@Mays 2009

Summer 2009

The first lady of Wehner W

ith a swish of her fluffy tail, the first lady of A&M prances lightly down the halls of the Wehner Building with handler John Busch ’11. The accounting major from Beaumont, Texas, has the privilege of escorting Miss Reveille VIII to all of his classes this semester, to the delight of his fellow students.

And should Dean Jerry Strawser ever need a sabbatical, Miss Rev says she’d be happy to sit in for him.

Contents Features 16 China

The rising superpower impacting the future of your business

21 From the ground up A few Mays entrepreneurs share their experiences

24 Hooah, Ags. Entrepreneurship Bootcamp at Mays offers disabled veterans a chance to make their dreams come true

Departments 2 Over Coffee

Sips of news from around Mays

@Mays 2009 Director of Communications and Public Relations | Pam Wiley @Mays Editor | Chrystal Houston Editorial Assistant | Brittany Brown Design | Tammisha Farmer, HSC Marketing and Communications Photography | Nicholas Roznovsky, Katrina Cook, David McIntyre Copyright 2009 | Mays Business School @Mays is an annual publication for the former students and friends of Mays Business School at Texas A&M University. This publication is made possible by the generosity of private donors.

Monthly news updates are available at Mays’ online magazine, Mays Business Online, at maysbusiness.tamu.edu.

Information about the majors, degrees and programs offered by Mays Business School is available at maysbschool.tamu.edu.

10 Network

Mays students, current and former, that are making a difference

27 Partners

People that help Mays thrive

31 Ideas@Mays

Faculty research for your career

Over Coffee

Something to brag about Recent Rankings 2009 U.S. News & World Report • Best undergraduate program in management 7th public and 10th overall • Best undergraduate business program 18th public and 30th overall • Best MBA program 11th public and 29th (tied) • MBA Placement 1st in the nation BusinessWeek • Best undergraduate program 10 public and 31 overall th

st

Expansión • Best global MBA programs for Mexicans 10th public and 23rd U.S., 43rd global Princeton Review Best Business Schools • Greatest opportunity for minority students, MBA program 7th in the nation Financial Times • MBA best program 11th public, national 61st global • MBA employment at three months 1st public, national 6th global (tied) • MBA best value for money 2nd public, national 28nd global Wall Street Journal • Executive MBA Return on investment 1st overall 2

@MAYS

President George W. Bush gives a gig ‘em with Mays student and Olympic swimmer Christine Marshall.

Speed Queen Christine Marshall ’09 wins bronze at Beijing Olympics

C

hristine Marshall ’09 made A&M history by becoming the first Aggie female swimmer to earn a spot on the USA Olympic team.

Then she went a step further: Marshall and her teammates brought home bronze medals in the 4x200 meter freestyle relay.

A competitive swimmer since the age of five, Marshall said her years of training were worth it when she had the chance to represent her country and her school. “After the Olympics, I felt so proud to be an American,” she said.

Marshall is a university studies major with an emphasis in business.

She plans to pursue a graduate degree in business and continue to swim for

Mays student Christine Marshall prepares for an event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where she and teammates brought home the bronze.

the Aggies and Team USA. She is currently in training for the 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome.

Over Coffee

Write right for business

Students learn practical skills in communication lab

T

oday’s generation of Mays students are fluent in “cyberspeak” (truncated English used when texting and instant messaging) and most can write a research paper for a class, but are these students prepared for the written communication needs they will face in a job after graduation?

They soon will be, thanks to the newly created Mays Communication Lab. The lab, piloted in the spring 2008 semester, is a branch of the Transitions Program, which helps students successfully navigate the transitions from high school, to college, to life beyond. When Martha Loudder, associate dean for undergraduate programs, began brainstorming ideas for the Transitions Program in 2004, she asked corporate partners what soft skills, or “core competencies,” would make Mays students more employable and successful. Among the answers she heard, communication consistently was at the top of the list.

By the time they graduate students may know how to write well in the classroom and they should know how to behave professionally, but these skills don’t always transfer to the business world application without practical lessons. That’s where the Communication Lab comes in.

Mays lecturer Sommer Hamilton ’04 heads up the lab, creating the curriculum, managing the peer tutors, and giving one-on-one assistance to students. Her lessons are presented in tandem with the sophomore-level integrated worklife competencies course. Over the semester, Hamilton’s lessons provide practice in several forms of common written and oral business communication.

