Moving forward - Naveen Jindal School of Management
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
VOLUME 14 No. 2 SPRING 2011 moving forward
M ES S A G E FR O M THE D EAN
A s we get ready to conclude another academic year, I am happy to have this opportunity to share with
you a number of exciting developments.
We have been making excellent progress in improving our national visibility. New rankings from U.S. News
& World Report show both our Full-Time and Professional (part-time) MBA programs have moved forward
substantially. Among public universities, both our programs advanced into the top 20. The Full-Time program
moved to a tie for No. 17, and the Professional program moved to a tie for No. 20. Including private schools,
we saw significant advancement as well, with the Full-Time MBA program climbing 10 spots to No. 40. The
Professional MBA program was ranked No. 36. U.S. News & World Report also ranked our Management Infor-
mation Systems master’s program at No. 18.
This year we have also continued building our national prominence in research. The most recent UTD Top 100
Business School Research Rankings™ show our school solidifying its position as a top 20 research institution,
both nationally and internationally. Our school has now been ranked in the top 20 for the last three years.
This year, we are No. 15 on the North American list of schools and at No. 16 worldwide.
The school continues its drive toward a national leadership position in business education and research by
hosting major conferences and workshops. In February, for the fifth consecutive year, we hosted the
Frank M. Bass UTD-Frontiers of Research in Marketing Science Conference, which has become a must-attend
event for leading researchers in this discipline. This year, about 100 participants heard and discussed more
Hasan Pirkul
Dean and Caruth Chair than 20 papers. They were selected from submissions that came from all over the world and presented
of Management by representatives from such top research universities as Carnegie Mellon, Chicago, Columbia, Duke, MIT,
Northwestern, Ohio State and Stanford, to name a few.
Also in February, we partnered with Carnegie Mellon University and the IT research firm Gartner to host the first Supply Chain Directors’ Conference,
which attracted more than 60 program leaders from such top universities as Penn State, Purdue and Michigan, and executives from such industry leaders
as Accenture, Honeywell, Nokia and PepsiCo.
As I write, we are getting ready to host the 2011 Annual Fraud Summit, a sold-out event that will have more than 400 people in attendance. Offering a
yearly look at fraud deterrence and detection, the summit has become a major regional gathering for internal-audit professionals. In recognition of
our leadership role, the Dallas chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors and an anonymous corporate donor recently seeded a half-million dollar endow
ment to support our highly rated internal audit program.
Our students continue to make us proud. A team of accounting undergraduates recently won a prestigious national award in the 2010 American Institute
of CPAs’ Accounting Competition. They competed against 64 teams from some of the best schools in the country to take first place and $10,000 in a
business challenge aimed at helping a real-world client. A few months ago, a School of Management team placed second in the annual thinkorswim Col-
legiate Trading Competition in Houston. It was the second year an SOM team took second. Our Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team, which comfort-
ably won its regional competition, is getting ready to go to the national contest in Minneapolis.
Our faculty members continue to receive accolades. This semester, Dr. Stan Liebowitz delivered a lecture at George Mason University as part of the
Tullock Big Ideas About Information Series, which features leading thinkers in the field. The Association of Information Technology Professionals
named Dr. Mark Thouin, director of our Management Information Systems program, one of its “Star Performers of 2010.” Dr. Sumit Majumdar earned
a Distinguished Paper Award from a division of the Academy of Management for an article examining profitability in India. Dr. Yexiao Xu recently
earned two best-paper honors for research into firm-specific risk, one from the Fifth International Conference on Asia-Pacific Financial Markets and
another from the Asian Finance Association. Dr. Rebecca Files earned the 2010-2011 Glen McLaughlin Prize for Research in Accounting Ethics for her
research into SEC enforcement after earnings misstatements.
We continue to improve our portfolio of degree programs. The Marketing area will offer a Master of Science in Marketing degree beginning this fall.
Enrollment opens this summer for the 36-hour program, which addresses the marketing profession’s increasingly data-driven orientation. Next fall, we
also will start offering real-estate majors at the undergraduate and master’s levels.
Our Centers of Excellence continue to provide outreach to the DFW business community. The Center of Finance Strategy Innovation has introduced two
indexes that measure the region’s financial health and flexibility. The indexes track the 50 largest publicly held companies headquartered locally as
barometers of economic activity in the Metroplex.
I conclude by thanking our students, alumni, faculty, staff, friends and supporters. Their hard work, dedication and belief in our efforts led to another
exciting year full of progress.
Best wishes,
Visit our site on the worldwide Web
http://som.utdallas.edu
M O V I N G F O R W A R D
PUBLISHER
Dr. Hasan Pirkul
Dean and Caruth Chair
of Management
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Dr. Diane Seay McNulty
Associate Dean for External
Affairs and Corporate Development
MANAGING EDITOR 2 2
Kristine Imherr
ART DIRECTION & DESIGN
CFSI Indexes Aim to Track Region's
ThinkHaus Creative, Inc. Economic Evolution
Dorit Suffness
Principal Jimmie R. Markham
PHOTOGRAPHY The Center for Finance Strategy Innovation has created
Randy Anderson two new indexes following the 50 largest publicly held
John P. Barden
Downtown Dallas, Inc. corporations in North Texas to see how their business
Randy Eli Grothe relates to the area’s well-being.
Kristine Imherr
Gerry Kano
5
Kathryn McNeill
Richard Michael Pruitt MBA Programs and Research
Ken Sharp
Productivity Move Up in New Rankings 8
Justin Terveen
Brian L. Wiest Jill Glass and Kris Imherr
WRITERS
Harriet L. Blake SOM’s Full-Time and Professional MBA programs rank
Paula Felps among the top 20 public universities in the U.S.,
Jill Glass
according to new U.S. News & World Report standings.
Kristine Imherr
Jimmie R. Markham A separate index shows faculty research output also
Jeanne Spreier ranks in the top 20 nationally and internationally.
Lisa Tanner
6
MANAGEMENT Magazine is a publication Bringing Supporters and Scholars
of The School of Management, UT Dallas,
in the autumn and spring for friends of Together
the university. The School of Management Benefactors and students who benefited from their
retains the right to determine the editorial
generosity met and mingled at a Scholarship Breakfast DEPARTMENTS
content and manner of presentation.
The opinions expressed in this magazine Donor Reception. 10 Faculty News
do not necessarily reflect official
univers ity policy.
