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McCombs Monthly—MBA Edition Vol. 6, No. 1  May 2005
 
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In This Newsletter

Alumni News

McCombs Alum Gives Advice for Starting Your Own Business
Charlotte Observer, May 9, 2005
While many dream of setting their own hours and being their own boss, Teresa Hernandez, MBA '98, made that dream a reality when she opened Pura Vida Worldly Art last November. The gallery features folk art from around the world and work from local artists in Charlotte. To would-be business owners, Hernandez recommends thorough research and planning and running conservative estimates on cash flows. “They say one of the big reasons for failure is because of cash flow,” she said. “If you don’t plan for costs, I can see that.”
Get the full story (free subscription required).

Alumnus Laufer Dissects the Blame Game
WVXU-FM Cincinnati, April 29, 2005
While most consumer complaints about faulty products are based in fact, others are not. Recently, for example, Wendy’s suffered from a rumor that a patron had found a finger in the food. Although the rumor was bogus, the flap cost the chain 2 percent in earnings. Daniel Laufer, an MBA and Ph.D. alumnus of the McCombs School of Business, studies product crises and consumer blame in a variety of sectors as an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Cincinnati. “With the Wendy’s case, you can see that perceptions that are formed by people who hear about these incidents are made fairly quickly and can really adversely impact the company regardless of who’s actually to blame,” Laufer said in a recent interview with WVXU-FM, NPR's Cincinnati affiliate. Laufer suggested that personal vulnerability, or how consumers perceive the threat to themselves, plays a large role in the way consumers react to product crises.
Hear the interview (link in top right corner).

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On Campus

Conference Spotlights Corporate Governance For Early-Stage Companies
Startups and early-stage companies have pressing business matters to attend to—but it’s crucial that they also attend to good governance. In June, The University of Texas at Austin’s IC2 Institute, the Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship and the UT School of Law will host one of the world’s first conferences devoted totally to corporate governance for early-stage companies. The 21st Century Governance For Early-Stage Companies Conference will focus on issues relevant to pre- and post-IPO companies, as well as private companies that intend to go public, or those that simply want better governance.
Get the full story.

ExecEd Sees Through Ben Franklin's Eyeglasses
This June, McCombs Executive Education will teach Essilor of America, the world’s largest manufacturer of ophthalmic lenses, to see its business in a new way. In a week-long leadership program designed and administered by ExecEd, Essilor will learn about cutting-edge McCombs research and practical applications in the areas of strategy, finance, marketing, leadership and more.
Get the full story.

Sweet Success for Thailand's Idyll Life in 2005 Global MOOT CORP Competition
With Idyll Life, a company selling a natural sweetener that is 300 times sweeter than sugar, students from Thailand's Thammasat University took top honors at the 22nd annual Global MOOT CORP Competition, held May 7 at The University of Texas at Austin. The team beat out 39 teams of MBA students from top schools including London Business School, Carnegie Mellon University and Northwestern University.
Get the full story.

New Online Gift Store Makes Buying McCombs Easy
In cooperation with the University Co-op, the McCombs School is pleased to be able to offer McCombs branded gifts for sale online. The leather goods and writing instruments, all embossed with the distinctive McCombs School logo, will be a fine addition to any desktop. Brought to you from Barrington, manufacturer of affordable high-end products, the selection includes leather padfolios, expandable totes, travel organizers, money clips, business card holders, and more!
Find your perfect McCombs School gift.

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In the News

Advantage China, Says Konana
The Economic Times, May 15, 2005
Writing in The Economic Times of India, McCombs MSIS professor Prabhudev Konana argued that when it comes to the IT sector, China has the advantage over India. "India's IT sector is a paradox," he said, explaining that while India's large pool of knowledge workers and communications infrastructure have enabled software production to increase rapidly, the country's relative lack of roads and ports has hindered its advances in hardware production.
Read the editorial.

Growing Future CEOs at McCombs
BusinessWeek Online, May 8, 2005
“One of our mottos is, ‘Future CEOs Wanted.’ We have the most CEOs of big companies among any public business school, which really speaks to the tradition and leadership skills that we teach here,” Christina Mabley, the director of admissions at McCombs, tells BusinessWeek Online in a recent interview. In their conversation, Mabley gave reporter Jeffrey Gangemi an in-depth look at the MBA admissions process at McCombs.
Read the interview.

MBA Recruiters Make Big Return to Campuses
The Wall Street Journal, April 26, 2005
Top business schools from around the nation, including McCombs, have seen an uptick in corporate attendance at career fairs this spring, which spells good news for MBA students. Although the fall is generally the big recruiting season, companies have been turning out in big numbers since January. Will Doenges, a second-year MBA student at McCombs, left the fair with two interviews: one with an airline and another with an oil-services firm. “It’s a very strong candidate pool even late in the game,” said Stacey Rudnick, director of MBA Career Services at McCombs. Rudnick added that many small companies and businesses don’t like making hiring commitments far in advance, making spring recruiting more favorable.
Read the Wall Street Journal story (subscription required).

BLCI Survey Suggests Modest Improvement in Economy
Yahoo! Finance, April 26, 2005
The Texas Business Leaders Confidence Index (BLCI) increased 2.7 points to 65.7, suggesting that business leaders believe that there has been modest improvement in the state and national economies. The IC2 Institute, a research unit at UT Austin, provided the analysis of the survey. “Although the increase in the BLCI over last quarter is only a little more than two points, it is noteworthy that the index continues to inch upward and confidence levels among panelists are improving,” said John Butler, a professor of management at McCombs and director of IC2 Institute. “It may still be premature to conclude that an economic surge is underway in Texas, but indications that business confidence is overcoming its fragility are welcome.”
Read the Yahoo! Finance story.

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McCombs Monthly—MBA Edition is a product of the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, Copyright © 2003. All rights reserved. We respect your privacy and will not share email addresses with outside parties.