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The University of Texas at Austin
McCombs Weekly Vol. 7, No. 16 July 6, 2006   
McCombs School of Business
 

2006 Exchange Magazine Now Available Online 
The 2006 edition of Exchange magazine, the McCombs School's alumni magazine for the MBA community, is now available online. Read new feature stories on urban infill trends throughout the nation, alternatives to outsourcing, what it's like to be a McCombs grad on Wall Street, and how to become a marketing executive. Also, check out the sidebar stories for career resources, network news, student and faculty profiles, chapter and school news and book recommendations.
Read the magazine.

We are the Champions: McCombs Takes Summer Intramural Title in Dramatic Fashion
 The McCombs softball team, the Debits and Credits, won the summer intramural championship June 27. After marching through the short regular season undefeated (outscoring opponents 33-1), the Debits and Credits faced stiff competition in the playoff and championship games and had to rally in their final at bat in each game to bring home the trophy. The team picture will permanently hang on the wall of intramural champions in Gregory Gym.
Get all the details on the big win.

In the News: Alum Chosen as One of Inc. Magazine's 30 Under 30 
Inc, June 2006
This month, Inc. magazine named a McCombs School alum in the June issue's 30 Under 30: America’s Coolest Young Entrepreneurs list. While finishing up his management information systems degree, Erik McMillan, BBA ’03, started a company with his wife, Christina. The idea for the business came to them after McMillan went shopping for a timer to use while taking his LSATs and he realized the product didn't exist. The Silent Timer, which tells students how long they're spending on each question during the SAT, LSAT and other timed exams, is now available in more than 400 college bookstores.
View the slideshow of entrepreneurs.

In the News: Tetlock Finds Connection Between News Reports and Dow Outcomes
The Economist, June 3, 2006
In a research paper due to be published in the Journal of Finance, Paul Tetlock, assistant professor of finance at McCombs, reports that the diction of the Wall Street Journal’s daily column, “Abreast of the Market,” has a significant effect on share prices in the stock market. After a bad day in the market, the column is heavy with negative vocabulary; Tetlock has found that a particularly pessimistic column, full of words such as “weakness” and “negativity,” foreshadows an average fall of 0.081 percentage points in the Dow on the next trading day.
Get the full story.

In the News: Granof Says Dallas' Credit Card Use Policy is Irresponsible
Dallas Morning News, July 2, 2006
Recently, a Dallas Morning News investigation found thousands of suspect purchases on Dallas Independent School District credit cards, which called into question whether anyone is watching how tax dollars are spent. The district’s card users must keep their original receipts on file, but they are not required to get purchases pre-approved or to turn in their receipts, a policy that finance expert Michael Granof found disturbing. “Clearly, they don’t have any kind of internal control,” said Granof, professor of accounting at McCombs. Not only do they need to collect receipts, but they also need [records] showing that the goods and services were received. How do they know that they got what they paid for?”
Get the full story.

In the News: For Baby Boomers Peace of Mind More Popular Than Healthcare    
Austin American-Statesman, June 25, 2006
Enter the room marked “EW1” at the Heart Hospital of Austin, and you leave the fluorescent-lit, tile-floor hallway behind for a soothing, carpeted suite where jazz music plays softly. This is the Executive Wellness Center, where $3,000 can get you a seven-hour physical that includes unhurried time with a doctor, multiple medical tests in the hospital, breakfast, lunch and a full-body massage. Aging baby boomers represent a fertile market for this type of program, said Kristie Loescher, management lecturer at the McCombs School. “What (the programs) are being clever about is not trying to sell health care but peace of mind,” said Loescher, a former director of medical affairs for Seton Healthcare Network. “Nobody wants to buy a day sitting there being poked and prodded. Who would buy that? But I'll buy peace of mind.”
Find out more about the $3,000 checkup.

In the News: Sarbanes-Oxley Under Fire    
CIO Insight, June 12, 2006
Two years after the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX, also called the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002) took effect, more and more research questions its effectiveness. Robert Prentice, professor of information, risk, and operations management at McCombs, compares SOX to the expensive and cumbersome Homeland Security regime instituted after September 11, which has seen no further hijackings but has had an unknowable effect on that outcome. “You know how much a metal detector in an airport costs, and how much you pay the people,” he says. “But you don’t know how much these precautions save. In the same way, we'll never know if SOX prevented a big fraud from happening. And if there is a major case, we won't know if SOX prevented others from occurring at the same time.”
Get the full story.

Leadership Academy Prepares Seniors for College, Business and Beyond
By Rob Meyer
The McCombs School hosted the second annual Young Leaders Entrepreneurial Academy (YLEA) June 4-16, a program aimed at introducing high school seniors to the world of business and the merits of pursuing a college degree. Seeing a basic need for Hispanic youths to be more knowledgeable about business, Henry Cisneros, former mayor of San Antonio and cabinet member in the Clinton administration, was the catalyst behind starting YLEA.
Find out more about this summer's program.

Anderson Awarded IIA Cadmus Memorial Award
Urton Anderson, accounting professor and associate dean of undergraduate programs at the McCombs School, was awarded the Institute of Internal Auditors’ (IIA) Cadmus Memorial Award during the IIA’s 2006 international conference, held June 19-21 in Houston. Initiated in 1965, the award recognizes internal audit practitioners for research, academic involvement, article and book publication, and other thought-leading pursuits.
Learn more about the award.

Daly Named Fellow of International Communication Association
Professor John Daly has been named a Fellow of the International Communication Association (ICA) in recognition of his contributions to the scholarship of the communication field. The highest designation from the ICA, the distinction of fellow recognizes a documented record of scholarly achievement, as well as service to the communication discipline and other publics such as business, government and education.
Get the full story.

Eli Cox Appointed Chair of Department of Marketing
Eli Cox has succeeded Wayne Hoyer as chair of the Department of Marketing at the McCombs School of Business. Cox joined the McCombs School in 1971 and has served in several administrative capacities, including acting as the current director of the Business Honors Program for more than 10 years. Cox served as the director of the Department Chair of the Marketing Department from 1985 to 1989 and as the director of the Option II MBA Program. He will continue his responsibility for the Business Honors Program.
Find out more about the appointment.

In the News: Christina Mabley Discusses Why MBAs Choose McCombs 
About.com, June 2006
 Christina Mabley, director of full-time MBA admissions at McCombs, was recently interviewed by About.com regarding the application process and standout qualities of the school. “When McCombs MBAs leave with degree in hand, inevitably each cites the innate collegiality of the McCombs community, both in and out of the classroom, as the differentiating force behind the success of the program and its students,” she said. “With nearly 40 student organizations, McCombs MBAs pride themselves on being involved and taking advantage of the many opportunities to lead.”
Read the full interview.

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