8 15 Program Updates
© University of Texas at Dallas, 2011 On the Guest List
17 Center News
UT Dallas is an equal opportunity/ The School of Management regularly welcomes high-profile
affirmative action university.
leaders and executives who share their expertise in myriad 20 Student News
ways. Here are some who recently have visited.
26 Alumni News
29 Contributors
On the cover: “Main Street,” a
photograph of downtown Dallas
by Justin Terveen
VOLUME 14, No. 2 SPRING 2011
By Jimmie R. Markham
CFSI Indexes Aim to Track Region’s Economic Evolution
T
as the flexibility of those companies, many
segments of which are not in North Texas.
“If we’re going to continue to attract in other words, if the companies do well,
headquarters of large companies here, they are leading change in the community.”
then we should be keeping track of how
he School of Management hopes two
indexes recently created by one of its Cen
well they are doing,” Dr. Springate, the
center’s founder and director, says. “In
What the Indexes Track
ters of Excellence will act as new barometers other words, my premise is that there’s a The Index of Financial Health tracks
for the North Texas business community by good reason to have large companies here. composite statistics such as year-over-year
tracking patterns that could forecast both Even when they don’t bring the jobs to the sales growth, positive quarterly profits, year-
positive change and economic turbulence. region, they still add a lot to the economy. over-year profit-margin growth, increases
Spearheaded by Dr. David Springate, the They bring a more-educated work force. in quarterly return on assets, increases in
Center for Finance Strategy Innovation They help our region move toward the head year-over-year cash flows from operations
has constructed two financial indexes relat of the line in driving economic activity. If and decreases in year-over-year inventory
ing to the 50 largest publicly held corpora they’re doing well, they employ more people, as percent of sales.
tions in North Texas. These complementary they purchase more goods and services, The Index of Financial Flexibility tracks
indexes measure the financial health as well they tend to give more philanthropically — increases in quarterly short-term debt
2 The School of Management
Professor hopes new measures of top companies’ financial health
and flexibility will prove useful as DFW economic indicators.
to assets, year-over-year long-term debt in the region, is able to create new educa
changes and payment of cash dividends. tional programs. The actual study is part
“We would like to see how the indexes of this total context for me of a broader set
track over time and then tie them in with pretend I’m there yet,” he cautions. “I’ve of issues relating to the region.”
subsequent actions of either the group of just started this study, so I don’t want to Dr. Springate’s goal is not to be “some
companies or individual companies,” Dr. read implications into it.” isolated tower out there that does stuff
Springate says. “Upon initial analysis, these The study falls within the larger context of interest only to the academics” but rather
numbers appear to fit nicely with our under of the center’s mission, which is to educate
standing of how the downturn affected the people and run programs that help advance
David Springate
economy and the subsequent recovery.” regional competitiveness and innovation,
Even though it is too early to say how especially on the financial side.
useful these numbers might be, Dr. Springate “We also have the mission of finding
has “great hope” that these indexes out where we can make improvements and
will lead him to say that there is a tie-in how this is happening,” Dr. Springate says.
or predictability or that something is likely “The context for me in a narrow sense is
to follow from them. the center, which after investigating how
“I’m not there yet, and I don’t want to competitive and innovative companies are
UT Dallas | Spring 2011 3
2010
DFW Top-Ranked Public Companies
1 ExxonMobil Corporation
2 AT&T Inc.
“to engage the community — broadly
3 AMR Corporation
speaking, the academic and financial
4 Fluor Corporation
5 Kimberly-Clark Corp. communities — in an ongoing conver
6 JCPenney Company, Inc. sation about what’s going on in the
7 Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. world that is of interest to this region
8 Texas Instruments Incorporated and how we can make things better.”
9 Dean Foods
Knowing that economic competition
10 Southwest Airlines Co.
is being driven by increased globaliza
11 Commercial Metals Co.
12 Energy Transfer Partners LP tion and the need to recover well from
12 Energy Transfer Equity LP the economic downturn, Dr. Springate
14 Gamestop Corp. hopes that the center can partner with The indexes reflect the area’s
C
15 Tenet Healthcare Corp. the business community to help drive vibrancy and vitality.
16 Centex Corp.
economic activity.
17 XTO Energy Inc.
18 Atmos Energy Corp.
19 Celanese Corp.
20 D.R. Horton Inc.
21 Affiliated Computer Services Inc.
22 Holly Corp. CFSI Indexes, Summary Measures 2009-2010
23 Dr Pepper Snapple Group
100
24 Blockbuster
25 Alon USA Energy Inc. 90
26 Crosstex Energy LP
80
26 Crosstex Energy Inc.
28 Flowserve Corp. 70
29 Brinker International, Inc. 60
30 RadioShack Corp.
50
31 Comerica Inc.
32 Trinity Industries 40
33 Lennox International Inc.
30
34 Idearc Inc.
35 Rent-A-Center Inc. 20
36 Perot Systems Corp. 10
37 MetroPCS Communications Inc.
38 Sally Beauty Holdings Inc. 0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3
39 AmeriCredit Corp.
40 ENSCO International Inc.
2009 2010
41 Pioneer Natural Resources Co. Index of Financial Health Index of Financial Flexibility U.S. Unemployment Rate
42 Zale Corp.
43 Alliance Data Systems Corp. Yellow-shaded area represents recession as designated by the National Bureau of Economic
Research. It ended in June 2009.
44 Cinemark Holdings Inc.
45 Fossil Inc. The numbers in the column at left represent percentages. In an ideal world, companies with
46 Exco Resources Inc. optimal performance would register 100 if they had year-over-year sales growth, positive
47 Valhi Inc. quarterly profits, year-over-year profit-margin growth, increases in quarterly return on assets,
48 Denbury Resources Inc. increases in year-over-year cash flows from operations and decreases in year-over-year inven-
tory as percent of sales. For both the Financial Health and the Financial Flexibility measures,
49 Range Resources Corp. the graphed percentages represent an average based on the top 50 public companies report-
50 Pier 1 Imports Inc. ing in these indicator categories.
Based on 2009 data published in the
Dallas Business Journal
4 The School of Management
School of Management MBA Programs Rank
Among TOP 20 Public Universities in U.S.
Overall, the Full-Time Program MOVES TO NO. 40. The Part-Time Program MOVES TO NO. 36.
