches Children to be Good Sports

On first glance, this article may not look applicable to those in business school. I believe, however, that getting children involved early in sports teaches them the value of structure, hard work and competition necessary to succeed in the corporate world. As Professor Jon Pinder aptly says in the article, “It’s not all about winning.” Well worth a quick read. (The original article can be found here.)

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By Andy Morrissey

Max Floyd walks in front of the crowd of children, leaning in for emphasis as he reads an inspirational poem and thanking them for playing so hard during the All Sports Camp held on campus.

"Thank you this week for trying and trying, and getting back up when you fall," Floyd told the children sitting on the hill along Poteat Field.

Floyd is the director of Campus Recreation and the lead organizer for the annual summer camp, which introduces 6- to 12-year-olds to about 20 different sports, from archery to racquetball to soccer. The camp attracted about 85 children for each of the four weeklong sessions in June and July.

Floyd begins and ends each day with a short talk on lessons about life and sports.

"I speak about the failures and experiences I've had and how I've grown from them. It's something that I thoroughly enjoy," he said.

The mix of inspiration and athletics is what appeals to parents who send their children to the camp, said Jon  Pinder, an associate professor of management in the Schools of Business. His three children — Alex, 11, Margaret, 8, and Matthew, 7 — have all participated in the camp.

Pinder (right) said that Alex is generally more interested in learning than playing, and was a little intimidated by sports. Alex's fears went away after the first day, and Pinder said that he's grateful his son learned the benefits of both sports and values. "It's not all about winning," he said.

The camp is in its 51st year, though the camp has been using a different format since 2001, when Floyd took over the camp.

The camp used to be focused more on physical fitness. Now instead of focusing on exercise, the camp is a vehicle to teach children and to give them a taste of several sports in the hope that they would find one they like, "to maybe spark something in the life of a young person for a sport they might grab onto and make it a lifelong endeavor," Floyd said.

Leo Ellison, longtime aquatics director and retired associate professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science, managed the camp until 2001 after taking it on in the late 1950s. He said that the idea for the camp began during a time when children had few options during the summer months when they were out of school.

"The goal was to provide the children of Winston-Salem — though we had kids from other towns — with a chance to learn about sports and sports activities and make it fun, and enjoy it," Ellison said. "We were able to teach right much."

It became an annual tradition, and Ellison still runs into people who went through the camps in the past and want to share their memories with him. Many of the camp counselors are former participants.

Floyd said that he looks to his own childhood for inspiration when he plans the camp. His dad was an athletics director, and Floyd got to play just about every sport that you could think of. He eventually earned a spot on the Philadelphia Phillies before moving into education.

Floyd's speeches are part of the camp's appeal for Cynthia Angell. She considers the camp an annual tradition for her children, David, 16, and Michael, 7. She appreciates how it teaches her children how to enjoy sports, rather than be intimidated by competition.

The camp "makes all sports fun, and teaches that they (the children) can all be winners," she said.

 

High Performance: Preparing the Next Gen in Family Owned Business

The Family Business Center is set to host Steve Swavely, the director of leadership at Farr Associates, for conversations on using personality as a tool of leadership.

During the seminars, which will be offered in Charlotte and Winston-Salem, participants will be introduced to the Leadership Strategies Model (LSM) and the Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI). Applications of these tools will help improve communication and collaboration, gain commitment versus compliance, create accountability through effective feedback, turn conflict into opportunity, manage change effectively, and manage "Gen Y."

After earning his Ph.D. in clinical neuropsychology from Georgia State University, Swavely founded and managed the Neuropsychological Assessment Laboratory in the Department of Physical Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). His professional interests focus on applying behavioral and neuropsychological technology to leadership development, executive coaching, and team development. He has worked to translate current neuroscience research into practical and applied tools for leadership training. He has over 25 years of experience in the areas of neuropsychology, assessment, business consulting, training, executive coaching, and teaching.

The Charlotte program is Tues., Sept. 21, beginning at noon with lunch for Family Business Center members, sponsors and invited guests. The next day, he will appear at Graylyn Conference Center for a program starting at 8 am. For more information, including how to reserve a space, click here.