Sommer Hamilton, lecturer, heads up the newly created Mays Communication Lab. Hamilton and her staff ensure that Mays students graduate with the written and oral communication skills necessary for a successful business career.

Until recently, Mays students could graduate without ever having written that staple of corporate communications, a memo.

Until recently, Mays students could graduate without ever having written that staple of corporate communication, a memo. Hamilton says it’s more than practice they are lacking. “They need to be graded on their writing so they have feedback for improvement,” she says.

That feedback and improvement loop is the main focus of Hamilton’s grading system. For each assignment, her students turn in a rough draft, which she and her staff of seven student aides critique exhaustively. Students are then expected to consider all of

the comments and revise their work before turning in a final draft.

After one semester of using this system, Hamilton was pleased with the results. In her pilot class, all 160 students passed the communication portion. She saw it as a mark of success that by the end of the semester, much less revision was needed on each assignment. “They were definitely starting to internalize some of those standards that are needed in good communication. My biggest goal was to make them their own editor,” she says.

maysbusiness.tamu.edu

3

Over Coffee

At the intersection of policy and finance Unique class helps students see the econom ics behind the politics

T

he 2008 presidential election was filled with more dialogue than most for Mays students, thanks to an innovative class taught

by Management Professor Len Bierman called “Business Issues and the 2008 Presidential Election.”

According to Bierman, the purpose of the once-weekly upper division class was to get students talking about issues they may not have considered when it comes to the intersection of money and politics.

“Rarely are things black and white in this arena,” he said. “Even on extreme issues, there are shades of gray. Things are more subtle and complicated than you might think on first blush.”

One thing that set this class apart, said class member Miguel Abugattas, a senior finance major, was its “Ivy League” format. “This class wasn’t about scantrons and textbooks,” he said, but about reading up on a current topic and exploring it through debate.

Bierman assigned no textbook for the class, instead asking students read The Wall Street Journal everyday. Several of

4

@MAYS

the class periods featured guest lectures from experts in fields such as national security and education funding, who provided an insider look at the issues.

The discussion and debate style of the class was important to Bierman, who says his objective was simply to get students to see both sides of the two-party coin. Class assignments forced students to research and examine issues from all angles. Through written assignments and oral presentations, students were challenged to think critically about issues such as energy, tax policy, healthcare, transportation infrastructure, and communication regulation. “There aren’t any easy solutions to these kinds of problems,” Bierman told students. The remedies to the nation’s problems students proposed will likely never end up before Congress, however, Bierman said that more than anything else, he hopes the class has turned them into more informed citizens.

Class discussions focused on the most timely of public policy issues. While the subprime mortgage crisis was in the news daily and investment banks were disappearing, Mays Professor of Finance Don Fraser paid a visit to class to cut through the jargon and explain the state of the economy. Similarly, Tom Saving, director of the Private Enterprise Research Center and a

distinguished professor of economics at A&M, spoke about the looming problem of Medicare and Social Security, which, if left unchecked, will bankrupt the government in 50 years. As they explored the topics, students asked both professors: How did we get here?

Who’s responsible? What is to be done?

One of the most provocative lessons was from Jim Olson, former CIA operative and current professor at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service. Olson asked students to consider the importance of a wellfunded intelligence network, giving examples from the news and from his own 30-year career in espionage.

Student Kaylee Heathcott said Bierman’s class got her much more involved in the election.

“I’ve always had a shallow party affiliation,” she said. After examining issues more thoroughly from both sides, she’s made up her mind. “Now I’m not a Republican because my parents are.” Heathcott, a senior management major, said that this election had special significance for her and her classmates, most of whom are nearing graduation. “For the first time, we are voting about issues that are going to directly affect us in the workplace,” she said.

To read a blog from a participant in Bierman’s Business Issues and the 2008 Presidential Election class, go to: tinyurl.com/mgmt464blog

Over Coffee

Business Honors program expands to offer major

F

Mays professor has a hand in Obama’s first law

E

“

lections do have consequences.”

That was the conclusion of Leonard Bierman, professor of management at Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School. Lilly Ledbetter would agree.

After months of debate in both the House and Senate, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007 into law—his first such action in his new office. Prior to his presidency, Obama co-sponsored the bill with then-Senator Hillary Clinton.

Bierman’s research on this topic was discussed and cited in testimony last year before various committees in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate as they considered this pending legislation.