By Jill Glass
T
he School of Management’s Full-Time MBA and Part- The school’s Professional (Part-Time) MBA program also
Time MBA programs climbed to the top 20 public jumped in the national rankings. It moved up two spots, tying
university programs in the nation, according to the for No. 20 among public universities, and climbed five places to
latest U.S. News & World Report survey. land at No. 36 overall.
The publication’s annual report, “2012 Best Gradu “We are pleased to see The School of Management in U.S. News’
ate Schools” released March 15, positions the school’s Full-Time top-tier schools once again,” Dr. Hasan Pirkul, dean and Caruth
MBA at No. 40 overall, up from No. 50 last year, and tied for No. 17 Chair of Management, says. “It’s gratifying when others benchmark
among U.S. public universities. and recognize the progress we’ve made building a strong faculty to
Continued on page 25
UT Dallas Releases Annual Business School
Research Rankings
The School of Management MOVES TO NO. 15 nationally and NO. 16 worldwide.
By Kris Imherr
A
n index that tracks business- standings places the school at No. 15 ment Dean and Caruth Chair of Manage
school faculty research pro among its U.S. and Canadian peers and at ment Hasan Pirkul says about the new
ductivity shows The School No. 16 worldwide. Both rankings are up rankings. “Research is a key component of
of Management solidifying one place from last year. higher education, and it quickly benefits
its top-20 position, both “Our faculty continues to cement a students.…Our progress in these rankings
in North America and globally. Based well-deserved reputation — both nation underscores our commitment to be the
on scholarly works published in leading ally and internationally — for ongoing best and offer them the best.”
academic journals, an annual update of serious scholarship,” School of Manage These results appear in The UTD Top
Continued on page 25
Bringing Supporters
+
A
reception in The School
of Management atrium
S C H O L A R SH I P early last December
B R EA KFA ST honored the companies
that contributed to the school’s
DONOR second annual Scholarship Break-
fast earlier in the year. Company
R EC EP T I O N representatives met the students
who received scholarships because
of this corporate generosity. Giving
Advisory Services senior associate Charles
topped more than $116,000, and
Spencer (left) and firm partner David
more than 50 students benefited.
Hazels (center), both of accounting firm
Grant Thornton, took a moment to pose
with one of the company’s scholarship
recipients, Viktoriya Smith.
Taro Wanatuba (left), assistant human
resources manager at Fujitsu Network
Communications and a native of Japan,
met scholarship recipient Brendon Frayne
(center), who is minoring in Japanese.
Walt Ellis (right), Fujitsu’s senior human
resources manager and a School of
Management Advisory Council member,
introduced them.
BDO campus recruiting manager Erica Advisory Services senior associate John
Peterson (left), BKD tax staff member Wauson (left) and Advisory Services
Grace Iao (center) and BKD recruiter partner Jody Allred, both of the
and trainer Ashley Templeton enjoyed accounting firm of Weaver, attended.
some coffee. About 45 students and 40 Weaver gave $1,500 for scholarships last
professionals attended the reception. year and is a top recruiter of School of
Management students.
Fred Maldonado (left), regional director
of external affairs at AT&T, chatted with
AT&T scholar Joanna Leung.
6 The School of Management
and Scholars
+ Together
=
The reception brought together repre- Ericsson donated $52,500 in scholarships Sarah Thompson (left), associate in
sentatives of donor companies, such as last year, enough for 21 scholars. Eleven Deloitte’s Forensic and Dispute Services,
Jeanne Hooker (left), manager of public scholarship recipients are pictured here and Carolyn Bremer (center), manager of
affairs at Atmos Energy, and scholarship with Ericsson representatives Jamie Kapper those services, mingled with Sara McLane,
recipients such as Dillon Hanks, Atmos and Jennifer Bonicelli (far right). the Dallas Association of Certified Fraud
Energy scholar. Examiners scholar.
Adam Rivon, one of 21 Ericsson scholars, Kit Miller (left), director of Rockwell Sean Strong (left), internal-audit student,
spoke about his experiences as a full- Collins’ Richardson operations, and Chris Linsteadt (center), senior lecturer
time MBA student. Mr. Rivon graduated Chris Spartz, full-time MBA student and assistant director of the Center for
in December. and a Rockwell Collins scholar, enjoyed Internal Auditing Excellence, and Allison
breakfast and conversation. Britton, internal-audit student, caught up
on coffee and conversation.
UT Dallas | Spring 2011 7
ON THE
Guest List The School of Management regularly
welcomes local leaders and experts
whose visits complement course work
and enhance learning. Here are a few
who recently have given their time.
F
ollowing a question-and-
answer session with
O
students in an entrepreneur- ne highlight of marketing
ship class November 19, students’ sports-themed
2010, businessman Sam “Go Pro!” promotion of the new
Wyly autographed copies undergraduate marketing degree
of his autobiography, 1,000 on August 25, 2010, was career
Dollars & an Idea: Entrepre- advice from Craig Zurek, director
neur to Billionaire. of media development and sales
for the Dallas Cowboys.
A
t the Global Leadership
Executive MBA Speaker Series
gathering January 20, Dallas
Area Rapid Transit President and
CEO Gary Thomas (right) spoke
with Associate Dean for Executive
Education Gerald Hoag.
T
he Center for Information Technology and Management debuted
“An Afternoon With…,” a new speaker series, February 11 with
Hewlett-Packard innovation and marketing strategist Jeff Wacker,
who discussed the future of technology.
D
r. Robert J. Potter, president and CEO of his self-named consulting firm, R.J. Potter Company,
looked “Inside the Boardroom” October 13, 2010, as he shared insights from his more than
30 years of experience as a public company director at firms such as Molex, Zebra Technologies
Corporation and Cree, Inc., with students in Dr. Constantine Konstans’ Corporate Governance class.
8 The School of ManagementUT
Dallas undergraduate, master’s and PhD alumna Michelle Adams
returned to campus November 12, 2010, in her role as vice
president of PepsiCo Customer Strategy and Shopper Insights to present
key results at a marketing conference from a snack study she undertook
with School of Management PhD candidate Marina Girju.
D S
allas Mavericks owner am Gilliland, a 1994 Executive MBA alum who is chairman and
Mark Cuban made good CEO of travel-solutions holdings company Sabre, spoke to Exec
on a promise to a student Ed students at the CEO Speakers Series luncheon January 14. He
— and packed Davidson was scheduled to speak again
Auditorium — when he on May 12.
appeared as the first guest
of the academic year in
the Entrepreneurship Club
Exchange Series of speakers
on September 14, 2010.
