closeEvents & Promotions
| Last visit was: 26 Apr 2024, 23:32 |
It is currently 26 Apr 2024, 23:32 |
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
07:00 PM PDT
-08:00 PM PDT
02:00 PM EDT
-03:00 PM EDT
03:00 PM PDT
-04:00 PM PDT
08:00 AM EDT
-09:00 AM EDT
10:00 AM PDT
-12:00 PM PDT
10:00 AM EDT
-10:30 AM EDT
01 Jun 2023, 11:00
| FROM Madison(Wisconsin) Admissions Blog: ‘Girlboss:’ A Conversation with WSB’s Stav Atir on Language and Gender |
|
Choose your words carefully, or so the old saying goes. Though usually meant in the context of maintaining harmony in human relationships, there’s another reason we should choose our words carefully and wisely: A study by Stav Atir, assistant professor of management and human resources at the Wisconsin School of Business, looks at how the language we use when talking about gender matters because it can both combat and increase bias. A psychologist by training, Atir’s recent paper, “Girlboss? Highlighting Versus Downplaying Gender Through Language,” examines how gender marking and gender neutrality can have both inherent strengths and weaknesses that come into play depending upon when and how they are used. WSB sat down with Atir recently to talk about her work published in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences: WSB: What sparked your interest in this particular area of research? Atir: I wasgiving a talk on one of my papers from 2018 that focuses on how we use professionals’ names differently depending on their gender. We find that people often use last names to refer to famous professionals in various domains—it’s a common reference method—but that it’s more likely to occur when talking about famous men than equally famous women. One of the takeaways was that when it comes to gender, language matters. As a result of that talk, the editor of this journal asked me if I wanted to write something about how language matters. When we think about gender—and this comes up not just in my own research but in everyday life—there is this tension in the way that we use language. On one hand, we can use language to highlight the achievements of women and other minorities or underrepresented groups. And on the other, we have this desire for these demographics to matter less than they currently do, and we try to convey that desire through language—through gender-neutral language or through race-neutral language. So, I thought it would be interesting to write about research findings that speak to that tension. WSB: The “Girlboss” paper addresses that push-pull balance of alternately highlighting and downplaying gender through gender marking and gender neutrality, opposite approaches that may be situation-dependent. Can you tell us more about what those terms mean? Atir: Yes, thepaper is focused on pointing out the advantages and the drawbacks of each. It’s a more difficult task to decide: What are the specific situations in which we might want to use one or the other? Because the drawbacks don’t disappear. We have to decide what we care most about in any particular situation. Gender marking—such as “policewoman,” “women’s basketball,” or “the female CEO”—emphasizes gender. It’s often used to spotlight women in high-status professions, which we may want to do to change people’s perceptions of who can be successful in those fields, but it also makes men and women seem fundamentally different. In professions where there is already a gender disparity—for example, if you mark the gender of the female CEO—you’re also reinforcing the perception that it’s not normal, that she’s the exception to the rule. Gender marking can perpetuate stereotypical thinking and make the target of the marking seem more unusual, which is sometimes the opposite of what we want. Yet, if we look to gender neutrality as the solution, we encounter different problems. Gender-neutral language, such as “the CEO,” can minimize the importance of gender in the professional sphere by hiding gender and deemphasizing gender’s role. There are times when we want to do that, but gender-neutral language can also hide women because research shows that gender neutral is often not neutral at all—it’s male. When someone describes a person without specifying gender, our mental image often defaults to a man. So, if we opt for gender-neutral language, we may want to signal that gender should be irrelevant, but what we may end up doing instead is making women invisible. WSB: It’s not uncommon to see gender marking in terms of how our culture talks about working mothers as well, right? Articles will sometimes describe a professional woman as “a vice president with Company X and she has three kids.” Atir: This makes me think of a funny social media parody account called “Man Who Has It All.” It talks about men in the same way we as a culture talk about women to show how ridiculous some of the sentiments sound when the genders are reversed. “He was a scientist and a father! Wow, he really had it all.” WSB: It is interesting to see gender neutrality with the evolution of words like “nurse,” which we used to assume would automatically be a female. Atir: As we see more exemplars, hear more stories, and see more role models, our mental representations change. We have more stored mental representations of the first people that will come to mind when you say “person,” for example, which highlights the way that language is fluid and culture specific. The associations that we have with certain words now are not what they were 20 years ago, and probably not what they will be 20 years from now. Thinking about language: I am Israeli, so my native language is Hebrew. And Hebrew is highly gendered; it’s hard to say anything without specifying a gender. Even objects are gendered. So, these languages face additional barriers. There are groups devoted to making language more inclusive via different approaches such as new words and new fonts that leave the gender ambiguous, or phrasings that don’t reveal gender, so that the emphasis is very much on gender neutrality. WSB: What do you hope people come away with after reading your study and learning about your work in this space? Atir: Language is one tool that we can and should use to express our opinions and potentially drive social change. I would like people to be thoughtful about the way that they do this, to be aware of both the advantages and the drawbacks of their linguistic choices. Ultimately, I think language is going to be only a small part of what drives change forward. And as we become a more egalitarian society, the way we use language to achieve our goals is also going to look different and evolve. The post ‘Girlboss:’ A Conversation with WSB’s Stav Atir on Language and Gender appeared first on Wisconsin School of Business. |
05 Jun 2023, 08:00
| FROM Madison(Wisconsin) Admissions Blog: WSB’s Chia-Jung Tsay Discusses Gendered Time Surveillance at Harvard Business School Event |
|
It’s 2:30 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon. You walk to a colleague’s office only to find the desk empty. You cannot locate this colleague in any conference rooms or elsewhere on the office floor. Is your first assumption that this colleague must be at an off-site meeting with a client? Or that this colleague had to leave early to pick up a child from school? Well, your assumption likely depends on whether this colleague is a man or a woman. That’s according to new research from Chia-Jung Tsay, associate professor of management and human resources and the Bruce and Janice Ellig Professor in Management at the Wisconsin School of Business. Tsay recently shared this research at a virtual event, Women at Work, hosted by Harvard Business School. She spoke on a panel about gender research alongside Michelle Duguid of the Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management and Alexandra Feldberg of Harvard Business School.  Tsay speaks on a panel about gender research as part of Harvard Business Review’s Women at Work virtual event. Tsay’s research focuses on the monitoring of other people’s time at work, a behavior she labels time surveillance: the everyday practice of noticing and making attributions about others’ time use at work. Tsay and co-author Erin Reid of McMaster University were curious to learn if time surveillance is gendered—whether women are more vulnerable than men to certain assumptions about how they spend their time during the workday. They explored that premise through a series of surveys and experiments that asked participants to assess workplace scenarios that included both female and male absences. “Those who read about the female employee were much more likely to notice the absence from the office,” Tsay shared during the panel discussion. “Further, they were more likely to make the attribution that those absences were due to family or personal reasons and clearly not for work activities. We also found that this type of noticing and assuming didn’t play out in the same way for the male employee.” Tsay tested these findings in a range of contexts, with both novices and industry experts from a range of fields. She found that gendered time surveillance occurred across different contexts. The one variable Tsay identified that could disrupt gendered time surveillance was the gender makeup of the occupation. In occupations that are male-dominated or gender-balanced, female employees tended to have their absences noticed more and attributed to non-work reasons. In female-dominated occupations, the trend actually reversed, such that male employee absences were noticed more and attributed to non-work reasons. “We may consider focusing on less ambiguous ways of measuring valued output and performance, rather than analyzing how time is spent.” Chia-Jung Tsay Given the rise in virtual work environments, Tsay also wanted to test whether gendered time surveillance extends beyond the in-person, physical office space. “Over the last couple of years, it has become even more apparent that we can introduce more flexibility to professional workspaces and still maintain productivity,” Tsay said. “But, there seems to still be pushback and quite a bit of skepticism about virtual work. ‘These employees who are working remotely, are they really doing work?’ We started speculating whether women might be particularly vulnerable to these types of suspicions.” According to the research, it seems they are. Just as in physical offices, Tsay says that female employees working remotely are “less likely to get the benefit of the doubt.” But, Tsay also sees opportunity and solutions for combatting these gendered assumptions. One starting point is to reduce ambiguity. In another line of research, Tsay tested different types of away messages, ranging from the very ambiguous to the highly detailed. She found that participants’ assumptions tended to diminish when provided with more clarity about what an employee was doing. Tsay says it’s important to understand the motivations behind why managers and colleagues engage in time surveillance. People might engage in this behavior from a sense of social comparison or to gauge equity across colleagues, assessing whether everyone is working hard enough and long enough. But Tsay encourages other ways of measuring success. “We may consider focusing on less ambiguous ways of measuring valued output and performance, rather than analyzing how time is spent,” she said. Tsay also suggests that, more broadly, we should normalize that it’s okay for employees to be working and not be reachable, or to be working in different locations and on different timelines than other people. “The hope is that as we normalize different and more flexible work styles, we will diminish the likelihood that people will engage in this type of surveillance behavior.” The post WSB’s Chia-Jung Tsay Discusses Gendered Time Surveillance at Harvard Business School Event appeared first on Wisconsin School of Business. |
07 Jun 2023, 14:00
| FROM Madison(Wisconsin) Admissions Blog: WSB’s Jirs Meuris Wins 2023 Environmental and Social Practices Best Paper Award from Academy of Management’s OMT Division |
|
Jirs Meuris, assistant professor of management and human resources at the Wisconsin School of Business, is the recipient of the 2023 Best Paper on Environmental and Social Practices from the Organization and Management Theory (OMT) division of the Academy of Management. The paper, “Devaluation by Association: Gender Diversity and Performance Recognition in Masculine Occupations,” was co-authored with Jennifer Merluzzi of The George Washington University. OMT’s Best Paper on Environmental and Social Practices recognizes research that advances the understanding of environmental and social dimensions of organizing. Meuris’ paper examines gender diversity and performance recognition in law enforcement. “Responding to persistent gender inequalities, organizations have adopted initiatives to increase women’s representation in male-dominated occupations,” Meuris and Merluzzi write. “Although sociological research has identified many challenges for the women entering, we know less about the impact on workers inside these occupations.” Using data from non-monetary awards that recognized front-line police officers in the line of duty, the study suggests that both women and men officers were less likely to receive a performance recognition award when a larger proportion of women were employed in their units. “Collectively, our findings identify a barrier to diversity initiatives aimed at increasing women’s representation in male-dominated occupations as incumbents become penalized for their association with work units that include more women peers,” Meuris and Merluzzi note. “This important research highlights unintended consequences of well-intentioned diversity initiatives that can be addressed when the problem is made salient to organizational leaders,” says Russ Coff, Thomas J. Falk Distinguished Chair in Business and professor of management and human resources at WSB. Meuris’ work sits at the intersection of behavioral science, human resource management, and public policy, and focuses on the role of work and organizations in the emergence, persistence, and ending of demographic and economic inequality. He holds a courtesy appointment with the Department of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and serves as a faculty affiliate at UW–Madison’s Institute for Diversity Science; Center for Law, Society, and Justice; Institute for Research on Poverty; and Center for Financial Security. Founded in 1936, AOM is the preeminent professional association for management and organization scholars with nearly 18,000 members across 120 countries. The association’s mission is to build a vibrant and supportive community of scholars by markedly expanding opportunities to connect and explore ideas, and to inspire and enable a better world through scholarship and teaching about management and organizations. The post WSB’s Jirs Meuris Wins 2023 Environmental and Social Practices Best Paper Award from Academy of Management’s OMT Division appeared first on Wisconsin School of Business. |