The new law amends the pay discrimination provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, changing the time frame in which employees can allege pay discrimination. The amendment was signed into law on January 29, 2009.

To read more of this story on our website, visit tinyurl.com/obamalaw.

or undergraduate business students wanting an extra challenge, a major in business honors might be the thing. Recently the business honors program expanded to offer a full major. Requirements include 30 hours of honors classes, an internship, and participating in frequent professional development activities to earn the degree. The first business honors degrees will be awarded in 2010.

Admission into business honors is selective and by application only. Each year, roughly 85 students are admitted.

There are several differences in an honors class from a non-honors class, says Kris Morley, director of the Business Honors program, the most noticeable difference being the size: honors classes are kept small to encourage in-depth discussion. Though both honors and non-honors sections of a course have essentially the same content, honors students complete case studies and group projects, and apply theories to the latest events in the business world.

“I like honors classes because of the small class size and the consistent and high quality of the students,” says James

Benjamin, head of the Department of Accounting and former director of the Business Honors program. “The students are voluntarily taking classes that they know will likely be more challenging. The student characteristics and class size allow me to teach at a higher level and to have more student participation in the discussions.”

Most business honors students plan to tack on a second major in a more specialized area, such as marketing or finance, but the honors major by itself is perfect for students planning to enter medical or law school, or for students with an entrepreneurial streak seeking a broad base of business knowledge.

“The degree reflects the substantive differences in the course work and better recognizes the students who undertake this rigorous curriculum,” Morley says.

“Having this degree will make students more identifiable to recruiters,” says Morley. “Potential employers will know these students took a much more challenging course of study and that their college experience was very different from their classmates in other majors.”

Business Honors students at the office of Texas congressman Chet Edwards during a trip to Washington D.C. in September 2008. maysbusiness.tamu.edu

5

Backpacks of delight Local elem entary kids excited by unexpected gifts “Wow! Backpacks!”

“I want a blue one!”

“Hey, look! There’s even stuff inside!” hese were some of the excited cries heard at a local elementary school last April as Mays students passed out new knapsacks filled with school supplies. Each of the 601 young scholars at the K-5 school in Bryan, Texas, received donated supplies provided by the second annual Project Mays, a service organized by Mays’ Business Student Council (BSC). The students orchestrated the entire event, from the corporate and individual fundraising, to the collection and distribution of materials.

In all, the group collected $15,815 in monetary donations and supplies.

“We were looking for a way for the students and faculty of Mays to come together to help the community,” said Michael Kurt ’09, BSC vice president in charge of events. Kurt says when the council was considering different organizations in the community, the needs of the Bryan Independent School District stuck out. A large majority of the students in that district are on the government-funded free and

T

Last April, Mays’ Business Student Council chose a school supply drive for their annual Project Mays service opportunity, which benefited 601 students in Bryan, Texas.

reduced lunch program, indicating some level of economic hardship.

Kurt says they wanted to ensure that these economically disadvantaged learners had all the supplies necessary to succeed in the classroom.

Mays BSC partnered in this effort with corporate sponsors LyondellBasell, El Paso Corporation, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Tesoro, and UHY Certified Public Accountants.

Together, these sponsors provided $11,500 in support. In addition to corporate gifts, Mays students joined

forces to collect supplies including glue, crayons, pencils, and pens. The supplies were sorted for distribution, and each backpack was also furnished with a special extra: a note of encouragement from an Aggie.

“It was definitely an overwhelming response from the students of Mays,” said Kurt. Though only the students of one school were given full backpacks, the remaining supplies were distributed throughout the other schools of Bryan ISD. Kurt estimates their donations helped 2,200 elementary students.

See the video at tinyurl.com/BSCbackpacks.

Over Coffee

Changing the face of business L

ast summer 23 high-achieving high school seniors were invited to take part in a weeklong crash course and competition at Mays called Business Careers Awareness Program (BCAP).

Now in its eighth year, BCAP is impacting not only students’ lives, but the face of Mays’ student body and (potentially) the marketplace.

BCAP is open to the brightest young scholars from the state of Texas from underrepresented populations.

In Texas, “underrepresented” means African American, Hispanic, and Asian. But no matter what race, the student must be highly qualified to be chosen for BCAP. The week is strenuous, involving lessons from Mays’ best faculty and an extensive group project, giving practical application to their class work. The conclusion of the week is a competitive presentation that amounts to an oral exam and marketing pitch rolled into one.