S
enior Vice President of Surgical Services at Parkland Health
and Hospital System in Dallas Bradley Simmons (far left)
and his boss, Parkland’s Executive Vice President and Chief
R
Operating Officer John Haupert (far right) pose with Dr. Forney onnie Jung, executive
Fleming, director of SOM’s MS in Healthcare Management pro director, Teacher Retirement
gram, after the February 10 meeting of the student Healthcare System of Texas, discussed the
Management Club. Leaders in the American College of system’s investment strategy
Healthcare Executives, a professional society, Mssrs. Simmons for external private markets
and Bradley gave a presentation on the merits of membership. at the Private Equity Funds
Symposium that the SOM-based
D
r. Xian Bing, founding dean Center for Financial Strategy
of China’s first private, non Innovation held January 11.
profit and independent business
school, the Cheung Kong Graduate
School of Business, gave a pre
sentation on innovation at that Many School of Management events are
school and “The Globalization free and open to the public. Keep abreast
of Chinese Companies” on of them on the school’s coming events
November 10, 2010. calendar at:
http://som.utdallas.edu/includes/event/.
UT Dallas | Spring 2011 9DEPARTMENTS FACULTY NEWS
ASHBEL SMITH PROFESSOR
SHARES ‘BIG IDEAS’
A shbel Smith Professor of Managerial Economics Stan Liebowitz accepted an invita-
tion to give the Tullock “Big Idea” public lecture on one of his research specialties,
the impact of file-sharing on intellectual property rights, at George Mason University
School of Law in Virginia in late February. An expert on the economics of technology’s
impact on property rights, Dr. Liebowitz directs the Center for the Analysis of Property
Rights and Innovation, which is based in The School of Management. His George Mason
lecture, “Sometimes It Is a Wolf: Piracy, Fairy Tale Business Models and Intellectual Prop-
erty on the Internet,” explored evidence regarding the impact of online theft, problems
with approaches taken by academics to try to measure the impact, and the failure of
alternative business models often championed by academics in naïve academic papers.
His appearance came as part of George Mason University’s Information Economy
Project, a scholarly effort to study telecommunications as it relates to economics, law Stan Liebowitz
and public policy. The Tullock Lecture Big Ideas About Information Series invites prom
inent thinkers to examine challenging issues related to the project.
Awards Honor
Outstanding
Faculty and Staff
1 Marina Girju (left)and Xuying (Cathy) Cao celebrate
1 2 being named The School of Management’s outstanding
teaching assistants for the 2009-2010 academic year
at an awards ceremony last September. Dr. Cao earned
her doctorate last year and now serves as the school’s
associate director of the Master of Science in Finance
(see http://som.utdallas.edu/msfinance) degree program.
Ms. Girju continues her doctoral studies in marketing.
Other recipients of the annual Teaching and Staff
Awards were 2 David Dial (right), outstanding adjunct
faculty member, with School of Management Dean
Hasan Pirkul; 3Matt Polze, outstanding online teacher;
3 4
4Charles Hazzard, outstanding undergraduate teacher;
5David Mauer, outstanding graduate teacher;
and 6 Andrea Hapeman, outstanding staff member.
All award winners received a plaque and a grant of
$1,000. The school’s Teaching Committee reviewed
nominations and selected recipients based on their
abilities and teaching excellence. A separate committee
of school staff members chose the Outstanding Staff
Award recipient.
5 6
10 The School of ManagementDEPARTMENTS FACULTY NEWS
Professor Gains Expertise Researching
Accounting Truth and Consequences
A
ssistant Accounting Ethics from the Univer- can Accounting Association
Professor Rebecca Files sity of Oklahoma. The accepted their work, “Is
is gaining increasing prize, which carries a Option Backdating Ef-
recognition as a schol- $15,000 award, goes to ficient Contracting or
arly expert on financial an unpublished work Compensation Fraud?
reporting issues. Recent that contributes to the Evidence From Executive
accounting conferences showcased three of understanding of ethical Turnover,” (see http://
her research articles that examine causes concepts and applies that papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.
and consequences of financial misreporting. understanding to accounting cfm?abstract_id=1670116) for
A fourth paper exploring the same topic has issues in an effective way. its midyear conference.
won a prize for research in accounting eth- OTHER RESEARCH Rebecca Files The section also accepted
ics and has been accepted for publication by In a second paper, Dr. Files “The Impact of Restatements
the Journal of Accounting and Economics. and colleagues zeroed in on the debate of on Bank Loans: Evidence From the Supply
That study, “SEC Enforcement: Does Forth- whether “backdating” stock options is Chain,” (see http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.
right Disclosure and Cooperation Really Mat- an effective form of executive compensation cfm?abstract_id=1636862) a study co-authored
ter?” (see http://ssrn.com/abstract=1640064) or constitutes fraud. Typically when managers by fellow School of Management Assistant
offers good and bad news about Securities backdate, they set an earlier date for grant- Accounting Professor Umit G. Gurun that
and Exchange Commission enforcement for ing options, one on which their company’s investigates whether financial restatements
companies that have misstated their earnings. market price was lower, so that the options announced by peer firms, suppliers or cus-
The study shows that companies that are are already “in-the-money” when granted tomers influence the interest rate a borrower
proactive about self-disclosure are more likely to executives. receives from lenders.
to be sanctioned by the SEC, the federal agency Analyzing disciplinary actions and turnover The accounting association’s Auditing Sec-
charged with enforcing the nation’s securi- involving CEOs, CFOs, board chairmen and tion featured a fourth paper, “Why Do Firms
ties laws. But the upside of being forthcoming general counsel, Dr. Files and coauthors — Restate Repeatedly?” (see http://papers.ssrn.
is that the monetary penalties levied against Drs. Jap Efendi of UT Arlington, Bo Ouyang com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1748822)
those firms or their managers are reduced. of Penn State Great Valley and Edward P. which Dr. Files wrote with Dr. Nathan Y.
Dr. Files studied 1,249 restatements made Swanson of Texas A&M Uni- Sharp and Anne Thompson of Texas A&M
between 1997 and 2005, paying particular at- versity — found that when University, at its midyear con-
tention to how the SEC dealt with violations. backdating occurs, “turnover ference. The work examines
Emerging at the top of a field of 48 increases substantially” for the characteristics of repeat
C
contending U.S. and international submis- these managers. restatement firms and their
sions, her work earned the 2010-2011 Glen The Financial Accounting and auditors.
