B-School Bulletin: Teaching In View Of #MeToo

News from Notre Dame University Mendoza College of Business

“After the astonishing cases of fraud at major companies such as Enron and Arthur Andersen came to light in the early 2000s, business schools were widely criticized for not providing a robust ethics education to business school students. We find ourselves under the microscope again, as the public has been regaled almost daily in recent months with stories of inappropriate sexual conduct at organizations as diverse as the Weinstein Co., Fidelity, NPR, Uber, Harrah’s and The Humane Society.

“Laying responsibility for sexual harassment in organizations at the feet of business schools may seem unreasonable. After all, business disciplines are hardly the only ones funneling students into workplaces, and the allegations are coming in from all sectors.

“However, scholars in my field of management do bear a particular responsibility here. We produce much of the research on sexual harassment and often counsel organizations on such issues. We are, thus, in a unique position to educate our students about this topic and to lead the dissemination of best practices in teaching sexual harassment to students across the university, regardless of discipline.”

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Lending To Startups: Not As Risky As You’d Think

News from UCLA Anderson School of Management 

“Lending to cash-burning startups might at first glance seem like a chump’s game. Most lenders want commercial borrowers to show positive cash flow or at least enough liquid assets to cover any debt. Young, venture-backed companies rarely have either.

“Yet loans to these companies are on the rise. In a working paper, Juanita González-Uribe of the London School of Economics and UCLA Anderson’s William Mann aim to explain why.

“Based on an analysis of more than 1,800 venture loans, along with loan contracts from three of the largest venture lenders, the authors suggest that venture loans have a relatively low risk of default and are nearly always backed by collateral, typically the intellectual property of the borrowers. Venture loans give borrowers a way to cover short-term cash needs and ‘extend the runway’ until the next round of venture-capital investment, which is usually more than enough to repay the debt fully. In effect, it isn’t the seemingly high-risk startup that guarantees the loan. It’s the startup’s deep-pocket venture backers.”

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Happiness Matters: The How & The Why

News from London Business School

“Happiness is big business. Organizations are now taking an intense interest in happiness and the link to productivity. Governments too are moving away from the purely economic concept of GDP to measuring the well-being of a nation. Find out why happiness matters and how to create happier workplaces and a happier you.”

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Study: TV Ads Linked To Enrollment In ACA Marketplace In 2014

News from University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management 

“In 2017, the Trump administration decided to cut all television advertising for HealthCare.gov, the federal health insurance marketplace started in 2014 as a result of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This action alarmed researchers and advocates because robust marketing is considered important for getting people who need insurance enrolled and for maintaining a functioning insurance market with a mix of healthy and sick enrollees.

“But how much do television ads matter? While there has been limited research on this question, a new study led by University of Minnesota researchers published in the June issue of Health Affairs examined the relationship between television media (including health insurance ads, political advertising and news media) and shopping for and enrolling in health insurance in 2014.”

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Andrew Ainslie & Jamal Rossi Reappointed To Five-Year Deanships

News from University of Rochester Simon Business School

Simon Business School Dean Andrew Ainslie and Jamal Rossi, the Joan and Martin Messinger Dean of the Eastman School of Music, have both been appointed to new five-year terms by University Provost Rob Clark. The Board of Trustees approved these deanship renewals at its May meeting, and Ainslie’s and Rossi’s new terms will be effective July 1, 2019.

Ainslie became the seventh dean of the Simon Business School in May 2014, and since then has led strategic curriculum and recruitment changes, including reducing the program offerings to sharpen the focus of the admissions, faculty, career placement, and administrative staff.

He has also concentrated on the expansion of the undergraduate business program, and has worked with faculty to move the Simon School from quarters to semesters to better meet student needs.

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