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NIU Business in the News

• Fast-Trak MBA program real-world project spotlighted on NBC affiliate (April 23, 2013)
  A collaboration between the NIU Fast-Trak MBA and the Village of Rockton was featured on WREX-TV. The NBC affiliate station showcased this real-world project that places NIU Fast-Trak students in the role of consultants with an entire town. After meeting with Rockton mayor and village trustees, the MBA students took on the task of creating a comprehensive marketing and promotions plan to help historic Rockton maximize its economic opportunities. Read the full article...


• NIU's MBA program is included in TribU's "MBA Decision" series (April 2013)
  NIU's MBA program and Associate Dean-MBA Director Paul Prabhaker participated in TribU's roundup of Chicago-area graduate business programs. TribU is part of the Chicago Tribune's education focus. Earlier in the year, TribU held an event for prospective business students where participating MBA Deans discussed the pros and cons of pursuing an MBA; afterwards, an article was produced and recently was published in the Tribune's Lifestyles section. The article "Getting an MBA: Your Business. Your Decision." (April 15, 2013) communicates some perspectives of the MBA Deans and Directors from the 7 Chicago-based AACSB-accredited business schools. Read the full article...


• The Impact of Leadership Transitions (April 2013)
  Dr. Christine Mooney - Assistant Professor of Management and the Bill and Paula LeRoy Professor of Social Entrepreneurship - recently contributed to a piece on change management in the Northwest Herald. Mooney provided her academic and industry insight to the topic of successions in family business. She touches on some of the challenges businesses face when key individuals leave an organization. She describes leadership transitions as "...one of the most disruptive events a company can go through." Read the full article...


• Story on interactive marketing careers includes expertise of NIU's Interactive Marketing Professor
  (ad:tech newsblog, March 22, 2013) Online newsblog ad:tech explores the growing market demand for skilled creative professionals in interactive marketing. In the story, Associate Professor and Professor of Interactive Marketing Debra Zahay-Blatz describes the career potential for students who graduate with a mix of skills -- marketing, digital, and analytical. Zahay-Blatz also shares that NIU students with this skills mix are being hired in the areas of paid and organic search, social media, email marketing, website design and website usability. She added that each year about 50 NIU marketing students graduate with certificates in interactive marketing. Ad:tech's story is entitled "College students face strong job market in interactive marketing." more...


• Board of Trustees Professor of Finance Quoted in WSJ on Gridlock and Presidential Elections
  (WSJ, October 22, 2012) In its story "The Winner of the Election Is," the Wall Street Journal quotes NIU's 2011 Board of Trustees Professor of Finance Gerald Jensen about his research findings on the relationship between Presidential elections, gridlock, and financial markets. The media continues to seek Jensen's expertise throughout the Presidential election campaign cycle, with the Washington Post, Omaha World Herald, "newsmax.com/streettalk," Business News Daily among other media outlets to include Jensen's research findings. read article...


• Media story on investments and Presidential elections includes research from NIU Finance Professor
  (Washington Post, October 3, 2012) A Washington Post story discussed the effect of Presidential elections on portfolio returns. Entitled "A Vote for Your Portfolio," the story includes research that was co-conducted by NIU's 2011 Board of Trustees Professor of Finance Gerald Jensen. Jensen's research goes beyond who runs the White House and also evaulates the effect of political gridlock and the Fed's monetary policies. Jensen's co-authors are Scott Beyer, Luis Garcia-Feijoo, and Robert Johnson. more...


• WSJ Tax Report includes expertise of NIU's Chair of Accountancy (Wall Street Journal, August 17, 2012)
  The Wall Street Journal interviewed Jim Young, Accountancy Chair and Crowe Horwath Professor of Accounting, for his expertise in taxes. Each year, Young is sought out by the media to share his knowledge on the annual gift exclusion tax benefit. Young indicated that this particular tax benefit most likely will be adjusted for inflation in the upcoming year. more...


• WGN Radio features the Dean and Career Compass
  (May 2012)
  The "Career Revival Tour" -a bi-monthly WGN Radio program - featured NIU College of Business Dean Denise Schoenbachler. During her interview, Dean Schoenbachler discussed the college's unique Career Compass initiative, a multi-staged program that helps students select majors aligned with their strengths and career interests. more...


• "Standing Vigilant" - CPA Review director weighs in on checkpoints in the banking industry
  (Bank Director magazine, 2nd Quarter 2012)
  In a recent Bank Director article, CPA Review Director Debra Hopkins evaluates best practices in the financial oversight of banking institutions. The article - "Standing Vigilant" - explores various approaches, including the inclusion of financial experts on a bank's audit committee. The article also discusses the pros and cons of committee operating styles - management versus supervisory - as well as the potential impact of those styles on the audit process.