McLaughlin Prize for Research in Accounting Reporting Section of the Ameri-
Umit G. Gurun
UT Dallas | Spring 2011 11DEPARTMENTS FACULTY NEWS
ACCOLADES FOLLOW FINANCE RESEARCHER’S CONTRIBUTIONS
A ssociate Finance Professor Yexiao Xu has won two-best paper
awards for research that advances the role that risk unique to in-
dividual firms plays in the valuation of their stocks and other securities.
idiosyncratic risk has not been fully diversified away. That reaffirms
the need to assess idiosyncratic risk as a factor in asset pricing.
In his previous award-winning paper — written with Dr. Xuying
Most recently, Dr. Xu and his co-authors won the Outstanding (Cathy) Cao, associate director of The
Paper Award and $2,000 from the Fifth International Conference on School of Management’s MS in Finance (see
Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, which was held December 4, 2010, in http://som.utdallas.edu/finance) program
Seoul, South Korea. — Dr. Xu showed that in the long run,
In “When Does Idiosyncratic Risk Really Matter?” (see http://papers. firm-specific risk can be priced — that is,
ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1561262) Dr. Xu and colleagues measured in terms of its reward for the
Tony Ruan of Xiamen University and Qian Sun of Fudan University risk taken. Their paper, “Long-Term Idio-
provide evidence linking idiosyncratic — that is, firm-specific — risk to syncratic Volatilities and Cross-Sectional
expected future market returns. Stock Returns,” (see http://papers.ssrn.
Total risk consists of two com- com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1569945)
ponents, Dr. Xu points out. System- earned the best-paper award from the Xuying (Cathy) Cao
atic — or market — risk cannot Asian Finance Association last July.
be avoided. “But idiosyncratic risk In the more recent paper, “we look at the importance of idiosyn-
is something we can get rid of by cratic risk on the aggregate level,” Dr. Xu says. “If idiosyncratic
holding a diversified portfolio,” he risk changes over time and can be priced, it should be able to predict
explains. future returns.”
That is the view of how idiosyn- Dr. Xu and his colleagues propose a novel approach to measure
cratic risk can be handled in a per- priced idiosyncratic risk and have devised an econometric method that
fect capital market. But researchers successfully predicts future market returns using that measure.
are re-examining the perfect-market Both papers not only serve to reconcile contradictory results in past
assumption, Dr. Xu says, and as they asset-pricing research that involves idiosyncratic risk but also advance
Yexiao Xu
uncover imperfections, they discover understanding of the role of idiosyncratic risk, Dr. Xu says.
REVIEWERS RECOGNIZE PROFESSOR’S STUDY OF INDIA’S ECONOMY
E
xamining profitability in India, Dr. SumitKMajumdar.pdf) earned a 2010 past two years. He also has written or
Sumit Majumdar and a colleague, Distinguished Paper Award from the co-written seven articles published last year
Dr. Arnab Bhattacharjee of the Business Policy and Strategy Division of on telecom-
University of Dundee, compared the roles the Academy of Management. The honor munications,
that company-specific competencies reflects that reviewers of the nearly 700 another
and industry trends played in the success papers submitted to the division’s annual subject of
of manufacturing firms. They studied a meeting rated it in the top 1 percent. research inter-
period, 1980 to 1996, during which India’s A professor of technology strategy, est to him.
economy underwent increasing liberal information systems and operations man-
ization. Their work, “The Profitability agement, Dr. Majumdar has authored or
Dynamics of Indian Firms,” (see www.isid. co-authored 10 articles on Indian firms’
ac.in/~pu/conference/dec_10_conf/Papers/ strategy and the Indian economy in the
Sumit Majumdar
12 The School of ManagementDEPARTMENTS FACULTY NEWS
IT PROFESSIONALS
NAME ADVISER
“STAR PERFORMER”
D
r. Mark Thouin, director of Manage-
ment Information Systems programs
in The School of Management, was
named Star Performer of 2010 in Region 3 of
the Association of Information Technology
Professionals. The
association, a Suresh P. Sethi Gregory G. Dess
worldwide society of
information technol-
ogy (IT) experts, also
named the UT Dallas PROFESSORS PRODUCE
student chapter (see
www.aitputd.org) the
NEW TEXTBOOKS
A
best chapter in the decade of inventory-control research has resulted
six-state region (see IT in a new textbook by Dr. Suresh P. Sethi and
Mark Thouin
Student Chapter Takes colleagues Dirk Beyer, Feng Cheng and Michael
Top Honors on page 21) I. Taksar. Their work, Markovian Demand Inven-
of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, tory Models, International Series in Operations Research and
Louisiana and Mississippi. Management Studies, Vol. 108 (Springer, 2010), “contains the
Both awards were presented last October at most complete, rigorous mathematical treatment of the classical
the AITP Region 3 conference in Houston. dynamic inventory model with stochastics demands that I am
Star Performer honors recognize Dr. Thouin’s aware of,” Donald L. Iglehart, professor emeritus of operations
involvement in growing the student chapter management at Stanford University, has observed. Dr. Sethi is
from 31 to 91 members last year and his work the Charles and Nancy Davidson Distinguished Professor of In-
in organizing a 2009 conference that drew formation Systems and Operations Management and director
350 university students to UT Dallas for semi- of the Center for Intelligent Supply Networks.
nars and competitions. Strategic Management: Creating Competitive Advantages, 5th
Dr. Thouin joined The School of Manage- ed. (McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2009) covers such contemporary
ment in 2008 after completing his doctorate topics as digital and Internet strategies, innovation and cor
at Texas Tech University. Previously, he spent porate entrepreneurship, knowledge management and intellec-
about 13 years as an IT consultant support- tual assets. Dr. Gregory G. Dess, Andrew R. Cecil Endowed
ing a variety of organizations and industries, Chair in Applied Ethics and coordinator of The School of
including the Department of Defense, Coast Management’s Organizations, Strategy and International Man-
Guard, Environmental Protection Agency, Sara agement area, co-authored the textbook with Dr. G.T. (Tom)
Lee Knit Products, Krispy Kreme and others, Lumpkin and Dr. Alan B. Eisner. The new edition includes new
in technical and managerial roles. case-analysis selections and many new and updated illustrations.