08 Jun 2023, 10:00
| FROM Madison(Wisconsin) Admissions Blog: Donor Support Powers New Precollege Programs and More |
|
The Wisconsin School of Business (WSB) Fund allows the school to invest in new innovations and initiatives that enhance the student experience and improve its reputation as a world-class business school. Contributions to the WSB Fund help the school implement transformative learning experiences and curricula that uniquely prepare students for post-graduation success. We are grateful for your investment in the WSB Fund within the last 12 months. Your gift is an integral part of our school’s ability to innovate, grow, and provide exceptional learning experiences. In addition to expressing our sincerest thanks, we wanted to celebrate with you and share key points of progress and impact that you helped make possible. New precollege programs launch June 2023 In June 2023, WSB is launching two new precollege programs for high school students. These one-week camps are designed to engage underrepresented students—including potential first-generation college students—in exploring undergraduate programs and considering a business major. The Business Basics program is intended to help students learn what it’s like to be a business student at UW–Madison and work on developing communication, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills, all while building relationships with other students and staff at WSB. The Junior Business Badgers program is structured to help students explore the career pathways available within business, develop networking skills, and participate in a corporate site visit. Thanks to generous philanthropic investments, eligible students can participate in these programs free of charge. WSB celebrates 2023 graduates Congrats to the Class of 2023! On May 13, WSB celebrated the graduation of more than 1,230 students across its undergraduate, MBA, master’s and PhD programs. One graduate, Avi Gomez (MBA ’23), shared her thoughts on what comes next with WSB earlier this month. Gomez earned her MBA in strategic human resource management and was a fellow with the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management. WSB was one of the first three schools to join the consortium more than 50 years ago, which covers full tuition and fees for two years of full-time study. Avi plans to begin her new role at Citigroup this summer. Meanwhile, WSB alumna and co-founder of Irrational Labs Kristen Berman (BBA ’06) addressed the crowd at a special BBA graduation celebration on May 12. Her advice to graduating students: Ask for what you want. If you don’t know what you want, ask someone how you can help them. Alumni and friends support global programs on Day of the Badger On March 28 and 29, Business Badger alumni, parents, and friends came together to make an impact on Day of the Badger, UW–Madison’s annual day of giving. During the campaign, 338 donors raised over $152,000 for the Wisconsin School of Business. Gifts from the campaign will increase access to global learning experiences for current and future students, allowing them to see business through an international lens and grow key skills needed in today’s global business economy. Badgers in Finance expands to Chicago The Badgers in Finance network hosted its first Chicago-area events this past academic year, gathering finance and real estate students and alumni for networking and learning. Badgers in Finance launched in 2017 with a small group of engaged New York City-based UW alumni to create a robust and dedicated network of alums working in financial services to help support students and Badger graduates pursuing careers in finance. Today, Badgers in Finance is a growing network of more than 300 engaged alumni who host student treks at their companies, mentor and network with students and alumni, and recruit students for internship and full-time opportunities. The network continues to expand across the country. Plans are in the works to host events in multiple cities and partner with an expanding network of alumni to open doors for students. For more information, please visit the Badgers in Finance webpage. Want more stories about the impact of giving at WSB? Click here to read last quarter’s Donor Digest The post Donor Support Powers New Precollege Programs and More appeared first on Wisconsin School of Business. |
09 Jun 2023, 10:00
| FROM Madison(Wisconsin) Admissions Blog: EdgeUp: Leading with Emotional Intelligence |
|
EdgeUp: Leading with Emotional Intelligence Effective leaders are often described as empathetic, self-aware, and possessing superb communication and problem-solving skills. With big shoes to fill, aspiring leaders may find themselves wondering how they can hone these vital workplace skills. According to Tracy Nelson of WSB’s Center for Professional and Executive Development (CPED), it all starts with emotional intelligence (EI). During WSB’s EdgeUp webinar on June 7, Nelson helped attendees recognize the state of their own EI and offered tools and tips for improving this critical skill. Nelson begins by offering her definition of EI: “[EI] is our ability to be aware of our own thinking patterns, mental models, and behaviors, and to manage and adapt our reflexive responses and actions to more effectively understand, connect with, influence, and build constructive relationships with others.” Put more simply, Nelson describes EI as a foundational soft skill that is essential for leaders in both formal and informal roles. She goes on to explain how technological disruption—increases in technology such as digitization, machine learning, and AI in the workplace—are also driving the need for increased EI skills. Nelson then reviewed Dr. Travis Bradberry’s model of EI, spending the majority of the discussion on the personal competency elements of self-awareness and self-management. Bradberry is the coauthor of Emotional Intelligence 2.0 and the cofounder of TalentSmart(R). Self-Awareness Developing a high level of self-awareness begins with analyzing your own thinking patterns. This process, called metacognition, can help you recognize common roadblocks that hinder EI. For example, our brains often reinvent incoming information from our observations. Nelson emphasizes that the ability to recognize this thinking pattern—and weed out the facts versus the fiction—is key to becoming self-aware and developing EI. Nelson’s EI Self Check on Self-Awareness: Be aware of your own thinking patterns, pause, and ask reflective questions to discern what is fact and what is fiction. Self-Management Self-management—the ability to manage our thoughts and behaviors—is another integral component of EI. Nelson explains that certain situations might cause you to experience negative emotions, which can in turn lead to unconstructive responses. She advises you to take a moment, acknowledge your emotions, and instead choose a constructive response. Nelson’s EI Self Check on Self-Management: Develop mitigation strategies to use when feeling emotional reactions. Check your mindset: Are you engaging in a “my way” mindset in which you are always right, or a “collaborative mindset,” in which you have something to learn? Watch the webinar to learn more about these personal competencies, as well as the social competencies—social awareness and relationship management—that also contribute to EI. — Tracy Nelson, SPHR, CPTD is the president and CEO of Aspire Talent Group and has over 35 years of business experience in industries such as health care, financial services, insurance, hospitality, manufacturing, and nonprofit. She is also a leadership development instructor and human capital consultant for the Center for Professional and Executive Development (CPED) at the Wisconsin School of Business, as well as an adjunct faculty member in management and human resources. The post EdgeUp: Leading with Emotional Intelligence appeared first on Wisconsin School of Business. |
12 Jun 2023, 08:00
| FROM Madison(Wisconsin) Admissions Blog: Dean Vallabh Sambamurthy, Blair Nelson Sanford Receive 2023 Sterling H. Schoen Achievement Award |
|
Vallabh Sambamurthy, Albert O. Nicholas Dean at the Wisconsin School of Business, and Blair Nelson Sanford, assistant dean, MBA and master’s programs, are each recipients of The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management’s 2023 Sterling H. Schoen Achievement Award. Sambamurthy currently serves as the chair of The Consortium’s board. “The Wisconsin School of Business has a longstanding and deeply rooted history with The Consortium. Our institution was one of three founding members in 1966, and we have since graduated hundreds of Consortium fellows who have gone on to make positive impacts in their businesses and communities.” –Vallabh Sambamurthy, Albert O. Nicholas Dean “It is a wonderful honor to receive the Sterling H. Schoen Achievement Award,” Sambamurthy said. “I accept it with the utmost esteem for the award’s namesake, and all those who have been presented this award before me. Sanford said she has witnessed firsthand The Consortium’s impact on “hundreds of lives.” “The dedicated leadership at The Consortium, along with my peers from great schools and corporate partners, allow us to move forward and become better each year,” she said. “The work cannot stop. I commit to continuing to be an agent for change in the future, and to live up to the standards of receiving this special award.” Both Sambamurthy and Sanford were presented with their awards during a reception in New Orleans in June 2023. The post Dean Vallabh Sambamurthy, Blair Nelson Sanford Receive 2023 Sterling H. Schoen Achievement Award appeared first on Wisconsin School of Business. |
16 Jun 2023, 11:00
| FROM Madison(Wisconsin) Admissions Blog: Real Estate Alum Thomas James Shares Five Lessons From a Career in Public Service |
|
James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate is named. “He religiously told us that every real estate business has to be run by paying attention to the income and operating statements,” James says. “His entire curriculum was structured around it.” Digging through long-neglected operating statements—located on microfiche film stuffed in a drawer—James was able to identify the major factors causing owned and leased buildings to lose money, and recommended a corrective course of action. “My career catapulted from that point,” says James. “That generated a whole asset management and portfolio division, which I joined and later directed because I truly appreciated why those things would be important.” Win over the most important stakeholders In real estate, the concept of “highest and best” or getting the best deal possible is often seen as the ideal, but James says striving for the “highest and most probable” approach—another Graaskamp favorite—was often more effective in government work. “That’s where you take the textbook solution and you apply politics on top of it,” says James. “Learning the textbook is good, but learning the politics surrounding a project is perhaps more important and sets you apart from everyone else.” That advice came in handy when a project to develop a new headquarters for the Food and Drug Administration received community pushback. James says local residents felt like government project managers weren’t listening to their concerns. He was dispatched to meet with residents and was effectively told “good luck” by his colleagues. James took time to understand their concerns, involved them in the planning, and ultimately suggested changes. “The next week, they were calling up the office and saying, ‘I don’t know where you found this guy. We love him and don’t you ever think about taking him away.’ That made me appreciate how important community members are,” James says. “If you’re going to get a project done, you need them and they can be your friends.” Never say no Political appointees, presidential aides, and senior executives all have one thing in common, according to James: They typically hate hearing no for an answer. As his career progressed, James found himself in many West Wing meetings where all sorts of ideas and proposals were thrown at him. Even when the plans seemed impractical, James found a way to buy time. “The biggest mistake is to tell folks at that level you think the answer is no,” he says. “My catchphrase became, ‘Please give me the opportunity to go back and find out what it will take to say yes.’ Even when I thought the answer was no, when I came back and did the homework, it turned out the answer could be yes.” Because of that, James quickly developed a reputation as a “project whisperer,” but his approach had an added benefit, as well. “When I’d come back and brief those individuals about what they needed to do for the answer to be yes, they often would say they weren’t willing to do that,” says James. “So, they were the ones to say no, and not me, which served me very well.” Embrace the unexpected Working in one of the most complex regional offices of the GSA, James has had his fair share of unexpected situations—including President Obama’s decision to stay in Washington, D.C. after his second term. “That became a project for us,” James says, explaining that while the GSA typically provides support to outgoing administrations, ex-presidents usually head back to their home states, meaning the job is handled by one of the agency’s other regional offices. For James, Obama’s decision meant finding office space in D.C. for the president and first lady—and making the space work for them and their respective staffs. Additionally, thanks to a connection with another University of Wisconsin alum—someone with the right connections in D.C.—James says he was able to kickstart the project at record speed. He submitted construction drawings for the space and obtained a building permit three hours later. “The local construction community talked about that feat for weeks,” James says. “We were able to build it out, and now, I have the most wonderful picture with President Obama, and he’s there standing with us and thanking us for his office space. That was a great moment.” The post Real Estate Alum Thomas James Shares Five Lessons From a Career in Public Service appeared first on Wisconsin School of Business. |
