Spring 2009 Issue of the GBR Now Live!

Owner-Occupied Commercial Real Estate for the Entrepreneur

Practical Advice on Profiting from Commercial Real Estate in the United States.

Many benefits accrue to the owner of single-tenant commercial real estate, including the ability to employ advantageous tax strategies, an income stream in perpetuity, asset diversification, and control of the property’s tenancy. This article offers practical advice on how to enter this potentially lucrative investment.
Alphonse Lordo, MBA, and Michael Kinsman, CPA, PhD

Price Fixing and Minimum Resale Price Restrictions Are Two Different Animals

Businesspersons making real-life pricing decisions need to know the difference.

The term “price fixing” has a strong negative connotation, and deservedly so. However, it is frequently misused by politicians, the media, and lawyers in reference to manufacturer-imposed, minimum resale price maintenance (RPM), which can actually be beneficial for business and consumers. This article discusses the differences between between the two; the potential risks and rewards of employing a minimum RPM strategy; and the state of the economic, legal, and political environment with respect to minimum RPM.
Paul Gift, PhD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the Workplace

How to Optimize the Performance of Employees with Adult ADHD

ADHD adults may have difficulty organizing work, sustaining attention, and avoiding distractions; however, under certain circumstances, their brains function clearly and they bring many positive attributes to the workplace, such as persistence and out-of-the-box thinking. This article focuses on helping managers and supervisors deal with the uniqueness of ADHD adults.
Bill Carnes, DM, and Madison Holloway, PhD

Investing for Income in a Down Economy

Alternative Investment Strategies for the Recession

As equity markets fall and a recession develops, investors are faced with the “What do I do now?” question. This article explores alternatives to so-called “safe” investments, but which can also offer large dividend payouts to help cushion the bumpy ride through the downturn and subsequent recovery. These include REITs, master limited partnerships, closed-end mutual funds, business development companies, and royalty trusts.
Steven R. Ferraro, PhD, CFA

The Root Causes of Unethical Behavior

Psychological Traps That Everyone Falls Prey to

Psychological traps are the root causes of unethical behavior because they distort perceptions of right and wrong. Once traps are identified they lose much of their power to ensnare, and people can more easily circumvent them. This article introduces three main categories of traps and provides descriptions of different internal and external stimuli that compel people to begin this movement toward disaster.
Robert Hoyk, PhD, and Paul Hersey, EdD, MBA

Special Technical Analysis: The Winner’s Curse and Optimal Auction Bidding Strategies

Practical Strategies for Competitive Bidding Environments Derived from Management Science

Competition amongst bidders in auctions often results in a phenomenon termed the “winner’s curse,” where the winner prevails by submitting a bid that is higher than the true value of the item. In this article, the authors discuss how this phenomenon can be modeled via simulation and the results used to develop strategies for hedging bids.
Warren J. Hahn, PE, PhD, and Samuel L. Seaman, PhD

What Determines Which Businesses Win and Which Lose?

Insights from Keith McFarland, author of The Breakthrough Company

If you were going to make a list that is as short as possible but as long as necessary of the things that determine which businesses win and which lose, what would it be? That question planted the seed for what eventually became the bestseller The Breakthrough Company by Keith McFarland, a former associate dean for the Graziadio School of Business and Management. In this interview Keith talks to former colleague Professor Wayne Strom about what keeps him moving forward.
Wayne Strom, PhD

Leveraging Opportunities in the Current Economic Climate

Audio Interview with ICE Chairman and Founder Jeff Sprecher

Jeff Sprecher has been serving as the Chairman of the Board for IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) since November 2002. Under his guidance, the company has expanded from energy commodities into agricultural and soft commodities, chemicals, credit default swaps, currencies, equity indexes and emissions across regulated futures and OTC markets globally in just eight years.
Danielle L. Scott

Editorial: Writing a Business Plan to Attract Investors

Experts offer advice on the best time for a start-up, approaching investors, and writing a good business plan.

What does it take to write a good business plan? What should entrepreneurs avoid? Should business plans be put on hold until the economy picks up? Read on to see what our experts think and find out the 10 common mistakes investors make and how to avoid them.
Nancy Ellen Dodd, MFA, MPW

The Book Corner

In this issue, Graziadio faculty offer reviews of:

• Authentic Conversations: Moving from Manipulation to Truth and Commitment by Jamie Showkeir and Maren Showkeir
• Courageous Training: Bold Actions for Business Results by Tim Mooney and Robert O Brinkerhoff
• Enjoy!: 101 Ways to Add Fun to Your Work Every Day by Gini Graham Scott
• How to Become an Expert on Anything in 2 Hours by Gregory Hartley and Maryann Karinch
• Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently by Gregory Berns
• In the Land of Difficult People: 24 Timeless Tales Reveal How to Tame Beasts at Work by Terrence L. Gargiulo and Gini Graham Scott
• Instant Appeal: The 8 Primal Factors that Create Blockbuster Success by Vicki Kunkel
• Just Good Business: The Strategic Guide to Aligning Corporate Responsibility and Brand by Kellie McElhaney
• Lead by Example: 50 Ways Great Leaders Inspire Results by John Baldoni
• The Leadership Code: Five Rules to Lead by by Dave Ulrich, Norm Smallwood, and Kate Sweetman
• Moral Markets: The Critical Role of Values in the Economy by Paul J. Zak (Ed.)
• Open Space Technology: A User’s Guide, 3rd Edition by Harrison Owen
• You’ve Gotta Have Heart: Achieving Purpose Beyond Profit in the Social Sector by Cass Wheeler