UT Dallas | Spring 2011 13DEPARTMENTS FACULTY NEWS
Marketing Program Director Examines FULBRIGHT
Product Failures SCHOLAR
RETURNS
V isions magazine, a publication of the Product Development
and Management Association, included an article by senior
lecturer Alexander Edsel in its March issue. “The Blame Game:
TO POLAND
When Product Launches Fail” examines how most companies Dr. Jonathan M. Hochberg, a School
determine why a product fails and explains how to use root- of Management senior lecturer and
cause analysis in a product-management setting. dean’s office special projects administra-
Mr. Edsel, director of The School of Management’s new tor, returns to Poland this spring on a
Master’s of Science in Marketing degree program (see MS in Fulbright Scholarship to teach interna-
Marketing Program Debuts This Fall on page 15), has co-founded a Alexander Edsel
tional corporate finance to executive and
local professional group for product managers that started last MBA students at the Kraków School of
year. The Dallas/Fort Worth Product Group offers networking opportunities for product
Business and Commerce. He also taught
managers involved in the creation, launch and evolution of a product as well as for profes-
in Poland last year.
sionals who develop supporting business models.
Dr. Hochberg previously lectured as a
The group has more than 120 members and plans to hold a free, user-organized “un-
Fulbright Scholar in Uruguay in the MBA
conference” product camp on product management and marketing topics at The School of
Program at ORT University in 1998.
Management on May 21 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For information, visit http://pcampdallas.org/.
While in Kraków last year, he submit-
ted four postings to CNN’s iReports, a
community news site (see http://ireport.
cnn.com/people/drjhoch?numResults=10&
Sustainability Expert and Colleagues view=document). In his first post, he re-
flected on being in Poland on Earth Day.
Win Case Competition Dr. Hochberg, an environmentalist who
founded Trees for Humanity (http://trees-
D r. Francisco Székely and his colleagues have won an inaugural “hot topic” case com-
petition for a classroom exercise they created that integrates leadership and energy
sustainability. Dr. Székely, Dr. George Kohlrieser of the IMD Business School and Sophie
forhumanity.org), a nonprofit tree-planting
organization for kids, conducted a tree
planting at Kraków University of Eco-
Coughlan, an IMD research associate, took the top prize in the European Case Competition
nomics last May.
sponsored by the European Case Clearing House (ecch).
The clearinghouse is a nonprofit that promotes and facilitates case study-based learn-
ing in management education. Its first “hot topic” contest
focused on renewable and sustainable energy, technology and
development. Dr. Székely’s winning entry, “Playing to Win:
Leadership and Sustainability at ESB Electric Utility,” dealt
with a 95 percent publicly owned Irish utility’s plan to become
carbon neutral by 2035.
“The judges were uniformly impressed by the quality of
your case and its relevance to the topic.…yours was a worthy
winner,” ecch Director Richard McCracken said in announcing
results. The competition attracted 37 cases submitted from 30
institutions in 14 countries.
Francisco Székely
Dr. Jonathan M. Hochberg organized a tree
planting for kids, their parents and grandparents
at Kraków University last year.
14 The School of ManagementDEPARTMENTS PROGRAM UPDATES
• MS IN MARKETING PROGRAM DEBUTS THIS FALL •
A
new School of Management and lower cost also make the new MS pro- Product Management for non-degree- as
Master of Science in Mar- gram very attractive, he says. well as degree-seeking students.
keting degree program de- The 36-credit-hour program consists of Because of the large volume of data
signed to prepare students 9 hours of business core courses covering available from the Internet — search
to compete in the increas- such topics as database systems, statistics behavior, social networking and mobile
ingly data-driven marketing and introduction to marketing, and 9 smart phones — and scanner data, market-
profession begins this fall. The program hours of marketing core courses, including ing has become much more data-driven,
will train students for jobs in business de- foundation courses in consumer behavior, Mr. Edsel says. “Our program places a
velopment, Internet-based advertising and market research and a strategy capstone heavy emphasis on this aspect. For ex-
marketing, marketing analytics, product market-simulation course. ample, we require statistics and an MIS
management and marketing management. For the remaining 18 credit hours, database course as part of our core courses
Given the green light by the Texas degree-seekers may choose marketing- so students are comfortable with manipu-
Higher Education Coordinating Board in focused courses related to one of the five lating data, creating a database and run-
January, the new offering answers indus- tracks they choose: ning queries or making decisions using
try demand for professionals who have • Advertising and Brand statistics.”
completed more marketing courses than Management Students can enroll and begin classes
available through the existing graduate- • Business Development during the summer 2011 semester. The
degree option, an MBA with a marketing • Marketing Analytics and deadline to enroll for the fall semester is
concentration. Market Research July 1 for domestic students and May 1 for
In the MBA program, students can take • Marketing Management international students.
a maximum of 15 hours of marketing • Product Management For program details, visit http://som.
courses, Graduate Marketing Program Di- The school also offers two optional utdallas.edu/mastersinmarketing or contact
rector Alexander Edsel says. For those not professional certificates, one in Marketing Alexander Edsel, at 972-883-4421 or alex-
considering an MBA, a shorter duration Analytics and Market Research and one in ander.edsel@utdallas.edu.
Marketing
Students
Awarded
Scholarships
The local chapter of the American Ad-
vertising Federation (formerly the Dallas Ad
League) donated $3,000 this academic year Brianna Minnish (left) and AAF Dallas Gayle Boone (left) and Kristin Steed
for merit-based scholarships to marketing President Gayle Boone
students, prompting presentation visits from
AAF Dallas President Gayle Boone. Last
November, Ms. Boone awarded MBA student Kristin Steed the $1,500 AAF-Morris Hite Center Graduate Scholarship. In February,
Ms. Boone returned to present scholarships of $375 each to undergraduates Brianna Minnish and (not pictured) Luis Lopez,
Mario Vivar and Michelle Tamez. Last December, Natalia Hunt, an MBA student with a concentration in marketing, received the
$1,000 Annie Laurie Bass Scholarship, a merit-based award available through the school.