• "Better Together" - management professors share insights on workplace dynamics
  (Northwest Herald, May 2012)
  Professors in human resource management and entrepreneurship, respectively, shared their expertise in a Northwest Herald story on business trends regarding spouses who work in the same organization. The article is entitled "Better Together: Spouses Share Lives, Workplaces" and includes views from Department of Management professors Terry Bishop and Lynn Neeley.


• Tribune seeks accountancy professor's expertise on major fraud and embezzlement case (April 2012)
  The Chicago Tribune interviewed PricewaterhouseCoopers Professor of Accountancy David Sinason for his expertise as a Certified Fraud Examiner and for his views on the case of now-former Dixon-Illinois comptroller Rita Crundwell. Crundwell was arrested recently for embezzling more than $30 million from city coffers. On this topic, Sinason continues to be sought out by the media. His previous interviews on this topic include broadcasts from WLPO and NPR-affiliate WNIJ radio, as well as a television interview from WREX Rockford.


• Ethics Heart of NIU Competition (Daily Chronicle, April 14, 2012)
  NIU's College of Business held its second annual Ethics Case Competition, which took place on April 13th and was sponsored by LEAD, an NIU Business student organization. This year's case focused on a sales representative who was asked to supply a bribe at a contract signing in order to obtain business. The Case Competition required each student team to reference the college's BELIEF Initiative Ethics Handbook and to conduct outside research on the legal, financial and ethical ramifications of the situation before formulating their recommendations. The teams then provided a 10 minute presentation of their analysis and recommendations to a panel of business executives who served as competition judges. This year's Ethics Case Competition included student teams at the college and high school levels, respectively. Congratulations to NIU marketing student Justin Jawor and NIU biochemistry major Glen Svenningsen for winning first place in the college level. Congratulations to Andrew Thomas and Rohan Patel from Geneva Community High School for their first-place win at the high school level. more...


• WGN Radio features NIU Business faculty members' expertise on the topic of careers (March 24, 2012)
  LMAS leadership director Jeff Carroll explored career development strategies on WGN Radio during its featured program The Career Revival Tour. Associate management professor Jon Briscoe joined Carroll on the broadcast; Briscoe shared findings from his global research on how people face career transitions and how they define career success, particularly in a challenging economy. Co-founded by Carroll and Beth Bratkovic,The Career Revival Tour aims to help professionals define their purpose and recharge their passions. The Career Revival Tour is featured twice-monthly throughout 2012 on WGN Radio. more...


• Using the Executive's Own Values in Development (Daily Herald, March 2012)
  An Op-Ed by associate management professor Jon Briscoe explores various trends in executive development. Based on his expertise and research in leadership, Briscoe shares findings that indicate companies have moved away from a "psychological contract" with their employees (in which loyalty is rewarded) to what is now the more commonly found "performance-based contract" (or pay for performance). Briscoe's research also points to the emerging trend of "values-based contract"...one in which both the organization and the employee are committed to a common approach to work. more...


• NPR podcast features the expertise of assistant marketing professor on sonic branding (March 2012)
  Assistant marketing professor Vijaykumar Krishnan Palghat provided expertise on sonic branding on the NPR program "How to Do Everything." Palghat discussed how the brain works and the foundation of sonic branding, and also gave advice for overcoming "earworms" in response to a listener's question "how do I get a song out of my head?". The NPR program "How To Do Everything" is a weekly podcast that is hosted by Mike Danforth and Ian Chillag of NPR's highly popular program "Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me.". listen to the podcast (the sonic branding segment is about 2/3 the way in the clip)...


• Boston Globe includes NIU Business in spotlight on social entrepreneurship (February 2012)
  The Boston Globe reported on the movement in academia to promote social entrepreneurial enterprise. Three schools/programs in particular were listed in the piece: NIU Business and its Social Venture Business Plan Competition, Harvard and its President's Challenge, and MIT and its Entrepreneurship Competition. read the article...


• Facebook and future job success (February 2012)
  Research co-conducted by Don Kluemper, assistant management professor, found that a brief evaluation of a Facebook page can reveal strong clues about a job candidate's character, personality, and future job performance. Soon to be published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Kluemper's study reviewed the personality traits displayed on a Facebook page as if they were being assessed by a standardized HR test. Some indicators that came out of the research include, among others, a relationship between: the extensiveness of personal information posted and the ability to get along well with others; and, the variety of books, quotations, or new activities posted and intellectual curiosity and creativity. Kluemper's research was featured initially in the Chicago Tribune story "Facebook and Job Performance...a new study finds social networking site profile pages can be an indicator of future job success." Other major media outlets ran the story, including most notably: the Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal-Technology, Mashable (a leading authority on social media with 2.7 million followers), Forbes, Huffington Post, PC Magazine, US News, Sydney Morning Herald, San Francisco Examiner, Economic Times, an appearance for Kluemper on the national Fox News channel and coverage on the Today Show.