22 Jun 2023, 07:00
| FROM Madison(Wisconsin) Admissions Blog: WSB Alums Jon Fasoli, Jay Laabs Recognized with 2023 Wisconsin Alumni Association Awards |
|
Two Business Badgers working at the intersection of business and technology are among the winners of the 2023 Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA) awards. WSB’s annual “8 to Watch” list in Update magazine in 2021, is the chief product and design officer at Intuit Mailchimp. Described as a “champion of small business and the self-employed” by WAA, Fasoli was specifically recognized for his efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic to connect small-business owners with Paycheck Protection Program loans and other federal relief funding. This work resulted in thousands of small businesses being able to keep the lights on—and keep their employees on the payroll. Read more about Fasoli and the Forward Award. Meanwhile, Laabs was one of seven UW–Madison alumni recognized with an inaugural Luminary Award from WAA. Laabs is the founder and CEO of Spaulding Ridge, a global business-technology consultancy focused on cloud computing solutions. Under Laabs’ leadership—and his company’s commitment to volunteer service, inclusion, and creating personal connections—Spaulding Ridge has been named as one of the top workplaces in the consulting industry. In addition to his leadership of Spaulding Ridge, Laabs serves on WSB’s External Advisory Board (EAB), which works to enhance the reach and reputation of the school. EAB members like Laabs have also boosted post-graduation placement for WSB students by creating opportunities in emerging sectors, including technology and consulting. Read more about Laabs and the Luminary Award. The post WSB Alums Jon Fasoli, Jay Laabs Recognized with 2023 Wisconsin Alumni Association Awards appeared first on Wisconsin School of Business. |
28 Jun 2023, 13:00
| FROM Madison(Wisconsin) Admissions Blog: Finance Visionary Joe Duran Shares 5 Ways to Find Success in Business |
|
There are different definitions of success, and there are different ways to achieve it. But there are principles people should follow to avoid losing themself along the way and compromising their values. That’s according to Joe Duran, an entrepreneur who has started and sold multi-million-dollar companies to global financial giants General Electric and Goldman Sachs. Duran shared his insights in a conversation with Vallabh “Samba” Sambamurthy, Albert O. Nicholas Dean of the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, for an audience of Wisconsin MBA students, faculty, staff, and alumni as part of the M. Keith Weikel MBA Leadership Speaker Series held at the school. Duran’s path to success was anything but paved. He encountered hurdle after hurdle. If you knew him as a teenager, he says, it’s “literally unimaginably impossible” for him to be where he is today. His childhood in Zimbabwe was riddled with chaos and uncertainty. By the time he was 11 years old, he was working to support his family; his mother had told him he was the man of the house because his father was largely out of the picture. In his early teenage years, Duran had what some may call an “ah-ha” moment. Disinterested in school and with little drive, he listened to a teacher share a famous quote by Albert Einstein about choosing to live in a friendly or hostile universe. It was in this class he realized he needed to start living by what would become the foundation of his success.  Joe Duran shares his insights with Wisconsin MBA students and Wisconsin School of Business Dean Vallabh “Samba” Sambamurthy. 1. Believe the world is kind. Duran says if you think you live in a kind universe, you’ll believe it’s fair and things will work out. You’ll be caring and optimistic, and do your best. When the universe throws you a curveball, take a moment to step back and ask yourself, “What do I learn from this?” On the flipside, Duran says, if you think the world is hostile, you will spend your life in suspended animation waiting for something bad to occur. And if you’re wrong, you’ll have missed opportunities. “That simple idea changed everything,” Duran said. “So I started working. I started paying attention. When I hit a bump in the road, I’d say, ‘Well, the universe says I should do it. I’m doing it.'” Ever since that class, Duran has made choices that bring him closer to his goals, including leaving Zimbabwe. “The choice to view the world optimistically or pessimistically is absolutely a choice. And that’s helped me a lot in my life.” —Joe Duran When he was 18, he left the South African country for London—only to be mugged the day he arrived. He intentionally chose to remain optimistic. The next day, he landed a job as a night manager at a youth hostel. “You don’t get to choose what happens to you. But you do get to choose at every given moment what [you’re] going to do with what’s just happened—that is absolutely a choice,” Duran said. “The choice to view the world optimistically or pessimistically is absolutely a choice. And that’s helped me a lot in my life.” 2. Give more than you take. By saying “yes” to opportunities, Duran has found himself on an endless journey of growth. He says he barely knew anything when he started his first company with a business partner in the 1990s. But he learned. He took chances. He trusted the universe. He says when he sold each company, he gave the majority of the equity from the sales to his employees. And while he admits it may not be the best financial move, it’s what he does to pay it forward. Sharing millions of dollars isn’t the only way to give back. The companies Duran has built were meant to help people without finance or business degrees feel confident in making informed financial decisions. “If you’re going to be successful in business in any capacity as an entrepreneur or anything else, the first question I ask is: How do I serve? What can I give you that is of use and how do I do that every day? How do I, every day, go to sleep knowing that I have given more than I got? Take that as a badge of merit,” Duran said.  Wisconsin School of Business Dean Vallabh “Samba” Sambamurthy and entrepreneur Joe Duran share a laugh during a M. Keith Weikel MBA Leadership Speaker Series event. 3. Know who you are and what you stand for. Living a life of service is a driving force for Duran. From the start of his career in finance in the ’90s, Duran had an appetite to do good for the world through business. He made a point of speaking in layman’s terms when he was talking about finance and money management. The intent was to make this information accessible and understandable. There were times in his career where Duran was asked to do things that went against the mission of his companies and his morals. When he was confronted by these situations, he didn’t compromise his integrity because he knew what he stood for and what mattered to him. 4. Have a vision of who you want to be. Duran is a lot of things. He’s a dad, a husband, a friend. He builds companies and writes books. He says it’s important to remember you are human, and you’re more than your job. After building successful companies and making a name for himself in the finance world, Duran found himself in a position where he wasn’t satisfied with his work—and his family could tell. It was within the last year, after his daughter told him he seemed miserable, that Duran realized he wasn’t following another mantra he has: Be who you envision yourself being. After mulling over his options and feeling his role at Goldman Sachs wasn’t helping him fulfill his purpose, he decided to leave. The job didn’t match the vision of who he wanted to be. “If you’re going to be successful in business in any capacity as an entrepreneur or anything else, the first question I ask is: How do I serve?” —Joe Duran “There is no money to cover up the regrets you make when you compromise your integrity,” Duran said. “And I don’t mean [losing your] integrity [as in] stealing from people. Real integrity is living the life you say you want to live. That is integrity.” Duran operates through five-year plans. If the move from Goldman Sachs takes him a little off course from reaching his goal by age 60, he says he will at least know he made the decision believing in the universe and with courage, discipline, and integrity. 5. Ask yourself, ‘What if I’m wrong?’ One of the questions Duran is asked most often is what advice he’d give his younger self. He says it’s important to ask yourself, even when you’re certain you’re right: What if I’m wrong? With every success Duran has had, there have been failures along the way. Each failure, he says, has revolved around him not asking this question. When you ask yourself this question, you’re allowing yourself to grow and consider other possibilities. “If you just open yourself to that vulnerability, you will attract the most amazing people to your world,” Duran said. “If you don’t know how to be in a growth mindset, start with one simple question: What if I’m wrong? The minute you crack that door, you become a growing human being.” M. Keith Weikel Leadership Speaker Series at the Wisconsin School of Business enables Wisconsin MBA students to interact with and learn from accomplished business leaders and alumni. Executives from both the private and public sectors are invited to campus to address students. The series was established in 2004 with a gift by John J. Oros (BBA ’71) and his wife, Anne Wackman. Today, the series continues as the M. Keith Weikel MBA Leadership Speaker Series thanks to a gift by M. Keith Weikel (PhD ‘66) and his wife, Barbara. The post Finance Visionary Joe Duran Shares 5 Ways to Find Success in Business appeared first on Wisconsin School of Business. |
05 Jul 2023, 11:00
| FROM Madison(Wisconsin) Admissions Blog: Introducing the Redesigned Wisconsin Executive MBA |
|
The Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin–Madison announces the launch of its redesigned executive MBA program this fall, a program strategically focused on taking leaders to the next level. The program, delivered in a hybrid, online, and in-person format, allows executive-level professionals to expand their skills and elevate their leadership to take on business’ shifting dynamics. Built on a modular platform, the program includes an innovative curriculum that goes beyond a traditional approach to business courses. Students will advance through modules called Run, Grow, and Transform that will teach them how to take on business’ newest opportunities. In addition to new and innovative courses, the redesigned Wisconsin Executive MBA features expanded experiential learning and increased executive mentoring and career coaching. “We are excited to offer this new program to executives who are ready to invest in themselves as business leaders,” says Enno Siemsen, associate dean of the MBA and master’s programs. “Our reimagined executive MBA program is designed to offer the content needed to elevate students to the next level of leadership while being flexible and affordable.” Delivering the best of in-person and online learning—on your schedule The redesign is a major step forward in addressing the needs of business professionals who are on the go—or at home, juggling the responsibilities of business, parenting, travel, and much more. The redesigned executive MBA is an experience that highlights the best aspects of virtual and on-campus learning. The hybrid program offers a blend of in-person and online learning, with one weekend per month on campus and online classes once a week. This accelerated MBA program will take only 18 months to complete, starting in August and finishing in February. “Our executive MBA program is tailored to the needs of busy professionals who want to develop the specific skills they need to level up their leadership,” says Siemsen. “We understand that time and money are precious resources, so we’ve created an accelerated program that combines online learning with in-person residencies for those who are ready to lead their organizations.”  New program format designed for busy professionals 50% in person / 50% online in 18 months Develop as a leader and gain multi-faceted business knowledge Ideal for leaders looking to take the next step in their career, possibly to the C-suite, this program’s focused curriculum will emphasize leadership development, business strategy, and decision-making. The program is divided into four modules: Run the Business, Grow the Business, Transform the Business, and Develop as a Leader. The modules are designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of general business basics, strategy development, organizational transformation, and leadership development. Four brand-new courses have also been developed for the program: Corporate Governance and Board Membership, Growth Marketing, M&A and Global Strategy, and Competing Through Analytics. Four strategic modules allow students to grow as a leader, develop strategies to move their organization forward, and gain the tools to innovate as business evolves. Module 1 Develop as a Leader Leadership, Negotiations + Management | Build executive-level leadership and communication skills. Months 1–18 Module 2 Run the Business Finance + Operations | Develop a cross-functional knowledge of foundational business strategies and functions. Months 1–6 Module 3 Grow the Business Strategy + Growth | Develop strategies for taking your organization to the next level. Months 7–12 Module 4 Transform the Business Innovation + Change | Learn how to lead through change and stay relevant through innovation. Months 13–18 Confident leaders communicate effectively Unique from other executive MBA programs, WSB is placing an unparalleled emphasis on executive communication skill development. This pivotal experience in the program will empower professionals to expand their influence and reach. The development process includes assessing and practicing how to compel, motivate, and reach specific audiences in various scenarios, such as town hall meetings, senior leadership/executive boards, executive leadership teams, investors, and through personal social media channels. Mentoring, coaching, and development will allow students to complete an in-depth assessment of their track record as a leader and receive multi-source feedback, while the curriculum will provide critical insights on strategies from world-renowned experts on leadership, negotiations, and strategic talent management.  