UT Dallas | Spring 2011 15DEPARTMENTS PROGRAM UPDATES
Safran Programs Showcase Custom Offerings
‘E xec E d is not just about MBA s .’ By Paula Felps
N
early 50 students from nine countries visited UT Dallas While the Management Development Program is geared to
in January as participants in a Management Develop- junior managers, GMP — which takes about four months to com-
ment Program that The School of Management custom- plete — is designed for managers of managers.
designed for Safran Corporate University. “These are not workshops in the traditional sense,” Mr. Fowler
The program represents a significant collaboration, one of two says. “Students have an e-learning component that they participate
high-profile curriculums that the school has created for the cor- in before they sit in the classroom with us.”
porate university and its parent, Safran Group, a Paris-based aero- Preparatory online sessions include such subjects as accounting,
space, defense and security company. finance, strategy overview and practical applications of business
Gustavo Castillo, Safran Corporate University’s program man- theory. On a broader level, the courses cover leadership, cultural
ager, says the curriculums are two of the company’s most impor- awareness, strategy, organizational development, finance, Lean Six
tant corporate training programs. “The dedication applied by all Sigma and supply chain management, among other key topics. To
involved members from UTD makes a great fit for us,” he says. teach business principles, the program uses business cases, text-
The nine-month career-development program combines online books and video.
learning with classroom sessions, and is targeted toward rising Each program also develops a corporate improvement project
stars in Safran, which operates in 50 countries. delivered to Safran’s senior executives.
The School of Management earned a five-year contract to de- The school’s ability to find faculty members to interact with
liver the Management Development Program because of previous managers and executives and who know how to apply research in
work with Safran. specific applications “is a great advantage in developing custom-
“We won the contract to do [a] designed corporate programs,” Mr. Fowler says.
Global Management Pass Program Mr. Fowler says the programs showcase the depth and
(GMP) for six programs, and we have breadth of educational experiences that The School of Manage-
managed them since January of ’09,” ment has to offer. “We are showing that we can support a
John M. Fowler, SOM’s director of man- company that is roughly the size of Texas Instruments. This is a
agement and business-development great opportunity for us to show that executive education is not
program, says. just about MBAs.”
John M. Fowler
INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT STUDIES
NOW AN MS PROGRAM
The International Management Studies program has a change in degree designation, from a Master of Arts
to a Master of Science program. “Because we believe an MS is a stronger indicator of the kind of detailed train-
ing and preparation we deliver to students,” Dr. Habte Woldu, director of international management programs,
said, “we asked the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to do this.” The degree change took effect Habte Woldu
March 8. For more information, visit http://som.utdallas.edu/graduate/masters/maIms/ .
16 The School of ManagementDEPARTMENTS CENTER NEWS
ENDOWMENT LAUNCHED TO SUSTAIN
EXCELLENCE IN INTERNAL AUDIT
T
he Dallas Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors chapter on the changing role of internal auditing and trends re-
and an anonymous corporate donor have seeded a shaping the profession.
new endowment to maintain The School of Manage- On the job, internal auditors systematically evaluate and moni-
ment’s top-rated internal-audit program, giving two tor companies to improve efficiency, accountability and regulatory
checks that initiate an effort to raise a half million dollars. compliance. Their efforts provide important insight to company
To recognize and ensure continuance of the program’s excel- operations and performance. Internal auditors work across all
lence, the Dallas IIA raised $30,000 for the new endowment, and industries and in the public-service sector, and they have been
the corporate donor gave $15,000. But thanks to a matching com- increasingly in demand as business has focused more and more on
mitment from School of Manage- corporate responsibility during the
ment Dean Hasan Pirkul, the last decade.
contributions doubled in value, “School of Management
to $90,000. internal-audit graduates are in de-
The Institute of Internal Audi- mand,” Mr. Salamasick said, “and a
tors, a worldwide professional great many move directly into top
association that is the Dallas IIA’s jobs in such Fortune 50 companies
parent group, endorses the UT as JCPenney, Microsoft and South-
Dallas internal-audit program as west Airlines and at such public
a “Center for Internal Auditing agencies as the General Account-
Excellence.” UT Dallas is one ing Office and the Army and Air
of only two universities in the Force Exchange Service.”
U.S. and five in the world to “These kind of job placements
Richard F. Chambers (center), the Institute of Internal
have earned that designation, Auditors president and CEO, visits with internal auditing are a visible measure of internal
the highest IIA offers. Offered at students (from left) Sean Strong, Samantha Weeks, audit’s excellence,” Dean Pirkul said.
Jonathan Ragan, Jana Cain, Benito Juarez and Allison Britton.
the graduate level, the UT Dallas “They substantiate the need for an
internal-audit program prepares endowment and tell donors their
students to sit for a professional certification exam with a multidis- dollars are supporting one of the world’s best programs in this field.”
ciplinary curriculum built on a core of internal-audit courses. Mr. Salamasick got news of the endowment seed money, along
The seed money, presented in a ceremony at the March 3 Dal- with a go-ahead to begin fundraising, in January, about the same
las IIA meeting, formally established the Center for Internal Audit- time he learned that the March 24-25 Fraud Summit, internal au-
ing Excellence Endowment. The endowment will support scholar- dit’s main annual conference and fundraiser, had sold out.
ships, seminars, conferences, research and educational programs Exploring the latest trends in fraud detection and deterrence,
specifically designated for internal audit. the summit opened March 24 with a day of workshops at which
“These gifts are a great first step toward reaching a $500,000 professionals earned continuing education credits. On conference
threshold in permanent endowment funding,” Center Director Mark day, case studies and advanced breakout sessions went beyond
Salamasick said. “This startup generosity from two key supporters the basics, and a keynote speaker was a star attraction.
sends a great signal, and the dean has promised to keep matching This year, investigative journalist Kurt Eichenwald, author of
funds, which is essential to attracting additional donations.” best-seller Conspiracy of Fools (Broadway, 2005), spoke on the
Present at the Dallas chapter meeting when the endowment topic of that book, the Enron scandal and the out-of-control cor-
was announced, IIA International President and CEO Richard F. porate culture that led to the company’s downfall in 2001.
C
Chambers, visited The School of Management later the same day, Learn more about the endowment and make a donation at
meeting with Dean Pirkul and lecturing the UT Dallas IIA student www.som.utdallas.edu/iaep/fund.