But the hours of toil are well worth the effort, say participants. Not only is the program all expenses paid, it is also an inside look into the world of business that most young people considering college don’t see.

Working in teams of four, each group was tasked with the creation of a business plan for a unique restaurant in the Bryan/College Station area, taking into consideration all of the financial trappings of starting a new venture.

Not only did they do the fun stuff, like filming a commercial and picking out the furniture and place settings for their store, they also did more technical tasks such as market research to support a sales estimate and preparing a series of operating budgets to estimate the costs of running their business for the first year.

Students involved in the Business Careers Awareness Program got creative as they presented their new venture ideas to a panel of judges at the conclusion of the week. Their final presentation included a commercial, examination of the local market, and a series of operating budgets to estimate the costs of running their business for the first year. This one?

A cupcake company.

Leo Flores drove up from Laredo to take part. He says his father is in real estate, so he knew a little about business, but the experience was still enlightening. “I’ve learned the basic outline of a business, the business plan, and what you need to accomplish before you even start coming up with ideas,” he said. Flores says BCAP gave him insight into what you need to do to have a successful business. “I have a good head start on my future,” he says.

Recruiting is a major component of the week, says Annie McGowan, associate professor of accounting at Mays who helped to create BCAP. “I’m dedicated to seeing the minority population here grow,” she said, touting a retention rate of 60 percent each year from the program to the school.

A generous portion of the funding for BCAP is provided by Ernst & Young,

who is also a major recruiter at Mays.

“The value for Ernst & Young, and all of our sponsors is we hope that it improves diversity in their workplace as they hire our students,” said McGowan.

Other sponsors are Boeing and Shell.

McGowan hopes that BCAP not only interests the best students in a business education, but that it will also dispel some racial myths about the Texas A&M campus. Many times, African American students overlook A&M because of its lack of diversity and reputation for not being a welcoming place to nonCaucasians, said McGowan. “Time and time again we hear ‘you have changed my mind about A&M,’” she said. “We want to give them a realistic view of what our campus looks like, and let them know that it is a friendly place.”

For more information about BCAP, contact Annie McGowan (amcgowan@mays.tamu.edu). maysbusiness.tamu.edu

7

Over Coffee

Faculty awards and honors • Murray Barrick, professor and head of the Department of Management Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 2008 Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award • Leonard Berry, Distinguished Professor of Marketing Texas A&M University Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence Award • Stanley Kratchman, professor of accounting American Accounting Association Gender Issues and Work-Life Balance Section KPMG Mentoring Award • Michael Shaub, CPA and clinical professor of accounting Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants 2008 Outstanding Accounting Educator Award • Clair Nixon, professor of accounting Bala Shetty, executive associate dean and professor of information and operations management Mays EMBA class of 2008 Teaching Excellence Award • Duane Ireland, Distinguished Professor of Management, Texas A&M University, Named a University Distinguished Professor

• Sudheer Chava , assistant professor of finance Finance Research Letters Ross Best Paper Award • Mike Hitt , Distinguished Professor of Management Leonard Berry, Distinguished Professor of Marketing Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award in Research

8

@MAYS

PhD Project opens doors, provides support Mays works with national program to increase diversity in business

T

here is a shortage of minority representation among U.S. business school faculty. Research indicates that this in turn leads to fewer minority students choosing to pursue business studies at all levels of education; As a result, corporate America continues to be hampered by a lack of diversity.

That’s where the PhD Project steps in. Mays Business School is one of many universities that have partnered with this innovative nonprofit program whose mission is to increase cultural diversity in the marketplace by increasing ethnicity within business school faculties.

The project recruits successful minority business people and asks them to consider leaving the corporate world to become college professors. Developed 14 years ago, the project has aided in increasing the number of minority business professors in the nation from 294 to 950, with nearly 400 more candidates currently enrolled in doctoral programs.

Christopher Porter, associate professor of management and Mays research fellow, knows the PhD Project from both sides of the coin: he is a graduate of the program who now recruits and supports project participants at Mays. Porter says that Mays has been particularly successful at recruiting these students, and that has been a valuable thing for the school. “The program has helped us diversify our business [school] which benefits both our faculty and students. There are many students at A&M who have never had an instructor who was African American, Hispanic American, or Native American.

They need these experiences and this exposure to others and the PhD Project has helped us provide those experiences,” he said.