Individualized executive coaching to effectively communicate with employees, investors, media, and boards Level up learning within 5 years of graduation with optional badges WSB’s lifelong learning model recognizes the need to upskill and reskill throughout one’s career. As such, this degree offering extends learning through four post-graduation badge options—Financial Insight, Customer Insight, Strategic Innovation, and Global Business. Each badge consists of three courses within a particular business discipline and takes three months to complete. The program’s customization options will allow students to access two non-credit badges within five years of graduating from the program so that students can access new learning when they need it most.  Post graduation badge options–Financial Insight, Customer Insight, Strategic Innovation, and Global Business. Upskill and reskill even after graduation with complimentary access to two non-credit badges Cohorts provide the community you need to succeed While students will benefit from added flexibility throughout their program, they will start the program and attend classes with a community of accomplished professionals that will stay with them through graduation. The program’s cohort-based delivery, in a lockstep format, will allow students to develop strong relationships with their peers and benefit from the diverse perspectives and experiences of their classmates. “The quality of the professors and the conversations in class within the cohort are invaluable.” Michelle Bougie (MBA ‘20) “The quality of the professors and the conversations in class within the cohort are invaluable,” says Michelle Bougie (MBA ’20), senior marketing director, global services at GE Healthcare. “Oftentimes I would take things from lectures and immediately put them into practical use within my day-to-day with my staff or other leaders.” Invaluable in-person learning includes networking, coaching, and experiential opportunities Throughout the program, students will have the opportunity to participate in two co-curricular residencies, which provide additional opportunities to explore topics outside of the general curriculum. The residencies occur at the beginning of the program and in the spring of year one focusing on DEI, executive presence, company visits, and more. Additionally, extracurricular content will be offered during the four- and five-day residencies, including executive mentoring and coaching, presentation coaching, and experiential learning. “We believe that an Executive MBA should not only provide students with a rigorous academic program but also offer them opportunities to develop their leadership skills, build their professional networks, and gain practical experience.” Jean Sink “We believe that an executive MBA should not only provide students with a rigorous academic program but also offer them opportunities to develop their leadership skills, build their professional networks, and gain practical experience,” says Jean Sink, director of career management for MBA & master’s programs. “Whether it’s sharing knowledge over time, starting a business together, or gaining a lifelong friend, our students are able to extend their community far beyond their time at WSB.” With a total cost of $86,400 plus segregated fees, the Wisconsin Executive MBA costs less than many other executive MBA programs in the Midwest region and gives students the ability to leverage a vibrant business network, gain and apply leadership skills, and explore opportunities in real time while succeeding in their current careers. The Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has a long legacy of providing innovative and high-quality business education. The new executive MBA program builds on this tradition and represents an exciting new chapter in the school’s history. visit the Wisconsin School of Business Executive MBA. Contact Leiah Fundell, Public Relations Manager | leiah.fundell@wisc.edu The post Introducing the Redesigned Wisconsin Executive MBA appeared first on Wisconsin School of Business. |
17 Jul 2023, 07:00
| FROM Madison(Wisconsin) Admissions Blog: Business Casual: July 2023 |
The Briefing WSB’s redesigned executive MBA program takes leaders to the next level WSB will soon open applications for its redesigned executive MBA program, with classes beginning in Fall 2024. The accelerated program can be completed in just 18 months and combines innovative curriculum, expanded experiential learning, and increased mentoring and career coaching to help executive-level professionals navigate business’ shifting dynamics. “Our reimagined executive MBA program is designed to offer the content needed to elevate students to the next level of leadership while being flexible and affordable,” says WSB’s Enno Siemsen.  Students outperform ChatGPT in global accounting study The artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT has sparked many conversations and emotions in recent months. Some are amazed by its capabilities, while others are concerned by its potential to replace human intelligence. Summary data from WSB Distinguished Teaching Professor Ann O’Brien’s (PhD ’17) Accounting Systems course—along with data from other institutions across the globe—may have put some of those concerns to rest, with students besting the chatbot in a series of accounting-based questions.  Alumnus Thomas James shares lessons learned from his career in public service In his 40-year commercial real estate career in Washington, D.C., Thomas James (MS ’84) built a resumé of once-in-a-lifetime experiences, from bowling in the White House to overseeing a real estate portfolio with some of the most famous buildings in the nation’s capital. Now retired, James reflects on his eventful and impactful career, and shares some of the most meaningful lessons he learned—like sticking to the basics, never saying no, and embracing the unexpected. The Ticker
 Back to School Happy Demisemiseptcentennial, Business Badgers! Don’t worry—we’ll spare you the Google search! On July 26, UW–Madison is kicking off its demisemiseptcentennial, or 175th anniversary. Officially incorporated in 1848 (the same year that Wisconsin became a state), the UW is now a world-renowned leader in higher education. Take this quiz to learn how UW–Madison continues to influence people’s lives, both in the classroom and all throughout the state of Wisconsin. (Scroll to the bottom of the newsletter for the answers.) 1. UW–Madison contributes $_______ to the state’s economy annually by creating jobs and partnering with businesses. A. 10.8 billion B. 20.8 billion C. 30.8 billion 2. Bucky’s Tuition Promise, a scholarship program established in 2018, has already changed the lives of nearly _______ students with a free UW–Madison education. A. 3,000 B. 5,000 C. 7,000 3. How many degrees did UW–Madison award in 2022? A. 11,000+ B. 13,000+ C. 15,000+ Information courtesy of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association.  Tip Sheet Tips for Submitting Your Next Class Note Class Notes—one of the most read sections in Update magazine—provides WSB alumni the opportunity to share their career successes and major life milestones with fellow Business Badgers. Keep these tips in mind when submitting your Class Note for the upcoming Fall/Winter 2023 issue of Update. [*]Think of your Class Note as a short story about yourself, and always write in the third person: Bucky Badger is excited to start his new job at Babcock Dairy Store. [/list] [*]Include your full professional title, without capitalization or acronyms, when sharing a job or career update. Don’t forget to include your company name as well: Bucky Badger has been promoted to chief executive officer of Babcock Dairy Store. [/list] [*]Bring on the details! Include dates, places, names, and whatever else you can think of—we’ll edit for length if need be: Bucky Badger celebrated his fifth year working at Babcock Dairy Store in July 2023. [/list]
 Submit your Class Note now! Alumni Opportunities August 2: Save the date for WSB’s next EdgeUp webinar: Storytelling With Data August 10: Register now for WSB in MKE, an in-person networking event for Milwaukee-area alumni October 7: Save the date for WSB’s 2023 Homecoming Bash! WSB donors receive priority access to Bash and football tickets—watch your email for details Past EdgeUp Webinar: Check out WSB’s most recent EdgeUp webinar: Leading with Emotional Intelligence for tools and tips on improving this critical skill Job Search Resources: Use these online tools and videos to help plan a career move now or in the future Quiz Answers: 1. C: UW–Madison contributes $30.8 billion to the state’s economy annually by creating jobs and partnering with businesses. 2. B: Bucky’s Tuition Promise, a scholarship program established in 2018, has already changed the lives of nearly 5,000 students with a free UW–Madison education. 3. A: UW–Madison awarded more than 11,000 degrees in 2022. Masthead illustration by Shaysa Sidebottom Cook About Business Casual Every other month, alumni and friends of the Wisconsin School of Business will receive insider updates with news about our alumni, faculty, students, and programs. If you want to share Business Casual with friends, they can sign up at go.wisc.edu/wsb-biz-cas. Questions or comments? Email businesscasual@wsb.wisc.edu The post Business Casual: July 2023 appeared first on Wisconsin School of Business. |
03 Aug 2023, 14:01
| FROM Madison(Wisconsin) Admissions Blog: EdgeUp: Storytelling With Data |
|
EdgeUp: Storytelling With Data Put yourself in the position of the data consumer. This was a key piece of advice from Daniel Bauer, professor of risk and insurance at the Wisconsin School of Business, in the school’s most recent EdgeUp webinar: Storytelling With Data. On August 2, viewers tuned into Bauer’s presentation to learn more about data tools, visualization techniques, and the key principles of data storytelling. As artificial intelligence and big data gain traction in the business world, Bauer emphasized the importance of keeping data communications simple, understandable, and memorable. [b]Recommended data tools[/b] While Bauer acknowledges the solid capabilities of Microsoft Excel, he also points out the advantages of other business intelligence tools like Tableau and Power BI. Not only do these tools integrate naturally into the cloud environment, but they expedite and simplify processes like pivoting, allowing users to produce cross-sectional data sets more efficiently. [b]Your guide to graphs[/b] Graphs make information based on data easier to process and remember—but the type of graph being used can significantly help or hurt your data storytelling abilities. Bauer suggests these quick tips for choosing the right graph: [list] [*]Only use a table when a specific number is important[/*] [*]If you want to compare different items, such as customers, firms, or industries, use a bar graph[/*] [*]If you want to look at metrics over time, use line graphs[/*] [*]Avoid pie charts[/*] [/list] Most importantly, Bauer recommends keeping your graphs simple, consumable, and easy for the audience to digest. “It’s better to have multiple charts that are simple, rather than one complex chart,” he says. [b]Data dashboards[/b] Dashboards are data visualization tools that provide real-time updates, information at your fingertips, and easily sharable content. However, Bauer warns of the cognitive biases that come into play when using data dashboards, which can cause your audience to come up with reasons why the data contradicts their expectations. To mitigate these biases, Bauer suggests that data consumers look for information and trends that challenge their original thinking, rather than confirm it. A simple exercise: Sketch what you think the graph will look like before you see it. This allows you to be surprised and helps prevent cognitive bias interference. [b]Telling the story[/b] Bauer also introduced some of the key principles of data storytelling. Because people are more likely to remember a well-told story than cold hard facts, it’s crucial to present data in a way that is meaningful and memorable to your audience. Ask yourself: What story am I trying to tell, and what data will help me tell this story? Choosing the appropriate data to highlight, positioning your main point in the title, and including text annotations are just a few ways to tell a memorable story with data. — Daniel Bauer is the Hickman-Larson Chair in Actuarial Science and current chair of the Department of Risk and Insurance at the Wisconsin School of Business. Bauer teaches classes in actuarial science, quantitative finance, and data analytics, and also serves as co-director of the Master’s in Business Analytics program. The post [url=https://business.wisc.edu/news/edgeup-storytelling-with-data/]EdgeUp: Storytelling With Data[/url] appeared first on [url=https://business.wisc.edu]Wisconsin School of Business[/url]. |
08 Aug 2023, 15:00
