
Profits are conjured from nothing, or made to vanish completely. I can imagine the reviews…”The art world has not witnessed such a revolution since impressionism.” Or, “…Earnings are transformed into abstract concepts, unbounded by physical constraints, which can be viewed through the evocative lens of the artist, the auditor, or the consultant.”
The creative vision could spread beyond the art community and revitalize our economy. Anyone with imagination could create the illusory equity to buy a home, pay for education, or retire personal debt. Yet, the joyful aesthetic of unfettered equity floating on gossamer balance sheets has clearly cast a shadow on our markets and economy. Depending on the context, art and life can be strange bedfellows. At times, the context may be a correctional facility.
So, we again offer our values-based aesthetic here in the Graziadio Business Review. In our article, Pros and Cons of Expensing Options, Chuck McPeak looks at some issues driving the controversy over this topic. While acknowledging that his is a minority position, he recommends that those who believe that requiring options be expensed when granted will solve the problems of corporate governance should think again. Along with presenting some alternative ways to deal with governance issues, he suggests that expensing options really is a double hit on earnings per share. Before reading this article, try taking our Options Quiz to see how well you understand the arguments about expensing options. Or, if you are nervous about that, read the article first and then try the quiz.
James Hull and Darrol Stanley encourage small business owners to think big in their article, Build Value in a Small Business. The authors describe how the evolving mindset of an entrepreneur can help to transform a small business into a thriving larger enterprise. Whether your business is small and growing, or is already large, you probably already have collected data on customer satisfaction. It is a very popular metric currently. But are you using that information strategically? Is it really providing a return on investment that makes a difference for the firm? Let Dr. Fojtik’s article challenge your thinking in this regard.
Would the software you designed to evaluate your customer satisfaction scores represent an important trade secret that you should protect? Keith Gregory and Stephen Baumgartner discuss the rights of firms concerning sensitive information, and suggest precautionary practices to keep such information secret in their article, Protect Trade Secrets.
Real management artistry today requires that managers be sensitive to the multiple cultures that are present in their work environment. In their article Managing in an Era of Multiple Cultures, Margaret Phillips and Sonja Sackmann suggest that recognizing understanding the many levels and types of cultures that exist within a business and its network can provide a significant business advantage. Although expressing it a different way, Paul Orfalea, the visionary founder of Kinko’s, makes many similar observations about the importance of understanding your employees and making them the focus of your attention. And our exhibition would not be complete without new renditions of EBIZ@GBR, the LOOP, and the arcade.
So welcome to the GBR Gallery! We hope you will find that these recent works blend art and application. Please take your time and give them a close look.