For more information about the PhD Project, visit www.phdproject.org.

Want to know more about the current economic crisis? Visit our website to read up on guest appearances from industry insiders, from bankers to entrepreneurs, who share their opinions about how we got here and where we’re headed.

See tinyurl.com/Maysspeakers.

Over Coffee

Facebook Fun – We are on Facebook Mays Business School

Mini Feed

A

re you on Facebook? Chances are if you’re between 25 and 54, you may be one of the more than 18 million adults to have joined the social networking phenomenon originally aimed at college students. No longer a mere forum for complaining about your professors, today’s Facebook crowd is using the medium to reconnect with old friends, share family photos, and keep abreast of the latest news from their favorite organizations.

Thousands of former Mays students are on Facebook—take a moment to search for old classmates. And if you haven’t already done so, become a fan of Mays Business School and Texas A&M to keep in the know about campus happenings.

Differential tuition implemented, showing positive results

W

hile it’s too soon to tell to the total impact of the differential tuition measures Mays implemented in fall 2008, preliminary metrics indicate that the change has been beneficial as planned.

“It is important that we demonstrate to our students that we will be good stewards with their tuition dollars, and these results make our case,” said Dean Strawser.

Differential Tuition: The impact in fall 2008 • 32 sections of upper division classes added • 12 sections of common body of knowledge (CBK) added • Average upper division class size decreased from 39 to 33 • CBK average class size decreased 46 percent • 16 new faculty hires

It is important that we demonstrate to our students that we will be good stewards with their tuition dollars, and these results make our case.

An added bonus of the reduced class size is that it could improve Mays placement in national rankings.

Evaluations by organizations such as Business Week and U.S. News and World Report take into account student/instructor ratios when figuring their annual lists.

maysbusiness.tamu.edu

9

Network

Dining in the Dark Making the seeing sightless for a moment

W

hat if you couldn’t see what was on your plate? How would you know what was being served?

Even if you had a fork in your hand, how would you know where to scoop up food? To those that live without vision, these are not hypothetical questions. Until we experience the challenges of others, we often cannot understand their everyday struggles.

That’s what compelled Mays MBA graduate Aaron Rager ’07 to bring the Dining in the Dark fundraiser to Dallas, Texas, for the first time last April.

“These galas are typically about who’s who and rubbing shoulders. But with Dining in the Dark, the message isn’t lost. When you eat in the dark, your senses are heightened,” said Rager, regional event director for the Foundation Fighting Blindness. He added that because people don’t know what they are eating or who is serving them, there is a sense of vulnerability and a realization of the challenge of living without sight. “People were popping butter balls like olives, drinking more wine because no one could count the empty glasses in front of them.

Their shirts and faces were covered in food, but the experience moved some to tears, just seeing what those without vision go through every day,” he said.

Rager plans functions in cities throughout Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Colorado to raise awareness and funds through this charitable event, which invites prominent social figures to try their hand at eating a dinner they cannot see to better understand the life of a person without vision. The event first appeared in the United Kingdom, quickly making its way onto the U.S. social scene in Orange County, Los Angeles, Baltimore, and 10

@MAYS

“People were popping butter balls like olives, drinking more wine because no one could count the empty glasses in front of them. Their shirts and faces were covered in food, but the experience moved some to tears, just seeing what those without vision go through everyday,” said Aaron Rager ‘07, a regional event director for the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Rager is pictured here with two attendees of the 2008 Dining in the Dark event held in Dallas.

New York City. The gala is normally an award-driven dinner, attended by the most well-to-do socialites in a community. In Dallas, for example, the debut Dining in the Dark event honored Ebby Halliday, Dallas’ first name in real estate; entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens; and Kern Wildenthal, president of UT Southwestern Medical Center.

This event is more than just a job for Rager, who is himself visually impaired: he was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at age 14. Though doctors predicted he would be able to see for only a few more years, Rager continues to see with limited vision today. “There are good and bad days, but you just don’t have time to worry.

With the vision that I have left, I have an opportunity to help the organization that is helping not only my family, but thousands of others that are affected by blinding diseases,” Rager said.

Rager first learned about the Foundation Fighting Blindness while at Mays. He created a student organization, which organized fundraisers to support the foundation. The events included the Swing for Sight Golf Tournament, which brought in close to $20,000 in its first year. After graduating from the MBA program, Rager followed his dreams of working in sports publicity, with positions on professional teams such as the Portland Trail Blazers.