| FROM Madison(Wisconsin) Admissions Blog: WSB’s Ishita Chakraborty Wins American Marketing Association’s 2023 Don Lehmann Award |
|
Ishita Chakraborty, Thomas and Charlene Landsberg Smith Faculty Fellow and an assistant professor of marketing at the Wisconsin School of Business, is a recipient of the 2023 American Marketing Association’s (AMA) Marketing Research SIG Don Lehmann Award for Best Dissertation-Based Article. Chakraborty is a co-winner with June Shi, assistant professor of marketing at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Chakraborty’s early dissertation work and resulting article, “Attribute Sentiment Scoring with Online Text Reviews: Accounting for Language Structure and Missing Attributes,” looks at online restaurant reviews using Yelp data, mining text phrases for attributes of the consumer’s restaurant experience, such as the type of food ordered and its price. “My research team realized that we didn’t need to limit ourselves to just looking at the numerical rating, but we could actually start analyzing in real time the text people were writing,” says Chakraborty. “That really opened up a new Pandora’s box of questions.” Her study examined diners’ motivation to leave restaurant reviews across three main categories: status seeking, a need to vent or praise, and altruism. “There’s really a lot to learn from consumer silence,” Chakraborty says. “We want to correctly interpret how a customer actually felt about any missing attributes to help obtain the proper rating. To do that, it helps to understand why reviewers are leaving reviews in the first place.” AMA’s Marketing Research Special Interest Group (SIG) established the Don Lehmann Award in 1997, which honors the best dissertation-based article recently published in the Journal of Marketing or Journal of Marketing Research. Chakraborty’s article has earned significant acclaim prior to the Don Lehmann Award. She won the Academy of Marketing Science Mary Kay Doctoral Dissertation Award in 2022 and received an honorable mention in 2021 for the John A. Howard/American Marketing Association Dissertation Award. Her research interests include digital marketing, online platforms, text and video analytics, and mobile apps. She earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering at the University of Mumbai, a master’s in business administration from the Indian Institute of Management, and a PhD in marketing at the Yale School of Management. Prior to pursuing doctoral work at Yale, she worked in sales, brand management, and consulting with Deloitte, Accenture, and Mondelez International. Founded in 1937, the AMA is a community of future marketers and dedicated professionals who work, teach, and study in the field to advance the field of marketing. The organization publishes the academic journals Journal of Marketing, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, and Journal of International Marketing. The post WSB’s Ishita Chakraborty Wins American Marketing Association’s 2023 Don Lehmann Award appeared first on Wisconsin School of Business. |
16 Aug 2023, 15:00
| FROM Madison(Wisconsin) Admissions Blog: Wisconsin Real Estate Program to add new Graduate Track in Affordable Housing and Sustainable Development |
|
A new graduate-level offering from the Wisconsin School of Business will meet demand for two of the fastest-growing topics in real estate: housing affordability and sustainability. Debuting in Fall 2024, the Department of Real Estate and Urban Land Economics’ 12-credit affordable housing and sustainable development track will prepare students for careers in both residential and commercial real estate development with a focus on affordable and sustainable housing issues and financing. MBA in real estate and the Master of Science-Business: Real Estate and Urban Land Economics. Created in 2019, the master’s degree currently offers three specialized tracks: real estate core; applied real estate investment; and private equity. “WSB’s longstanding leadership in real estate and ability to meld tradition and innovation continues with the creation of this new track in affordability and sustainability,” says Mark Eppli (BBA ’83, MS ’84, PhD ‘91), director of the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate. “Our programs continue to evolve to meet the demands of the rapidly changing marketplace and to prepare students to lead across many facets of the real estate industry.” Mission Possible Issues related to housing affordability and sustainability are alarmingly easy to come by, affecting both the average consumer and the real estate industry at large. Hospital employees who must commute for hours to find affordable housing, for example, or the fact that landfills are overwhelmed with building material waste are just some of the complex problems around affordability and sustainability today, Eppli says. Associates in Commercial Real Estate (ACRE) Program while at Marquette University and is on the Affordable Housing Committee for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago. The new track gives students the tools to navigate this evolving area of real estate and builds on WSB’s record of success in pairing a rigorous core curriculum with an applied learning experience component. Like WSB’s already established real estate tracks, the affordable housing and sustainable development track offers 12 credits of a concentrated curriculum in a vital area of real estate. Students also benefit from hands-on learning with professionals in their fields. Michael Brennan, students gain real-world experience by working directly with brokers, investment managers, and analysts, and presenting to boards of directors and investment committees. The responsibility is dauntingly real: Students work with WSB alumni to invest actual assets worth $4.8 million and make site visits to locales such as Las Vegas, Austin, and Los Angeles. This type of applied learning will be replicated for the affordable housing and sustainable development students, enabling them to gain invaluable learn-by-doing knowledge. The goal is to make the students ‘client interface-ready,’ Eppli says, by working on the ground with professionals in their future fields, day-in and day-out. “That range of both verbal and written communication skills has really solidified our students as being best in class from a placement perspective,” Eppli says. Students attracted to the new track might be working in—or preparing to work in—entities like Madison Development Corp., Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, the City of Madison Community Development Authority, CommonBond communities, Habitat for Humanity, and other local and national affordable housing entities. In Eppli’s experience, individuals in roles with organizations that tackle key societal issues such as homelessness, low-income housing, domestic violence, and housing for the formerly incarcerated are dedicated to the cause but may lack expertise in other crucial areas. “Oftentimes while they come into these positions super passionate, they don’t have the technical and financial analysis skills to build an income proforma or conduct in-depth market that are truly critical in order to be successful in their roles,” Eppli says. “We hope to change that. There’s not another program out there that we have seen that matches up to what we’re doing. And we looked around.” Renowned Expertise in Sustainability Christopher Timmins, who holds the Gary J. Gorman Affordable Housing Professorship and is a professor of real estate and urban land economics, will lead the affordable housing and sustainable development track. Prior to joining WSB, Timmins was an associate professor of economics with Yale University and a professor of economics with a secondary appointment at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. He received his PhD in economics from Stanford University. Timmins’ primary research focus is on the intersection of natural resource and environmental economics with urban economics. His other areas of exploration include industrial organization, development, and public and regional economics. In 2016, Timmins set up a lab group at Duke on environmental justice topics. “Environmental justice is very heavily oriented around the urban landscape and includes urban economics and the overlap with the housing market,” Timmins says. “I had been working in that space for a while, so the switch over to more of a real estate perspective is pretty easy and natural.” Innovative, Robust Curriculum Some of Timmins’ research topics will intersect with what he plans to teach in the classroom. “A component of sustainability that I’d like to make sure we work in has to do with health,” Timmins says, noting that “healthy housing” is a big topic in the environmental justice realm. “Housing isn’t really sustainable if people who live there don’t have access to green space where they can walk and live a healthy lifestyle, or if they’re exposed to pollution.” While the curriculum is still being finalized, Timmins intends to have a core class on affordable housing financing that covers the various financing mechanisms and funding sources used in that type of development. A second class will likely cover the ways in which housing markets fail to provide affordable housing solutions on their own—discrimination and exclusionary zoning, for example—along with the consequences of these failures for residents who may be struggling to make ends meet. “The affordability problem extends pretty broadly at this point; it’s become a middle-class problem in many cities as well. But there are a lot of places where race intersects with income that make affordable housing even more of an issue,” Timmins says. Other topics will include segregation, discrimination, income inequality, housing precarity, eviction, homelessness, and how zoning interacts with many of these to exacerbate the problem. Timmins also plans on expanding an existing sustainable housing course to include a greater emphasis on how neighborhoods and access to housing can affect health, and how affordable housing development can better deal with challenges arising from the climate crisis. A Community for all The affordable housing and sustainable development track will expand the reach of WSB’s programs and expand the knowledge of the next generation of real estate leaders, says Greg Reed (BA ’83; MS ’88), associate director of the Graaskamp Center for Real Estate. “I think it hearkens back to the traditions of the program, but also the history of innovation,” Reed says. “To my mind, having studied under Professor Graaskamp, this is a very Graaskampian, very natural progression for us to go in this direction. He was always focused on areas beyond just the bottom line.” Reed says there’s an inclusion component to the new track as well. “It’s about making sure people feel included, that things are equitable, and that you’re not isolating specific communities from others but allowing people to live alongside one another, to live, work, play within the overall community,” he says. “It’s definitely trying to create a sense of belonging and community for everyone.” blog. Wisconsin Real Estate Program to add new Graduate Track in Affordable Housing and Sustainable Development appeared first on Wisconsin School of Business. |
17 Aug 2023, 10:00
| FROM Madison(Wisconsin) Admissions Blog: Wisconsin Real Estate Program To Add New Graduate Track in Affordable Housing and Sustainable Development |
|
A new graduate-level offering from the Wisconsin School of Business will meet demand for two of the fastest-growing topics in real estate: housing affordability and sustainability. Debuting in Fall 2024, the Department of Real Estate and Urban Land Economics’ 12-credit affordable housing and sustainable development track will prepare students for careers in both residential and commercial real estate development with a focus on affordable and sustainable housing issues and financing. MBA in real estate and the Master of Science-Business: Real Estate and Urban Land Economics. Created in 2019, the master’s degree currently offers three specialized tracks: real estate core; applied real estate investment; and private equity. “WSB’s longstanding leadership in real estate and ability to meld tradition and innovation continues with the creation of this new track in affordability and sustainability,” says Mark Eppli (BBA ’83, MS ’84, PhD ‘91), director of the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate. “Our programs continue to evolve to meet the demands of the rapidly changing marketplace and to prepare students to lead across many facets of the real estate industry.” Mission Possible Issues related to housing affordability and sustainability are alarmingly easy to come by, affecting both the average consumer and the real estate industry at large. Hospital employees who must commute for hours to find affordable housing, for example, or the fact that landfills are overwhelmed with building material waste are just some of the complex problems around affordability and sustainability today, Eppli says. Associates in Commercial Real Estate (ACRE) Program while at Marquette University and is on the Affordable Housing Committee for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago. The new track gives students the tools to navigate this evolving area of real estate and builds on WSB’s record of success in pairing a rigorous core curriculum with an applied learning experience component. Like WSB’s already established real estate tracks, the affordable housing and sustainable development track offers 12 credits of a concentrated curriculum in a vital area of real estate. Students also benefit from hands-on learning with professionals in their fields. Michael Brennan, students gain real-world experience by working directly with brokers, investment managers, and analysts, and presenting to boards of directors and investment committees. The responsibility is dauntingly real: Students work with WSB alumni to invest actual assets worth $4.8 million and make site visits to locales such as Las Vegas, Austin, and Los Angeles. This type of applied learning will be replicated for the affordable housing and sustainable development