Review highlights of recent news coverage of Georgia Tech College of Management's people and programs.

May 2008-October 2008

• Workplace Sabotage: Nathan Bennett’s research on Munchausen at Work Syndrome (how pathological workers deliberately create havoc in the workplace to get credit for solving it) won coverage on Good Morning America and in The Wall Street Journal. Bennett, the Catherine W. and Edwin A. Wahlen professor of organizational behavior, named the phenomenon after a rare psychological disorder in which sufferers make up illnesses to gain attention.

• Go-to Guy: Scarcely a week goes by without a major media appearance by accounting professor and INVESCO Chair holder Charles Mulford discussing accounting-related issues. Over the last few months, he discussed National City’s Visa assets in The New York Times, hedge accounting in CFO magazine, retailer cash flow in BusinessWeek and FinancialWeek, merger rules in Compliance Week, and fair-value accounting rules in Bloomberg.

• Among the Very Best: U.S. News & World Report ranked Georgia Tech’s Undergraduate Program 35th in the nation (21st among public universities). In specialty categories, the magazine ranked Georgia Tech 6th in Quantitative Analysis, 12th in Production/Operations Management, 16th in Management Information Systems, and 18th in Supply Chain Management/Logistics.

• Good Cause: Global Executive MBA (GEMBA) students’ consulting efforts to help a tomato farm in Alabama raise funds for a disabled teenage girl won coverage in the Associated Press, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Forbes.com. GEMBA students conducted this strategy work entirely outside of class.

• Money Talk: Both CNN Radio and Wall Street Journal Radio interviewed Narayanan Jayaraman, Evelyn T. and Mallory C. Jones Jr. professor of finance, about GM’s financial crisis.

• Competitive Advantage: In an article on virtual trading floors, London’s Financial Times spotlighted Georgia Tech’s Ferris-Goldsmith Trading Floor and the experiential learning opportunities it provides.

• Safety First: Marketing professor emeritus Fred Allvine, a noted airline industry expert, appeared on WAGA (Fox 5) discussing  improvements to airport security since 9/11/2001.

• Shopping Strategy: In an Associated Press story that ran in newspapers across the country (including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Baltimore Sun), associate marketing professor Goutam Challagalla offered tips for saving money at the grocery store. “Overall, you can control what you spend even in an environment where food prices are escalating fast,” said Challagalla, associate dean.

• Financial Crisis: Finance professor of the practice Gary Jones and three undergraduate management students appeared on WAGA (Fox 5), discussing the state of the economy, using the Ferris-Goldsmith Trading Floor as a backdrop. The students discussed their career prospects in finance, given the meltdown on Wall Street.

• Lucky Number: D.J. Wu, Thomas R. Williams-Wachovia professor of IT Management, appeared on WXIA (11 Alive) discussing the significance of the number eight (growth of fortune) in Chinese culture just before the Beijing Olympics began on 8/8/08. Wu directs the school’s China programs.

• Property Value: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution covered the $1 million gift of Robert H. Ledbetter Sr., IM 1958, to establish and endow the College of Management’s Robert H. Ledbetter Sr. Professorship of the Practice of Real Estate Development.

• Real Time: Marketing assistant professor Nicholas Lurie’s research on timely business information won coverage in the Sloan Management Review. While technological advances are enabling managers to track the flow of goods in the supply chain minute by minute, such close monitoring might not provide the benefits that many businesses expect.

• Gateway to Tech: The College of Management’s dedication of its new Acuity Brands Plaza was covered by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

• Timing Is Everything: Visiting finance assistant professor Barry Marchman appeared on CNN Radio discussing the right timing for home refinancing, buying, and selling.