Graziadio Business Report Blog

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In this video interview, Kurt K. Motamedi, PhD, Professor of Strategy and Leadership at the Graziadio School of Business and Management, discusses strategy, strategy execution, leadership styles (including neurotic managers and their impact), keeping employees motivated, and the shift away from economic opportunism occurring in the U.S. and worldwide. Continue reading ‘The Art of Strategy During a Recession’

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In this video interview, Matthew May, supporting faculty at the Graziadio School of Business and Management, and author of the recently released book, In Pursuit of Elegance:Why the Best Ideas Have Something Missing, discusses the four principles of elegance: symmetry, seduction, subtraction, and sustainability. Instead of having a to-do list, May says, find elegance in your professionial life by creating a NOT-to-do list.

In Pursuit of Elegance debuted at #1 on 800CEORead.com and #2 in the Creativity & Genius category on Amazon. Professor May was also a long-time consultant to the University of Toyota and the author of the critically acclaimed The Elegant Solution, which won the Shingo Research Prize for Excellence. Continue reading ‘What’s on Your NOT-To-Do List?’

Can’t see the above video? Click here to watch or you can read the transcript.

In this video interview, Kevin S. Groves, PhD, Assistant Professor of Organizational Theory and Management at the Graziadio School of Business and Management, discusses his research on executive development and succession planning, managerial thinking styles, social and emotional intelligence, and organizational change.

Dr. Groves’ article, “Integrating Leadership Development and Succession Planning Best Practices,” earned him a Highly Commended Award for Outstanding Paper from the Emerald Publishing Group as part of the Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2008. Continue reading ‘Values-Centered Leaders More Successful in the Long Term’

(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’

This post first appeared in BizDean Talk and is reprinted with their permission.

Linda Livingstone, PhD

A prominent hedge-fund manager pleads guilty for running a scam with worldwide investor losses as high as $50 billion. A Texas billionaire is accused of conducting an $8 billion investment fraud. A major assisted living operator and its founder are accused of massive securities fraud on $2 billion worth of housing that soured as the real estate market dived. Owners of a company that manage hundreds of millions of dollars for universities and charities stands accused of bilking $100 million from the organizations they purported to help.

And these are just the headlines since December. It leaves an ordinary person with a sense of wide-eyed wonderment. “Who in the world could do such things? How did they get that way? Do they even have a heart?”

As Dean of a large business school, I am often asked about character. Could leaders with some virtue have steered clear of these temptations? Where does character come from? Can business schools influence character? Should they? How?

I would argue that ‘yes,’ character clearly counts in the business world, and ‘yes,’ graduate business schools do have a role in encouraging and developing character.

Countless studies have shown that corporate leaders who demonstrate positive character traits positively impact the long-term reputation of the company. That is why in many business schools, the stated mission focuses on developing leaders with character. As a group, business schools have dedicated tremendous resources to researching, analyzing, teaching and scrutinizing character development. But clearly there is more that needs to be done if the impact is to be meaningful and lasting. Continue reading ‘Putting the Heart Back into Business’

Read the latest issue of the GBR online at http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/091/

In this issue:

Recognizing Organizational Culture in Managing Change

Structural changes can serve as the initial intervention for shifting culture.

Mark Mallinger, PhD, Don Goodwin, MBA, and Tetsuya O’Hara, MBA

The Successful Expatriate Leader in China

Expatriate managers must consider the cultural dimensions of leadership.

Matthew Earnhardt

Private vs. Public Real Estate Markets

How are these markets related in terms of risk and return?

Abraham U. Park, PhD

Continue reading ‘Winter 2009 GBR Issue Now Live’

Kurt K. Motamedi, PhD

Managers are critical resources for national and global economic and social prosperity. They play a significant role in setting direction, executing strategies, and creating success. Their styles, along with their other competencies, impact the productivity and well-being of their employees, peers, superiors, and consequently firms.
 

Our observations lead us to categorize four managerial styles at work:

• Type I: Champion, produces great business success and aspires and maintains high levels of morale and well-being.
• Type II: Driver, produces business success, but inflict human costs and lower well-being.
• Type III: Lenient, produces questionable results with high, but short-lived morale.
• Type IV: Negligent, neither provides great business results nor satisfied employees
  

Continue reading ‘What Price Neurotic Managers?’