students, enabling them to gain invaluable learn-by-doing knowledge. The goal is to make the students ‘client interface-ready,’ Eppli says, by working on the ground with professionals in their future fields, day-in and day-out. “That range of both verbal and written communication skills has really solidified our students as being best in class from a placement perspective,” Eppli says. Students attracted to the new track might be working in—or preparing to work in—entities like Madison Development Corp., Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, the City of Madison Community Development Authority, CommonBond communities, Habitat for Humanity, and other local and national affordable housing entities. In Eppli’s experience, individuals in roles with organizations that tackle key societal issues such as homelessness, low-income housing, domestic violence, and housing for the formerly incarcerated are dedicated to the cause but may lack expertise in other crucial areas. “Oftentimes while they come into these positions super passionate, they don’t have the technical and financial analysis skills to build an income proforma or conduct in-depth market that are truly critical in order to be successful in their roles,” Eppli says. “We hope to change that. There’s not another program out there that we have seen that matches up to what we’re doing. And we looked around.” Renowned Expertise in Sustainability Christopher Timmins, who holds the Gary J. Gorman Affordable Housing Professorship and is a professor of real estate and urban land economics, will lead the affordable housing and sustainable development track. Prior to joining WSB, Timmins was an associate professor of economics with Yale University and a professor of economics with a secondary appointment at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. He received his PhD in economics from Stanford University. Timmins’ primary research focus is on the intersection of natural resource and environmental economics with urban economics. His other areas of exploration include industrial organization, development, and public and regional economics. In 2016, Timmins set up a lab group at Duke on environmental justice topics. “Environmental justice is very heavily oriented around the urban landscape and includes urban economics and the overlap with the housing market,” Timmins says. “I had been working in that space for a while, so the switch over to more of a real estate perspective is pretty easy and natural.” Innovative, Robust Curriculum Some of Timmins’ research topics will intersect with what he plans to teach in the classroom. “A component of sustainability that I’d like to make sure we work in has to do with health,” Timmins says, noting that “healthy housing” is a big topic in the environmental justice realm. “Housing isn’t really sustainable if people who live there don’t have access to green space where they can walk and live a healthy lifestyle, or if they’re exposed to pollution.” While the curriculum is still being finalized, Timmins intends to have a core class on affordable housing financing that covers the various financing mechanisms and funding sources used in that type of development. A second class will likely cover the ways in which housing markets fail to provide affordable housing solutions on their own—discrimination and exclusionary zoning, for example—along with the consequences of these failures for residents who may be struggling to make ends meet. “The affordability problem extends pretty broadly at this point; it’s become a middle-class problem in many cities as well. But there are a lot of places where race intersects with income that make affordable housing even more of an issue,” Timmins says. Other topics will include segregation, discrimination, income inequality, housing precarity, eviction, homelessness, and how zoning interacts with many of these to exacerbate the problem. Timmins also plans on expanding an existing sustainable housing course to include a greater emphasis on how neighborhoods and access to housing can affect health, and how affordable housing development can better deal with challenges arising from the climate crisis. A Community for all The affordable housing and sustainable development track will extend the reach of WSB’s programs and expand the knowledge of the next generation of real estate leaders, says Greg Reed (BA ’83; MS ’88), associate director of the Graaskamp Center for Real Estate. “I think it hearkens back to the traditions of the program, but also the history of innovation,” Reed says. “To my mind, having studied under Professor Graaskamp, this is a very Graaskampian, very natural progression for us to go in this direction. He was always focused on areas beyond just the bottom line.” Reed says there’s an inclusion component to the new track as well. “It’s about making sure people feel included, that things are equitable, and that you’re not isolating specific communities from others but allowing people to live alongside one another, to live, work, play within the overall community,” he says. “It’s definitely trying to create a sense of belonging and community for everyone.” blog. The post Wisconsin Real Estate Program To Add New Graduate Track in Affordable Housing and Sustainable Development appeared first on Wisconsin School of Business. |
18 Aug 2023, 10:00
| FROM Madison(Wisconsin) Admissions Blog: WSB Invests in Professional MBA Program, Celebrates First Cohort of Graduates |
|
When Kim Woodbury (MBA ’23) started researching MBA programs several years ago, she looked for one that would allow her to maintain work-life balance and stay in her full-time job. Today, she’s among the first 40 graduates of the Wisconsin School of Business’ flexible, hybrid Professional MBA Program (PMBA), which launched in Fall 2021 and will confer degrees to the inaugural cohort this month. Master of Science-Business: Analytics (MSBA) program, students gain competence and familiarity by using the same data set throughout their three two-credit courses—Data Technology, Data Visualization, and Experiments and Causal Methods. Faculty members are cross-disciplinary, coming together from departments such as Operations and Information Management, Marketing, and Risk Management and Insurance.  Professional MBA student Felicia Kamriani (MBA ’23) participates during one of the program’s class weekends. “The PMBA provided tools and frameworks across strategy, finance, data analytics, project management, and technology innovation that I have applied in my role as a management consultant,” says James Hoover (MBA ’23). “I was able to translate what I learned in the classroom to my workplace in the same week. I’ve never felt more confident in my ability to succeed working with complex organizations competing in multiple global markets.” The new Global Business badge is distinct in that it offers students a Global Learning Experience (GLE) trip: Santiago, Chile, in Fall 2023 and Vietnam in Spring/Summer 2024. The badge courses—Global Supply Chain Management, International Management, and the GLE trip—give students the opportunity to explore global issues and meet with businesses in the host countries. Future directions With nearly 150 students currently enrolled and continued growth on the horizon, Siemsen says the demand for the program also opens the door to thinking about expanding different aspects of the program. Establishing the monthly weekend classes in other locales such as Chicago, for example, would make the PMBA more available to students. “I think this program is accessible while at the same time, it’s creating human connections between people. Those are the two things you must do for a market-oriented program, and we do exactly that,” he says. “I think we’re spot-on in terms of what people want and I’m very proud of that. It allowed us to innovate. It allowed faculty to innovate, to think differently about how they teach and what they teach. I think we’re a better school because of the professional MBA.” The post WSB Invests in Professional MBA Program, Celebrates First Cohort of Graduates appeared first on Wisconsin School of Business. |
07 Sep 2023, 10:00
| FROM Madison(Wisconsin) Admissions Blog: The New Minds of Business: With Future-Focused Outlooks and In-Demand Expertise, WSB Welcomes Eight New Faculty Members |
|
Artificial intelligence. Climate change. Racial disparity. These topics—so prevalent in today’s zeitgeist and rife with complexity—seek answers and new ideas from individuals, businesses, and society at large. New faculty members joining the Wisconsin School of Business this fall bring with them cross-disciplinary research with immediate relevancy to challenges we face today and help students think critically about complex issues by extending that research into the classroom. The eight faculty members span five academic departments, exemplifying the continued investment WSB is making in knowledge and thought leadership that will shape industry and educate the next generation of leaders. “Our newest faculty members bring impactful research and expertise at a time when change in the business and technological landscape is unprecedented,” says Vallabh “Samba” Sambamurthy, WSB’s Albert O. Nicholas Dean. “Their work addresses today’s most critical and complex social issues while benefitting Wisconsin School of Business students who will learn from some of today’s most innovative thought leaders.” WSB extends a warm welcome to the following new faculty: Stuart Craig Assistant professor of risk and insurance Not only are Americans spending nearly $1 out of every $5 on health care, but it’s also the fastest-growing sector of the economy, says Stuart Craig, who conducts research on the causes and consequences of health care spending. “The question is, why is that? And what is it costing us as a society to pay for that? Because most non-elderly people in the U.S. are privately insured, prices play a large role in determining how much we spend on health care,” Craig says. Craig’s work looks at business-to-business price setting in health care. “Consumers in health care are typically insured, meaning they do not face the full price of health care services when they receive treatment,” he says. “Instead, prices are set in business-to-business negotiations, but consumers still ultimately face those costs through higher premiums and cost sharing.” His research on hospitals examines pricing and the negotiation process, including how hospitals negotiate with medical device companies and health insurers, and in turn how health insurers negotiate with employers for their employees’ premiums. In many cases, a hospital merger might cause prices to rise not because of an improved product or service, but because a hospital is squeezing out the competition. “From 2000–2020, there were over 1,000 mergers between hospitals and hospital systems. It is important for us to examine these kinds of mergers to understand whether they are good for consumers or not,” Craig says. Prior to joining WSB, Craig was a postdoctoral associate at Yale University’s Tobin Center for Economic Policy. He earned his doctorate in health care management and economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Craig won the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation’s 25th Annual Research Award for his work on hospital pricing and the privately insured. The award recognizes outstanding published work from researchers furthering innovation in health care financing, delivery, and organization, or the implementation of health care policy. Craig will be teaching Economics for Managers in the professional and full-time MBA programs.  Ewelina Forker Assistant professor of accounting and information systems Returning to Wisconsin is a bit of a homecoming for Ewelina Forker. “My first job out of college was just down the road at GE Healthcare in Waukesha,” she says. Prior to pursuing her PhD in accounting from Emory University, Forker worked for over a decade in manufacturing and supply chain. “I observed how new technologies aimed at improving decision quality and efficiency often fell short of expectations because we didn’t always anticipate how employees were going to use the technology, especially when it came to forecasting,” says Forker. “I wanted to figure out how organizations can make meaningful improvement in their forecasting processes, considering both technical and behavioral aspects of forecast accuracy.” Today, Forker’s research looks at the design of effective management control systems in joint human-machine decision making, particularly in the context of organizational forecasting and planning. “My research aims to provide empirical evidence on when companies should include manager discretion and how they can design effective performance measurement and incentive systems to get the most out of these joint human-machine decisions,” she says. Forker will be teaching Managerial Accounting in the professional and full-time MBA programs.  Philip Mulder Assistant professor of risk and insurance For someone whose research centers on climate change, Philip Mulder has encountered surprisingly little controversy. “What I’ve actually found is that there’s a lot of very practical interest in the solutions,” he says. “A lot of my focus is on adaptation: how households, insurers, lenders, and governments adapt to dynamic climate change risk. The first thing that’s relatively uncontroversial about it is how many of the costs are already being borne by communities. You talk to a community about making smart investments to limit their damages from floods and hurricanes and wildfires, and that’s just something they are concretely interested in.” Mulder received his doctorate in applied economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He worked previously as a research analyst with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and most recently, as an economist and researcher for the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Financial Research. “One of the biggest challenges in adapting to climate risk is getting people the right information so that they can make better decisions,” Mulder says. It’s a topic his students will also delve into this spring during his Risk Analytics and Behavioral Science course. “I’m excited to research how to best distill complex climate models into digestible signals that people can use effectively, and how to communicate those signals in a way that mitigates some of the decision-making biases that affect the way people think about risk,” he says.  