Since our charter class graduated more than 25 years ago, alumni
from the UC Davis Graduate School of Management have been making
their presence known around the world.
Our graduates are CEOs, vice presidents, chief financial
officers, chief operating officers and entrepreneurs. Around the
globe, they have taken prominent roles as international business
leaders in a wide range of industries and organizations.
Graduate School of Management alumni are actively involved in
their communities, and they make time for mentoring, advising and
assisting current students and networking with fellow graduates.
Prerana Joshi Takes IT Expertise to Product Marketing
MBA Internship at Kellogg’s Offers First-hand Experience
Prerana Joshi started the Daytime MBA program set on establishing a career in IT management. She brought a background in software development, and had worked four years for FICO, ANZ Bank and IBM in Bangalore, India.
But courses in strategy and marketing management, and a market research project she completed for the Tahoe Institute for Rural Health Research during her second quarter at the School, changed everything.
SWAT Teams and Film Crews Models for Managing Crisis Episodes
Long before SWAT officers burst into a building to rescue hostages or arrest an armed suspect, the team has practiced similar types of assaults over and over to fine tune routines to handle such crises. Similarly, film crews must work through unexpected events to get the job of movie making done right.
Tug-of-War Economics of Product Bundling
From computer software to fast food meals to vacation packages, the practice of bundling—offering two or more products or services together as a combined product—has worked very well for companies to give customers a simple, discounted option.
New Tool to Measure Consumer Demand
India’s rapidly expanding middle class and steady increase in household disposable income has attracted the interest of multinational retailers like IKEA, Apple, WalMart and Tesco. But estimating consumer demand has been challenging, says Professor Prasad Naik, and the standard methods being used have proved unreliable.
Can Data Mining Lead to Better Results in the Classroom?
Can using common accounting practices, like gathering data and using performance metrics, result in improved student performance?
Professor Shannon Anderson is exploring this question as part of a research project examining the use of a data portal tool created by Aspire Public Schools. The system, known as Schoolzilla, collects raw data from a school’s source systems—including the California State Test and benchmark assessments—and makes it readily available to teachers and administrators in the form of charts, graphs and textual information. The idea is to empower teachers to immediately identify which students are doing well, which are struggling, and to adjust their teaching strategies. The data also will make it possible to evaluate individual or groups of students over the long term.
Humphrey Fellows to Gain Entrepreneurial Edge
New International Innovation and Entrepreneurship Academy
UC DAVIS will host more than 40 Humphrey Fellows from around the world at the inaugural
International Innovation and Entrepreneurship Academy in March, presented by the Child Family Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Jim Olson Helps Students Hone Their “Leadership DNA”
Veteran Silicon Valley Executive Named Robert A. Fox Executive-in-Residence
For Jim Olson, leadership is a lot like tennis. We bring our natural athletic and mental tendencies to the game, we learn the fundamentals, we have mentors, we study the pros, and we apply it all on the court, looking to improve our performance.
As this year’s Robert A. Fox Executive-in-Residence, Olson has put the tennis analogy into play in his winter quarter course, Game Changing Leadership: One Size Fits One, to help MBA students better understand, develop and apply their “leadership DNA.”
Social and Organizational Innovation Converge
Faculty Host 12th Davis Conference on Qualitative Research
By Alex Russell
Top qualitative researchers from around the world converged at Gallagher Hall on March 24 for the 12th annual Davis Conference on Qualitative Research.
Organized by Professor Kimberley Elsbach and Associate Professor Beth Bechky, the innovative forum has improved qualitative research and its methodologies and built a community of pioneering researchers.
Ruhstaller Beer
A New Point of Brew
By Marianne Skoczek
Jan-Erik Paino MBA 09 began brewing the idea for a new career when a New Business Development class project led him to delve into first Sacramento’s history—and then its beer.
The founder and proprietor of Ruhstaller Beer, one of a new batch of craft breweries in the capital region, Paino credits his UC Davis MBA with the experience and network to successfully resurrect a local legend.
Can Credit Unions Compete with Payday Lenders?
Even if credit unions offered short-term loans at better interest rates and lending terms than payday lenders—and most don’t—current payday loan customers say they prefer the convenience of payday lenders, according to a new study by Associate Professor Victor Stango.
