Graziadio Business Report Blog

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In this video interview, David M. Smith, PhD, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Economics at the Graziadio School of Business and Management discusses the impact the proposed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) would have on employers, unions, and the workforce.

The Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 1409, S. 560) is a pending piece of federal legislation that aims to “amend the National Labor Relations Act to establish an easier system to enable employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to provide for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing efforts, and for other purposes.” It seeks to make collective bargaining easier for employees, guarantee them contracts, and also reform the existing authorization forms process, or “card-check,” by taking away the right of employers to decide whether to use a card-check or a secret-ballot election and instead placing that decision in the hands of employees.

Questions for Dr. Smith:

Continue reading ‘The Employee Free Choice Act: Playing the Union Card’

The results of GBR poll #3 on the road to U.S. economic recovery are in!

• Half of participants think we’ll be back on track by 2010
• 20% think we’re already on the road to recovery
• 30% think all the initiatives to stabilize and grow the economy so far are only making things worse

The GBR Blog asked Peggy Crawford, PhD, Professor of Finance, and Terry W. Young, PhD, Professor of Economics at the Graziadio School of Business and Management, to comment on the results and offer some practical advice on how to take advantage of the current economy. They wrote: Continue reading ‘3 Tips on Surviving and Thriving in the New U.S. Economy’

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In this video interview, David M. Smith, PhD, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Economics at the Graziadio School of Business and Management discusses the takeaways from his recent paper, “Data Loss and Hard Drive Failure: Understanding the Causes and Costs.” Hard drive failure is an inescapable reality, Smith writes, and most firms will face data loss unless they put preventive measures in place.

Questions for Dr. Smith:

1. In  case of hardware failure, what precautions do you recommend to to prevent data loss?
2. Do you see Macs and alternative OS computers that employ seamless backup changing the data loss landscape?
3. Any advice on training employees on data loss preventive measures?
4. What are network data loss prevention (DLP) systems?

Related in the GBR

The Cost of Lost Data by David M. Smith, PhD

Will Your Company’s Electronic Records Storage Withstand Legal Scrutiny? by Charla Griffy-Brown, PhD, Stepheni Bodo, and Linnea McCord, JD

Connecting Enterprise Information and People in a Web World by Donald M. Atwater, PhD, Michael Williams, PhD, and Dawn Guy

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Marshall Nickles, EdD

Ray Valadez, EdD

In this video interview, Marshall D. Nickles, EdD, and Ray M. Valadez, EdD, both professors of economics at the Graziadio School of Business and Management, discuss the findings from their paper, “Enhancing Returns in a Volatile Global Stock Market: A Time Limited Approach to Risk and Reward,” which won the Best Paper in Finance Award at the 11th Annual Conference of the Global Business Development Institute in March.

The recent shocks in the financial markets and declines of the stock markets around the world have caused many traditional investors to question the wisdom of a traditional buy-and–hold strategy. While it is an approach that many investment advisors promote, Nickles and Valadez believe that by investing only during certain months of the year (that is, the seasonality approach), risk exposure can be minimized while at the same time, returns may be enhanced.

Questions for Marshall Nickles and Ray Valadez

Why is it not a good idea to stick with the traditional buy-and-hold strategy of investing in this economic climate?

Continue reading ‘Econ Profs Question Conventional Buy-and-Hold Wisdom’

In the ongoing social debate on what kind of an economic system we should build on top of the rubble of the present financial mess, we as investors should focus less on the philosophical nuances and more on how to adjust our investment framework, expectations, and tactics.

As the work of free-market proponents Milton Friedman and Margaret Thatcher falls to pieces under the weight of human greed and hubris, it is important to acknowledge that greed and hubris were also the culprits in past socio-economic collapses: communism, failed monarchies, etc. It seems safe to say that whatever policy will be implemented next will carry within its DNA the same self-destructing gene.

History may not repeat itself but it certainly rhymes, as Mark Twain once said.