Tarun Kushwaha Professor of marketing What launched Tarun Kushwaha’s path into his current line of research? His students. “I consider research and teaching as two sides of the same coin,” says Kushwaha. “My research interests in digitization, tech-led transformation, and the human-machine frontier have resulted from interesting and challenging discussions with students in my classroom.” A faculty member in marketing at George Mason University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill prior to arriving at WSB, Kushwaha specializes in the areas of customer relationship management, international marketing, market failures, and marketing-operations interface. He has worked on research partnerships with several Fortune 500 firms. “I take most pride in the fact that I partner with businesses and not-for-profit organizations to bring balance between rigor and relevance in my research,” says Kushwaha. “The findings from my research have the potential to alter managerial practice.” Kushwaha has been recognized with numerous awards for both research and teaching. He received his doctorate in marketing from Texas A&M University. He will be teaching Marketing Channel Strategy to undergraduate and MBA students.  “I consider research and teaching as two sides of the same coin. My research interests in digitization, tech-led transformation, and the human-machine frontier have resulted from interesting and challenging discussions with students in my classroom.” –Tarun Kushwaha Erik Mayer Assistant professor of finance Erik Mayer came across Harvard economist Raj Chetty’s work on intergenerational economic mobility while in graduate school. “I became really interested in the potential role of local financial institutions in these geographic differences in economic opportunity across the U.S., and the rest is history,” says Mayer. “That was the starting point for my research agenda today, which is seeking to improve our understanding of financial institutions and their role in the lives of individuals and firms, with a focus on ties to economic inequality.” Prior to joining WSB, Mayer was an assistant professor of finance at Southern Methodist University. He earned his doctorate in finance from the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University. Mayer’s research on financial institutions and household finance has won numerous awards. His recent studies examine the impact of banking consolidation on low-income families’ access to credit and how minority representation among mortgage loan officers reduces racial disparities in the U.S. mortgage market. “Studies like these are important as we try to understand the causes and consequences of various forms of economic inequality,” he says. What aspect of his research is he most excited about? “Honestly, all of it… with a slight edge toward newer projects,” Mayer says. “Top-tier research studies are typically multi-year endeavors, so it’s important to focus on projects you’re truly excited about. You have to be passionate about your research to succeed in this line of work, and I certainly am.” Mayer will be teaching Financial Markets, Institutions, and Economic Activity.  Anyi Ma Assistant professor of management and human resources Roles for women have changed significantly over the past 100 years. So why is there still a dearth of female leadership in the top echelons of so many organizations? It’s a question Anyi Ma tackles from an “impression management perspective.” “Women who vie for leadership positions are often seen as unlikeable and untrustworthy,” says Ma, whose research interests include diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as motivations driving employee attitudes and behaviors. “We see the same [media] coverage of this problem with Hilary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, and Kamala Harris, just to name a few.” Ma is working on a long-term study examining the concept of agency—being assertive, taking charge—and how female employees are perceived when they are “agentic” at work. “I like almost all aspects of the research process,” Ma says. “I love developing new research ideas, designing studies to test my ideas, and learning how to communicate my findings in a persuasive way.” Before joining WSB, Ma was an assistant professor of management at Tulane University, where she received the Albert Lepage Teaching Award for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. She holds a doctorate in management and organizations from Duke University. Her dissertation won the Alvah H. Chapman Jr. Outstanding Dissertation Award from Florida International University’s Center for Leadership, which honors an individual whose dissertation makes an outstanding contribution to the field of leadership. Ma will be teaching Organizational Behavior.  “Women who vie for leadership positions are often seen as unlikeable and untrustworthy. We see the same [media] coverage of this problem with Hilary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, and Kamala Harris, just to name a few.” –Anyi Ma Anthony DeFusco Associate professor of finance An applied microeconomist, Anthony DeFusco’s research focuses primarily on household financial decision-making and the choices individuals make in the housing and mortgage markets. “The core question that motivates a lot of my work is, ‘Why do households make the financial choices that they do, and what are the consequences of those choices for macroeconomic outcomes and policy?’” DeFusco says. “For most people, their home is the most valuable asset they own, and their mortgage is the largest debt they have. This means that the choices people make in these markets are just intrinsically important both for their individual financial lives and for the broader macroeconomy.” DeFusco was previously an associate professor of finance at Northwestern University. He is a faculty research fellow with the National Bureau of Economic Research. He has received numerous honors and awards for his work from top journals and research foundations. DeFusco received his doctorate in applied economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Next in his research, DeFusco is beginning to think about how the surge in interest rates over the past year and a half, as well as the longer-run fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, may be affecting housing and mortgage markets. In household finance, “we are still just starting to grapple with what some of the intermediate to long-run consequences of the most recent economic turmoil from the pandemic might be,” DeFusco says. “The interest rate increases were a response to very rapid inflation that we have not seen for a long time in the U.S., some of which was also reflected in remarkably fast growth in housing costs,” he continued. “All of these things—interest rates, inflation, and housing costs—are first-order relevant for household finance, and figuring out how to combat and adapt to them is going to be a big challenge, at least in the short to intermediate term.” DeFusco will be teaching Corporation Finance.  Mahka Moeen Associate professor of management and human resources Mahka Moeen’s research focuses on how entrepreneurs and firms create and enter nascent industries, examining the strategies firms employ during the early incubation stages. Her work has been recognized by the Kauffman Foundation, Strategy Research Foundation, The Academy of Management’s Technology and Innovation Management Division, Industry Studies Association, and the Schulze Foundation. Prior to joining WSB, Moeen was an associate professor and the Sarah Graham Kenan scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She earned her doctorate in strategy and entrepreneurship from the University of Maryland. A two-time Poets&Quants award winner—she was named a “Best 40 Under 40 MBA Professor” in 2022 and a “Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professor” in 2020—Moeen will teach Strategic Management. 2022-23 and 2021-22 academic years. The post The New Minds of Business: With Future-Focused Outlooks and In-Demand Expertise, WSB Welcomes Eight New Faculty Members appeared first on Wisconsin School of Business. |
07 Sep 2023, 12:00
| FROM Madison(Wisconsin) Admissions Blog: The New Minds of Business: With Future-Focused Outlooks, WSB Welcomes 8 New Faculty Members |
|
Artificial intelligence. Climate change. Racial disparity. These topics—so prevalent in today’s zeitgeist and rife with complexity—seek answers and new ideas from individuals, businesses, and society at large. New faculty members joining the Wisconsin School of Business this fall bring with them cross-disciplinary research with immediate relevancy to challenges we face today and help students think critically about complex issues by extending that research into the classroom. The eight faculty members span five academic departments, exemplifying the continued investment WSB is making in knowledge and thought leadership that will shape industry and educate the next generation of leaders. “Our newest faculty members bring impactful research and expertise at a time when change in the business and technological landscape is unprecedented,” says Vallabh “Samba” Sambamurthy, WSB’s Albert O. Nicholas Dean. “Their work addresses today’s most critical and complex social issues while benefitting Wisconsin School of Business students who will learn from some of today’s most innovative thought leaders.” WSB extends a warm welcome to the following new faculty: Stuart Craig Assistant professor of risk and insurance Not only are Americans spending nearly $1 out of every $5 on health care, but it’s also the fastest-growing sector of the economy, says Stuart Craig, who conducts research on the causes and consequences of health care spending. “The question is, why is that? And what is it costing us as a society to pay for that? Because most non-elderly people in the U.S. are privately insured, prices play a large role in determining how much we spend on health care,” Craig says. Craig’s work looks at business-to-business price setting in health care. “Consumers in health care are typically insured, meaning they do not face the full price of health care services when they receive treatment,” he says. “Instead, prices are set in business-to-business negotiations, but consumers still ultimately face those costs through higher premiums and cost sharing.” His research on hospitals examines pricing and the negotiation process, including how hospitals negotiate with medical device companies and health insurers, and in turn how health insurers negotiate with employers for their employees’ premiums. In many cases, a hospital merger might cause prices to rise not because of an improved product or service, but because a hospital is squeezing out the competition. “From 2000–2020, there were over 1,000 mergers between hospitals and hospital systems. It is important for us to examine these kinds of mergers to understand whether they are good for consumers or not,” Craig says. Prior to joining WSB, Craig was a postdoctoral associate at Yale University’s Tobin Center for Economic Policy. He earned his doctorate in health care management and economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Craig won the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation’s 25th Annual Research Award for his work on hospital pricing and the privately insured. The award recognizes outstanding published work from researchers furthering innovation in health care financing, delivery, and organization, or the implementation of health care policy. Craig will be teaching Economics for Managers in the professional and full-time MBA programs. Ewelina Forker Assistant professor of accounting and information systems Returning to Wisconsin is a bit of a homecoming for Ewelina Forker. “My first job out of college was just down the road at GE Healthcare in Waukesha,” she says. Prior to pursuing her PhD in accounting from Emory University, Forker worked for over a decade in manufacturing and supply chain. “I observed how new technologies aimed at improving decision quality and efficiency often fell short of expectations because we didn’t always anticipate how employees were going to use the technology, especially when it came to forecasting,” says Forker. “I wanted to figure out how organizations can make meaningful improvement in their forecasting processes, considering both technical and behavioral aspects of forecast accuracy.” Today, Forker’s research looks at the design of effective management control systems in joint human-machine decision making, particularly in the context of organizational forecasting and planning. “My research aims to provide empirical evidence on when companies should include manager discretion and how they can design effective performance measurement and incentive systems to get the most out of these joint human-machine decisions,” she says. Forker will be teaching Managerial Accounting in the professional and full-time MBA programs. Philip Mulder Assistant professor of risk and insurance For someone whose research centers on climate change, Philip Mulder has encountered surprisingly little controversy. “What I’ve actually found is that there’s a lot of very practical interest in the solutions,” he says. “A lot of my focus is on adaptation: how households, insurers, lenders, and governments adapt to dynamic climate change risk. The first thing that’s relatively uncontroversial about it is how many of the costs are already being borne by communities. You talk to a community about making smart investments to limit their damages from floods and hurricanes and wildfires, and that’s just something they are concretely interested in.” Mulder received his doctorate in applied economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He worked