Globetrotters: A Summer Scrapbook

In the past few months, Wake Forest University Schools of Business students (current and incoming) and personnel have taken a number of summer trips – some personal and others tied to the program. Among the many stops: Cambodia, China, Columbia, Cyprus, India and Japan. Here are a handle of photos, giving you just a glimpse of where we have visited since the spring semester ended. If you have any other photos, please submit them to paul.davis@mba.wfu.edu!

Jon and Bridget Wilson at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taiwan.

Brian Price, Justin Berthelot, Jeff Hughes, Ryan McBreen and Jonathan Tillman at the Great Wall.

Roy and Carmen Hykal in China.

One more shot of Wake students and faculty at the Great Wall.

From Classroom to Clinic: MBA Health Concentration

Did you know that employment of medical and health services managers is expected to grow 16% from 2008 to 2018, faster than the average for all occupations. Healthcare now represents 16% of the U.S. GDP and is projected to grow at double the rate of the overall economy for the foreseeable future.

The Wake Forest University Schools of Business provides an MBA Health Concentration which will prepare future health leaders to succeed in this dynamic environment and to take advantage of the many opportunities for growth. The program will provide all students with core knowledge in health policy and public health, including regulation and reimbursement policies.

Entrepreneurs and managers of health services who are often responsible for multi-million dollar facilities and thousands of employees require effective analytical skills, human resource management tools, a sound understanding of finance and reimbursement, an ability to recognize strategic opportunities and devise innovative responses, and the ability to cooperate strategically with public-sector partners.

In keeping with the Wake Forest University motto, Pro Humanitate, the new MBA health concentration will provide comprehensive familiarity with and ability to bridge clinical and public sector cultures. The two-year MBA with a health concentration will equip you with the skills, mindset, and experience required to expand your current position or to step out into new areas of healthcare, biotechnology development and commercialization, and public-private sector health partnerships.

Career tracks available within the health concentration:

• Healthcare Delivery & Support Services (Operations)
• Healthcare-Related Business & Life Sciences (Innovation and Entrepreneurship)

For more information, including videos, click here.

Studying Abroad: Students and Professors Travel to India

The stage is set for India to play a significant role in global business, politics and culture, says communication professor Ananda Mitra, who is leading an educational trip of his home country this month for 11 students.

Mitra, along with his wife, Swati Basu, is leading the trip as part of his summer class, “Communication, Culture and Sustainability.” What gives the trip an unusual twist? While experiencing the diversity of daily life in India, students are able to share their insights with mentors who are both from Wake Forest and from India.

“What a trip it has been so far,” Mitra said in a posting to the group’s Facebook page. “An absolutely fantastic set of individuals have come together to create a learning community that exemplifies the ‘ashram’ system of teaching.”

Basu, who is a research professor in the physics department, said that although Winston-Salem is home now, she is excited to share the sights and sounds, both urban and rural, that are unique to her homeland. Basu will be an especially valuable resource for the nine female students taking the trip as they explore Indian culture from a woman’s perspective. “India is very people-oriented. The students will be able to learn a great deal about life in this part of the world.”

Mitra, who conducts research in the outsourcing of American jobs to India, says the trend to move work to that country will continue, though the transfer of work may be less noticeable. “You might turn in your tax records to a tax preparation company in the U.S., but they will be processed in India,” he says. In addition to sending work to India, Indians are coming to live and work in the U.S. Some are especially skilled in software development and technology and spend time in American companies training workers.

“Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing doesn’t matter. It’s a thing that’s happening, and students must be prepared,” he said. “Our trip is an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in Indian culture and to learn how to negotiate unfamiliar situations in a new environment. It is critical for young people today to learn about India. It is a culture that will be very important in their professional lives.”

India has maintained its sense of character in the face of globalization—choosing those parts of American culture it wishes to incorporate while keeping its own traditions and lifestyle. The popularity of “Slumdog Millionaire” and Bollywood-style films show that America is equally interested in Indian culture.

“I’m excited to see which trends translate across the world,” says junior anthropology major Carrie Stokes, one of the students on the trip. “Dr. Mitra is keen on giving us ample free time on our own in order to best explore, study and research topics of our own particular interest.”