Revolights
Lighting the Way, One Revolution at a Time
By Marianne Skoczek
Jim Houk and Adam Pettler, both MBA 11, want to revolutionize how cyclists see and are seen at night.
Eighteen months ago, the pair teamed up with Stanford inventor/engineer Kent Frankovich to found Revolights Inc. and develop a wheel-mounted bicycle lighting system that offers optimal nighttime illumination.
Unlike traditional bike lights–which focus primarily in one direction—Revolights casts 360 degrees of light, boosting biker safety by increasing their visibility to drivers.
How Wine Critics’ Quality Ratings Impact the Market
It is well known that in markets such as restaurants, films and books, critics directly shape outcomes by guiding consumers’ attention and purchase decisions through their assessments of product quality. Less understood is how critics influence the decision making and behavior of producers.
Symposium Shines Spotlight on Private Equity
By Alex Russell
The Graduate School of Management hosted its second annual Symposium on Financial Institutions & Intermediaries in March, bringing together two dozen top scholars and industry practitioners from around the world.
Organized by Associate Professors Ayako Yasuda and Roger Edelen, the symposium focused on private equity, an asset class that typically raises capital from institutional investors to invest in companies that are already private or are public and then taken private.
A Trailblazer in Statistical Analysis
Recognizing his internationally renowned research contributions and teaching excellence, UC Davis recently honored Professor Chih-Ling Tsai with the title of Distinguished Professor. The designation is the highest campus-level professional faculty title.
Planning for Uncertainty in Power Generation
Renewable sources such as wind and solar power are an increasing part of the nation’s energy mix, but these green resources also bring new uncertainty to our power supply. Professor David Woodruff is collaborating on a new, federally funded project to help power utilities navigate in this new reality.
“The goal is to be able to plan to generate power in the face of the uncertainty caused by a 30 percent penetration of renewables in the power supply,” said Woodruff.
Patagonia’s Prescription for a Healthy Planet
By Marianne Skoczek
On Black Friday—the day after Thanksgiving, when retailers’ ledgers turn from red to black—the outdoor-clothing maker Patagonia shocked shoppers with a full-page ad in the New York Times. A photo of a top-seller ran the admonition: Don’t Buy This Jacket.
Noting that our culture of consumption is leading to environmental bankruptcy, the ad asked consumers “to buy less and to reflect before you spend a dime on this jacket or anything else.”
Will Snyder Leads New Master of Professional Accountancy Program
Former Deloitte Partner Brings Energy, Expertise and Enthusiasm
By Joanna Corman
Will Snyder retired last December after teaching accounting for more than 22 years at San Diego State University. Less than a month later he jumped at the opportunity to take the helm of the UC Davis Graduate School of Management’s new Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAc) program that starts this fall.
As executive director, Snyder leads the MPAc program and will teach three of the courses. The School’s nine-month program is the first professional accounting master’s degree program at a University of California campus.
MBA Students Get Fired Up at Ignite in Boston
Innovative Program Fuels Tomorrow’s Entrepreneurs
By Alex Russell
While waiting for the first speaker at the 2012 Ignite Entrepreneurship Conference in Boston, UC Davis MBA student Nandhini Raghunathan scanned the on-screen testimonials from previous attendees. “By the end of the third day,” she said. “I could see what each and every one of those comments meant.”
Lauren Davis Works and Plays Hard with Heart and Passion
Sports and Marketing Interests Lead to Internship at Adidas
By Joanna Corman
Like a hard, game-winning spike that leaves a big impression, Lauren Davis has never forgotten the inspiring words of her junior high school club volleyball coach. “He said, ‘play with heart.’ Everything you do in life should be done with passion.”
With that in mind, Davis has hit the ground running as a full-time MBA student. She’s found a new interest in marketing and new business development after a successful career in financial services.
UC Davis Wine Executive Program Offers Grape-to-Bottle Intelligence
How will you manage your wine business during the tight supply of grapes in the coming years? How do you create an effective social media plan for your brands? What are the opportunities in the wine market in China? These were just a few of the hot topics at the 12th annual UC Davis Wine Executive Program, co-hosted by the Graduate School of Management and the Department of Viticulture & Enology from March 26–29.