UT Dallas | Spring 2011 17DEPARTMENTS CENTER NEWS
IECG TRANSITIONS
C
linical Pro- (IECG), a School of Management as IECG’s director of special proj-
fessor Den- Center of Excellence devoted to ects and development. Since 1990,
nis McCuis- enhancing the abilities of directors he has been the host and executive
tion (left) and senior officers to promote and producer of the public affairs televi-
has succeeded Dr. Constan- protect the interests of all corpo- sion program McCuistion on PBS.
tine (Connie) Konstans as execu- rate stakeholders. An accounting professor, Dr.
tive director of the Institute for Ex- Mr. McCuistion joined the SOM Konstans has resumed research,
cellence in Corporate Governance faculty last fall and formerly served continues to teach and remains in-
PRIVATE EQUITY EXPERTS SEE STORM CLOUDS LIFTING
By Jill Glass
F
undraising might be experts and Washington insid- Patton Boggs and panel modera- said, including a shorter licens-
tougher, investors ers offered insights into crucial tor, said. Federal regulators have ing process, investor appeal and
more demanding topics affecting the private- “been handed a gargantuan outstanding access to leverage.
and new government equity marketplace. task,” to shape implementation A third panel agreed the
regulations more complex, but One of the biggest changes of regulatory reform, he said. fundraising environment has
indicators suggest brighter days will come with the landmark The challenging private- been difficult but predicted a
for the private-equity world in 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street equity fundraising environ- brighter future.
2011. That is what industry lead- Reform and Consumer Protec- ment, along with new restric- Probitas Partners partner
ers told fund managers and in- tion Act, which will impose tions on bank investments, Robert Hofeditz agreed: “I
stitutional and private investors sweeping new rules on finan- is making Small Business think 2011 will be a transition
gathered for the Private Equity cial institutions. The first sym- Investment Company licenses year, and hopefully 2012 will
Funds Symposium at The School posium panel discussed how a much more attractive option be a much better year.”
of Management in January. the 2,300-page law, aimed at to fund managers and finan- “If you have capital, this is
Sponsored by SOM’s Center averting taxpayer-funded bail- cial executives, Brett Palmer, the time to be investing and buy-
for Finance Strategy Innova- outs, will impact private-fund president of the National As- ing and playing in the game,”
tion and Patton Boggs, a busi- advisers with additional reg- sociation of SBICs, said in the Roman Kikta, managing partner
ness and public-policy law istration, record-keeping and panel discussion, “SBICs: The at Mobility Ventures, said.
firm, the symposium focused reporting requirements. Vehicle of Choice in 2011.” Run For more CFSI information,
on “Navigating Change in the The broad overhaul has cre- by the federal Small Business contact Dr. David Springate,
New Private Equity Environ- ated many uncertainties, Don Administration, the program 972-883-2647, spring8@utdal-
ment.” Top investors, industry Moorehead, vice chairman of has many benefits, Mr. Palmer las.edu.
Don Moorehead (far left), vice chairman
of Patton Boggs, a sponsor of the sym-
posium, moderated the opening panel,
which discussed “The New Regulatory
and Tax Environment.”
Center Director David Springate (left)
with Roman Kikta, managing partner at
Mobility Ventures, who said on the topic of “Raising Funds in 2011”
that limited partners today are looking for a “new hybrid” of investor
who wants to be more hands on and understands not only technology,
18 but more importantly, the marketplace. The School of ManagementDEPARTMENTS CENTER NEWS
volved with the institute, which will lapse: How to Spot Moral Meltdowns
hold its ninth annual corporate gov- in Companies... Before It’s Too Late
ernance conference September 29. (St. Martin’s Press, 2006). She will
Conference featured speakers speak about Sign No. 4, a weak
will include Dr. Marianne Jennings, board of directors.
Renee Hornbaker (left), Dallas chapter president of
a legal and ethics expert from Ari- Check the institute website Financial Executives International, congratulates School of
zona State University and author (http://som.utdallas.edu/centers/iecg/) Management Professor Constantine Konstans, past chap-
ter president and ongoing board member, on the Lifetime
of The Seven Signs of Ethical Col- for conference information.
Achievement Award FEI gave him March 8 for his con-
tributions to the professional group and his founding of
SOM’s Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance.
Convenience Is King at IIE Business Idea Competition
By Jimmie R. Markham
S
chool of Management students dominated the graduate
division of the fourth annual UT Dallas Business Idea
Competition, which connected technology and con-
venience in some new formats that offered clues on the
future direction of commercial innovation.
All but one of the graduate-level winners were SOM students
in a contest in which first-place prizes on both the undergraduate
and graduate sides went to teams with products that took advan-
tage of smart-phone technology to simplify consumers’ lives.
The Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE) at UT Undergraduate Division
Dallas sponsored the November 19, 2010, contest. It drew 116 winners David Evans (left)
entrants organized into 46 teams. They competed for $18,250 in and Michael Ellsworth
cash prizes.
The School of Management, where IIE is based, hosted the
Graduate Division
competition, and Full-Time MBA students Corey Egan and Swap- winners Corey Egan (left)
nil Bora won the graduate division. They earned the $4,000 first- and Swapnil Bora
place prize for the iLumi SmartBulb, an interactive LED indoor
lighting system controlled wirelessly by a smart phone. Their
presentation, which began with an audiovisual introduction com- slew of features, including web-based backup, friend sync,
plete with background music, also netted them the Most Effective re-arrangeable virtual control buttons and an interactive TV
Presentation award and its prize of $500. guide to change channels.
The best undergraduate idea came from Team Rhone, with mem Besides money, all first-place winners received one month’s
bers David Evans, a junior computer science major, and Michael free office space near downtown Dallas at CoHabitat, a shared
Ellsworth, a junior in aerospace engineering at Texas A&M Uni- workspace for developers, creatives and entrepreneurs.
versity. Their winning idea, which they named Rhone, is a smart All semifinalists and finalists also qualified for Microsoft’s
phone-based universal remote control that can operate devices BizSpark program, which connects business developers with a
such as TVs, Blu-Ray and DVD players, DVRs and computers. Their global network of investors and network partners.
entry netted them $4,000 in prize money. Several individual and corporate sponsors contributed prize
Their idea utilizes wireless Bluetooth technology to send money, including Jackie Kimzey, BKD LLP, Dynamex, SPlus
information from smart phones to a hardware device that then Technologies, Trailblazer Capital, Trans Global Technologies, Inc.
sends infrared signals to the entertainment devices. The app has a and Wischmeyer Benefit Partners.
UT Dallas | Spring 2011 19You can also read