~ Kim McGrath, Office of Communications and External Relations

Ananda Mitra (above) and his wife, Swati Basu, are exploring India with 11 students this month as part of his summer communication course.

“Just-in-time hiring” = Good News for Grads

Though this article appeared primarily geared toward the undergrad program, we though it still had some relevance to those in the Schools of Business. The original article, by the way, can be found here.

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Because companies and organizations are making more “just-in-time” hiring decisions, the summer looks brighter for new college graduates who are still looking for a job.

Instead of hiring for what they think they will need in the future, employers are hiring more for what they need right now, said Ladd Flock, director of career services (right). That means two things for job-seekers: They need to keep in close touch with their college career centers this summer to be aware of new openings, and they need to respond immediately when a job is posted.

More hiring is likely to take place outside the traditional fall and spring recruiting cycles, he said. And, new college graduates need to be ready for opportunities that will come up in the summer months. Some employers, who made a few hires earlier in the year are coming back to campuses looking for additional job candidates as they get funding for additional positions.

Hiring is up 5.3% nationally for the Class of 2010, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, and hiring is not over for the year. A steady flow of job listings keeps coming into Wake Forest’s Office of Career Services. “We’re still getting phone calls and e-mails from companies that have job postings right now,” Flock said.

Flock provided five tips for new college graduates job-hunting in the summer months:

1. Apply quickly. If your university provides an online service with updated job postings, check them every day. Many employers are giving job candidates only a few days to submit an application.

2. Update contact information with your University’s career services office. Make sure the career services staff can reach you with a job lead that matches up with your skills and interests.

3. Polish your resume and update details that may have changed since graduation.

4. Find out what services your university’s career office offers to graduates. Just because you have graduated does not mean they cannot help you.

5. Connect immediately with your university’s alumni clubs in the cities where you might like to work. Alumni are a wonderful resource for new graduates and often open doors to help a new graduate get an interview or a job.

Faculty Profile: Sherry Moss

Dr. Sherry E. Moss, the director of full-time MBA program, joined the Wake Forest University Schools of Business in June 2005. Prior to her current position, she was an associate professor in the department of management and international business and served for five years as the faculty director for the Executive MBA Program at Florida International University.

Her research interests include attribution theory, feedback, abusive supervision, leader-member exchange and leader emergence. Her work has been published in various academic journals including Academy of Management Journal, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Management and Academy of Management Executive.

Moss, who is also an associate professor of organizational studies at Wake Forest, is actively involved in several professional organizations including the Academy of Management and Southern Management Association, where she recently completed a 3-year term as Secretary and Membership Chair. She has consulted and conducted training workshops for a variety of local, national and multinational organizations. Most of her training focuses on improving performance and employee development through effective managerial decision making.

Along with a former MBA student, she founded www.HomeBy3.com, a website for flexible employment opportunities for formerly-professional moms. She is also a blogger, and her posts can often be viewed at the Huffington Post.

Education:
PhD, Florida State University (Organizational Behavior) - 1991
BS, Florida State University (Management) - 1986

Faculty Profile: Charles Iacovou

Before joining the Wake Forest University Schools of Business in 2001, Dr. Charles Iacovou managed an electronic bank. He was responsible for the management of electronic retail and commercial banking and brokerage products, and self-service channels. Iacovou has provided consulting services to firms in the financial services, international trade, logistics, media and other industries.

Iacovou is also the Senior Associate Dean of Graduate Programs, a role where he oversees admissions, career services and student affairs. At yearend, he will become the Senior Associate Dean of Faculty.

He currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Global Information Management and the Journal of Information Systems and Small Business. His expertise includes information technology management, project management, offshoring of IT services, and electronic channels in financial services. Iacovou has received teaching awards from Georgetown University, University of British Columbia, and Wake Forest University, where he was most recently awarded the Kienzle Teaching Award, representing the highest standards of teaching excellence as selected by an alumni survey two years after graduation.

Education:
PhD, University of British Columbia (Business Administration) - 1999
BS, University of Vermont (Business Administration) - 1992