• Bosses who exercise have happier employees (February 2012)
  Research co-conducted by James Burton, associate professor of management, indicated that stressed supervisors vent their frustrations on their employees less when bosses get regular, moderate exercise. Burton's co-research project is the first to examine how exercise can buffer the relationship between supervisor stress and employee perceptions of abusive supervision or hostile behavior towards them. His research is published online in Springer's Journal of Business and Psychology. Additionally, several media outlets featured Burton's research and findings. Those media include, among others: UPI, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Times of India, Men's Health Magazine, Medill News, Scientific American, London Telegraph, Toronto Globe and Mail, The Huffington Post, New York Daily News, Discovery.com


• Light Up Africa, a cross-college student team project wins Social Venture Business Plan Competition (December 2011, also see the December 11, 2001 Chicago Tribune story: "NIU Kids Do Good")
  A student team of NIU Business students and an NIU Engineering student won $10,000 in seed money to implement their innovative business solution that addresses the problem of unreliable access to electricity in many parts of the world, including Kenya. The Light Up Africa team members consists of: NIU Business students John Harkness, Mike Sutarik, Jason Schwebke and NIU Engineering student Alan Hurt. For their semester-long project, the Light Up Africa student team members were challenged in the college's management course -- which culminated in its first annual Social Venture Business Plan Competition -- to identify a social "gap" anywhere in the world. The students then were required to perform market research on their idea, develop a fully articulated business plan, and present and defend it to a panel of judges -- including angel investors -- in the final competition, which was held December 8, 2011. Light Up Africa's businesss solution involves utilitzing kinetic energy in an innovative way: by applying this technology in the form of a personal device designed specifically to attach to bicycles, motorbikes, livestock, and boats. Light Up Africa addresses the problem of unreliable access to electricity by providing African residents with the means to supply their own electricity for a small upfront investment, instead of having to wait for a large government investment in energy infrastructure. The college's Social Venture course offered out of its Department of Management saw enrollments from students across the university.
  
  The college congratulates the winning team Light Up Africa, with honorable mentions of the remaining five teams and their proposed business concepts: Appropriate Technologies, focused on water extraction technology to produce safe drinking water from oxygen; New Horizons, provider of incubator services to help poor Latinos gain the necessary business skills to start or run an income-generating business, in the DeKalb/Aurora area; Revolution, a cosmetology school in Aurora designed to help students with learning disabilities; Open Door, a job training and placement for homeless and other disadvantaged people in Rockford; and, Holistic innovations, provider of sustainable, organic food sources for university dining halls.


• New York Times discusses research co-conducted by NIU College of Business assistant management professor on the relationship between credit scores and job performance (November 8, 2011)
  The link between low credit scores and bad job performance was studied by a group of business professors, one of whom is NIU College of Business Assistant Professor in Management Shannon Taylor. The other professors are from Louisiana State University and Texas Tech University. The team of professors was drawn to this particular research topic because many companies conduct credit checks on potential employees as a routine part of the interview screening process. The research team's findings see no link between low credit scores and bad job performance. Online self-published newspapers and the New York Times picked up the study. The New York Times discussion is entitled "No Link Seen Between Low Credit Scores and Bad Job Behavior." The research team's study is set to be published in the Journal of Applied Psychology. read the article...


• NIU Fulbrighter and assistant marketing professor interviewed on the economic impact of Super Walmart in Elgin (October 26, 2011)
  With the opening of a Super Walmart in Elgin and average Illinois home values decreased by 30 percent, NIU Fulbright and assistant marketing professor Mark Rosenbaum explores the potential relationship of the current economic downturn with the retail environment's overall performance. He discusses the current industry trend of retailers dividing up into either luxury or value-oriented stores. Rosenbaum shares that under current difficult economic conditions stores that target the middle class do not perform as well, and value-oriented stores like Super Walmarts increasingly are cannabilizing sales from surrounding retailers. Rosenbaum's interview ran in the Courier-News on October 26th and was also picked up by WBBM Radio. read the Courier-News article...


• NIU College of Business Dean is quoted in Businessweek on the Glass Ceiling (August 8, 2011)
  Denise Schoenbachler, NIU Business Dean and tenured marketing professor, was interviewed in a Businessweek story on the glass ceiling in academia. The story -- "For Female Faculty, a B-School Glass Ceiling" -- discusses theviews shared by a select group of female business deans who describe why tenure and full professorships tend to be elusivefor many female academicians. When Schoenbachler first became dean, only 12% of all AACSB deans across the countrywere women. In an earlier and separate interview, she points to NIU as a great example of seeing women serve in more leadership capacities. In the 2006 college magazine, Schoenbachler says, "Here, women step up to more leadership roles, due in large part to their capabilities but also to NIU's commitment to diversity and to developing diversity." read the Businessweek article...