previously as a research analyst with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and most recently, as an economist and researcher for the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Financial Research. “One of the biggest challenges in adapting to climate risk is getting people the right information so that they can make better decisions,” Mulder says. It’s a topic his students will also delve into this spring during his Risk Analytics and Behavioral Science course. “I’m excited to research how to best distill complex climate models into digestible signals that people can use effectively, and how to communicate those signals in a way that mitigates some of the decision-making biases that affect the way people think about risk,” he says. Tarun Kushwaha Professor of marketing What launched Tarun Kushwaha’s path into his current line of research? His students. “I consider research and teaching as two sides of the same coin,” says Kushwaha. “My research interests in digitization, tech-led transformation, and the human-machine frontier have resulted from interesting and challenging discussions with students in my classroom.” A faculty member in marketing at George Mason University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill prior to arriving at WSB, Kushwaha specializes in the areas of customer relationship management, international marketing, market failures, and marketing-operations interface. He has worked on research partnerships with several Fortune 500 firms. “I take most pride in the fact that I partner with businesses and not-for-profit organizations to bring balance between rigor and relevance in my research,” says Kushwaha. “The findings from my research have the potential to alter managerial practice.” Kushwaha has been recognized with numerous awards for both research and teaching. He received his doctorate in marketing from Texas A&M University. He will be teaching Marketing Channel Strategy to undergraduate and MBA students. “I consider research and teaching as two sides of the same coin. My research interests in digitization, tech-led transformation, and the human-machine frontier have resulted from interesting and challenging discussions with students in my classroom.” —Tarun Kushwaha Erik Mayer Assistant professor of finance Erik Mayer came across Harvard economist Raj Chetty’s work on intergenerational economic mobility while in graduate school. “I became really interested in the potential role of local financial institutions in these geographic differences in economic opportunity across the U.S., and the rest is history,” says Mayer. “That was the starting point for my research agenda today, which is seeking to improve our understanding of financial institutions and their role in the lives of individuals and firms, with a focus on ties to economic inequality.” Prior to joining WSB, Mayer was an assistant professor of finance at Southern Methodist University. He earned his doctorate in finance from the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University. Mayer’s research on financial institutions and household finance has won numerous awards. His recent studies examine the impact of banking consolidation on low-income families’ access to credit and how minority representation among mortgage loan officers reduces racial disparities in the U.S. mortgage market. “Studies like these are important as we try to understand the causes and consequences of various forms of economic inequality,” he says. What aspect of his research is he most excited about? “Honestly, all of it… with a slight edge toward newer projects,” Mayer says. “Top-tier research studies are typically multi-year endeavors, so it’s important to focus on projects you’re truly excited about. You have to be passionate about your research to succeed in this line of work, and I certainly am.” Mayer will be teaching Financial Markets, Institutions, and Economic Activity. Anyi Ma Assistant professor of management and human resources Roles for women have changed significantly over the past 100 years. So why is there still a dearth of female leadership in the top echelons of so many organizations? It’s a question Anyi Ma tackles from an “impression management perspective.” “Women who vie for leadership positions are often seen as unlikeable and untrustworthy,” says Ma, whose research interests include diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as motivations driving employee attitudes and behaviors. “We see the same [media] coverage of this problem with Hilary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, and Kamala Harris, just to name a few.” Ma is working on a long-term study examining the concept of agency—being assertive, taking charge—and how female employees are perceived when they are “agentic” at work. “I like almost all aspects of the research process,” Ma says. “I love developing new research ideas, designing studies to test my ideas, and learning how to communicate my findings in a persuasive way.” Before joining WSB, Ma was an assistant professor of management at Tulane University, where she received the Albert Lepage Teaching Award for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. She holds a doctorate in management and organizations from Duke University. Her dissertation won the Alvah H. Chapman Jr. Outstanding Dissertation Award from Florida International University’s Center for Leadership, which honors an individual whose dissertation makes an outstanding contribution to the field of leadership. Ma will be teaching Organizational Behavior. “I love developing new research ideas, designing studies to test my ideas, and learning how to communicate my findings in a persuasive way.” —Anyi Ma Anthony DeFusco Associate professor of finance An applied microeconomist, Anthony DeFusco’s research focuses primarily on household financial decision-making and the choices individuals make in the housing and mortgage markets. “The core question that motivates a lot of my work is, ‘Why do households make the financial choices that they do, and what are the consequences of those choices for macroeconomic outcomes and policy?’” DeFusco says. “For most people, their home is the most valuable asset they own, and their mortgage is the largest debt they have. This means that the choices people make in these markets are just intrinsically important both for their individual financial lives and for the broader macroeconomy.” DeFusco was previously an associate professor of finance at Northwestern University. He is a faculty research fellow with the National Bureau of Economic Research. He has received numerous honors and awards for his work from top journals and research foundations. DeFusco received his doctorate in applied economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Next in his research, DeFusco is beginning to think about how the surge in interest rates over the past year and a half, as well as the longer-run fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, may be affecting housing and mortgage markets. In household finance, “we are still just starting to grapple with what some of the intermediate to long-run consequences of the most recent economic turmoil from the pandemic might be,” DeFusco says. “The interest rate increases were a response to very rapid inflation that we have not seen for a long time in the U.S., some of which was also reflected in remarkably fast growth in housing costs,” he continued. “All of these things—interest rates, inflation, and housing costs—are first-order relevant for household finance, and figuring out how to combat and adapt to them is going to be a big challenge, at least in the short to intermediate term.” DeFusco will be teaching Corporation Finance. Mahka Moeen Associate professor of management and human resources Mahka Moeen’s research focuses on how entrepreneurs and firms create and enter nascent industries, examining the strategies firms employ during the early incubation stages. Her work has been recognized by the Kauffman Foundation, Strategy Research Foundation, The Academy of Management’s Technology and Innovation Management Division, Industry Studies Association, and the Schulze Foundation. Prior to joining WSB, Moeen was an associate professor and the Sarah Graham Kenan scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She earned her doctorate in strategy and entrepreneurship from the University of Maryland. A two-time Poets&Quants award winner—she was named a “Best 40 Under 40 MBA Professor” in 2022 and a “Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professor” in 2020—Moeen will teach Strategic Management. 2022-23 and 2021-22 academic years. The post The New Minds of Business: With Future-Focused Outlooks, WSB Welcomes 8 New Faculty Members appeared first on Wisconsin School of Business. |
11 Sep 2023, 16:00
| FROM Madison(Wisconsin) Admissions Blog: WSB Faculty: How Is Your Work Helping Shape Better Business Leaders? |
|
The start of a school year means new beginnings, new goals, and new ideas. There’s not just one path into business, and a Wisconsin School of Business education prepares students to lead no matter where their passions take them—from their first day of class to that first day in a new job. As Business Badgers embark on that strenuous-yet-rewarding journey this fall, new WSB faculty share how their teaching and research benefit future generations of business leaders. Anyi Ma, Assistant Professor, Management and Human Resources “Increasingly, we see that businesses are taking a stand on various social issues. My work helps leaders think about what their values are, what kind of business leader they want to be, and how their businesses can be vehicles for the greater good.” Erik Mayer, Assistant Professor, Finance “As a professor, my goal is to provide students with the knowledge and understanding of the financial system necessary to succeed in the business world. My research on firms’ and entrepreneurs’ interactions with financial institutions pairs well with this goal and adds depth to the classroom experience.” Anthony DeFusco, Associate Professor, Finance “A lot of my research studies interactions between financial markets and regulations. My hope is that my research would help business leaders to have a better understanding of the broader context in which they are operating.” Ewelina Forker, Associate Professor, Accounting and Information Systems “Through my research and teaching, I hope to help leaders decipher what data and information is relevant for decision-making and effectively evaluate the costs and benefits of a particular choice based on sound theory and rigorous empirical analysis.” Tarun Kushwaha, Professor, Marketing “I deeply care about my students’ learning and want to ensure they are best prepared to deal with the rapidly changing job marketplace. I approach my teaching with 3T principles: I provide students with powerful tools and frameworks, state-of-the-art techniques, and key takeaways. I train business leaders of tomorrow to deal with uncertainty and complexity using structured and analytical thinking.” Philip Mulder, Assistant Professor, Risk and Insurance “Anyone going into business needs to think about how climate change will affect their industry. I hope my research will help leaders in the private sector see potential solutions so that we can adapt to these risks.” The post WSB Faculty: How Is Your Work Helping Shape Better Business Leaders? appeared first on Wisconsin School of Business. |
15 Sep 2023, 11:00
| FROM Madison(Wisconsin) Admissions Blog: UW at 175: WSB Alums Share Favorite Badger Football Memories |
 There’s no better time of year to be a Wisconsin football fan… With the season underway, and the Badgers chasing another Rose Bowl appearance, Camp Randall stadium is the place to be on Saturdays. Unsurprisingly, many Wisconsin School of Business alumni have fond memories of going to games, cheering for their team, and engaging with players and the band. As the team gets ready for a Homecoming showdown with Rutgers on October 7—and UW–Madison continues celebrating its 175th anniversary—five Business Badgers reflect on their favorite campus football memories:  Student Shenanigans “Sitting in the student section at Badger football games during the 1980s and experiencing all the craziness going on with cup fights and body passing as some examples of things that no longer happen (which is probably a good thing!) but were fun and memorable to be a part of when I was that young.” —John Peters (BBA ’85) Band Together “In the late 1970s, the team wasn’t very good, but the stands were full and the students were engaged—but not always in the game! The Fifth Quarter gained recognition as the songs were expanded to engage the student section a lot more, and people stayed long after the game to enjoy the band and music. It was definitely an experience unique to UW–Madison and the Badgers, and we still enjoy it today.” —Cheryl Zima (BBA ’77) A Big Ten Showdown “Watching the Badgers beat Michigan to open the 1981 football season. It was an eruption of euphoria from Camp Randall to State Street and beyond.” —Jim Horton (BBA ’82, MS ’84)  Coming Together “Seeing everyone jump on their seats at the same time to clap to the Space Odyssey theme or watching the entire stadium ripple as the crowd did the wave truly embodied the spirit of the university: many people from all different backgrounds working together to achieve the same goal.” —Susan Bakken (BBA ’87) A Legendary Meeting “Meeting Elroy ‘Crazylegs’ Hirsch at the Union one evening. He sat with my friend and me for a while, asked a few questions, and bought a pitcher of beer for us. He was great to visit with and his energy and encouragement were hard to forget.” —Mark Morley (BBA ’77) Want more football fun? There’s still time to register for WSB’s Homecoming Bash on October 7! Click here for tickets and more information. The post UW at 175: WSB Alums Share Favorite Badger Football Memories appeared first on Wisconsin School of Business. |
|
|
||
Hi Generic [Bot],
Here are updates for you:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Tuck at Dartmouth
AGSM at UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE
 |