Continue reading ‘Of Alphas, Betas, and Predetermined Rates of Returns’

The results of the second GBR poll on debt vs. savings are in!

• All participants said they have changed their personal financial approach due to the current economic instability
• 60% say they are working harder to pay down all their debt.

The GBR Blog asked Davide Accomazzo, Adjunct Professor of Finance at the Graziadio School of Business and Management, to comment on the results and offer some practical advice on riding out the economic turbulence. He wrote:

Continue reading ‘The Basics of a Balanced Personal Financial Strategy’

The GBR Blog wants to know:

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Do you have a different opinion about where the economy is headed? Tell us in the comments.

UPDATE: This poll was closed on June 22, 2009. Read our analysis of the poll and get “Tips on Surviving and Thriving in the New U.S. Economy,” by Peggy Crawford, PhD, Professor of Finance, and Terry W. Young, PhD, Professor of Economics.

(Left to Right: Roberta Romero (Drucker), Jenny Sheng, Tanya Stevens, Candace Olfati (all CGU/Keck Graduate Institute), Joyce Zhang, Sirish Upadhyay (both Graziadio), Henry Du (Drucker), Jaya Soedradjat (Graziadio), Me)

On May 2nd, the world gathered in Omaha, Nebraska to listen to Warren Buffet at the 2009 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Meeting. We tried to parse the future from his words, and wondered if this was the most optimistic that Charlie (Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Corporation) has ever been. Some hailed the new format as much more focused, giving the audience a better chance to understand the genius of Warren Buffet.

Two days later, the market reacted with the Dow posting a 200+ point advance. And since Warren doesn’t really care about the market, let’s just say that the reviews have been uniformly—cautiously—optimistic.

This year, I attended the meeting with 7 students and recent graduates from the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management, the Keck Graduate Institute, and Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Management. I teach as an adjunct professor at Drucker and the Graziadio School and it was a delight to be joined by a group of delightful, energetic, and bright leaders of our future.

I’ll try to avoid the usual reporting (you can read several media reports on what was said during the meeting), but here are some of the my takeaways: Continue reading ‘Impressions from the 2009 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Meeting’

The financial turmoil of the last eighteen months has brought to everyone’s attention the problems and dichotomy of our present monetary and financial systems. While we are now dealing with the consequences of too much credit, it is also important to note that a system without credit (and—much to the delight of the populists—without bankers) would be a much poorer and less innovative social system.

So far, the attempted solutions suggested have varied from more leveraged credit to the substitution of the fiat currency system and the central bank with a gold-linked scheme.

The problem with most of these suggestions is a massive confusion about how the U.S. system really works, how it should work, and how we would like it to work (and here it gets really problematic as every individual interest invariably jockeys for a better position).

The issue with a fiat currency system is that it is backed by the credibility of the government and the central bank, which should be acting independently as a guardian of the currency. Governments have inherent conflicts of interest and may feel pressured to regularly weaken the currency as a means of veiled taxation; other sectors of the population will also look favorably on consistent inflation to reduce the burden of borrowing. The central bank is supposed to act independently to counterbalance these inherent social and political dynamics. Unfortunately, in the case of the U.S. and many other countries, the central bank, is hardly independent or focused on one true objective of financial stability. In reality, a central bank’s independence is very limited; true independence would require practically no accountability and a large degree of secrecy, which comes, of course, with its own problems.

The fine balance between a government’s and a society’s pull toward credit excesses and the countervailing force of the central bank is the key to successful economies. Continue reading ‘The Future of US Capitalism’

Times are tough. The demand has never been greater for regulatory oversight. Public outcry to punish those who failed us has reached the ears of our leaders and politicians.

The dismissal of GM’s chief by the Obama Administration was a shock and a signal to the automotive sector: This is a time in which risk taking will no longer be tolerated. We must learn to play it safe.

Or not. Continue reading ‘Experimentation, Risk Management, and Breakthrough Performance’