The opportunity to help others struggling with blindness pulled him back to the nonprofit arena, and he moved to Dallas in March 2007 to work with the foundation.

Rager certainly achieved his goal, as the first Dallas Dining in the Dark gala raised close to $400,000 for the foundation. The 2009 event honored Ross Perot, Sr., and Sam Wyly.

Network

Aggie tradition, spanning generations A&M is more than the place where you got an education. It’s the place where you met lifelong friends, challenged your beliefs, found your passion, and grew into the person you were meant to become. Keep the traditions alive in your family.

Newborn Carter Lee grasps the hand of his father, Ryan Lee ‘98.

Mays alumnus now dean of LSU’s business school

I

f a school can be judged by the success of its graduates, Mays has reason to be proud. Many Mays alumni have become successful business people, marketplace leaders, and academicians; a handful of top PhD graduates have achieved the exalted position that has a direct impact on the business leaders of tomorrow: dean of a business school.

In the summer of 2008, Eli Jones ’82 assumed the top position at the E.J. Ourso College of Business at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Jones is a three–peat Aggie, as he graduated from A&M with a bachelor’s degree in 1982, an MBA in 1986, and a PhD in marketing in 1997.

Prior to his appointment at LSU, Jones was an associate dean and professor of marketing at the University of Houston where he worked for 11 years.

“Eli was one of our most outstanding doctoral students in the mid ’90s,” said Jeff Conant, head of the marketing department at Mays.

“From the first moment I met Eli, I knew he was destined for greatness and major leadership roles. He understands the multiple missions of large universities and has personally made effective teaching, conducting relevant research, and serving our discipline through professional service, a high priority in his career.”

Jones is not alone in his new job title. Several other Mays PhD alumni from recent years have also attained the position of dean, including Mays’ own Dean Strawser ’85. Denise Smart ’84 is the dean of the McCoy College of Business Administration at Texas State University—San Marcos. Frederick

Three-peat Aggie business graduate Eli Jones ’82 was named dean of the E.J. Ourso College of Business at Louisiana State University in 2008. He is one of four Mays graduates currently serving as deans.

Niswander ’93 is dean of the College of Business at East Carolina University.

James Gaertner ’77 was formerly dean of the business school at the University of Texas and is now president of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. Roberto Solano Mendez ’94 served for several years as dean of the business school at the Universidad de las Américas in Puebla, Mexico. maysbusiness.tamu.edu

11

Network

The business of education Mays graduates involved in education reform and national teaching corps

A

Mays Business Fellows trip to New York City during spring break of her senior year changed the direction of Angelina Fonseca’s life. It was on this trip that the marketing major from Lake Jackson, Texas, first came in contact with Teach For America.

Fonseca ’06 was drawn to the organization’s mission of providing all American children, no matter where they live or how much money their family has, with a high-quality education that would put them on equal ground with children in the best schools. One month before graduating from Mays, Fonseca applied to the TFA program. She was accepted, went through an intensive crash course in teaching that summer, earned her state teaching certificates, and was placed in a 5th grade classroom in Brownsville, Texas, in August.

At A&M, Fonseca minored in Spanish, planning to pursue a career in international marketing. Her international aspiration was fulfilled: Her classroom, near the Mexico border, was completely bilingual. She taught every subject in Spanish and English. *** Wendy Kopp, founder and CEO of Teach For America, was honored with the 2008 Kupfer Distinguished Executive Award at Mays in September 2008. She addressed more than 300 Mays undergraduates during her visit to campus. “Still to this day, in this country that aspires to be a land of opportunity for all, where you’re born 12

@MAYS

“It’s life changing,” said Angela Fonseca ’06, of her Teach for America experience.

“It’s rewarding. You see the impact, the growth, the change immediately.”

• 13 million kids are growing up below the poverty level in the U.S. today.

• Half of them will not graduate from high school, and the half that do will only function at an eighth grade level.

• Only 7 percent of kids that grow up in poverty will attend college. Even fewer will graduate.

determines your educational prospects and your life prospects,” said Kopp.

TFA’s mission is to build the movement to eliminate educational inequity in the nation by enlisting its most promising future leaders in the effort. “Ultimately, I know we’ll get there,” says Kopp, who describes TFA teachers as “relentless” and “inspiring leaders” that motivate their students with their passion. “They go into a situation a lot of people have given up on…and they set a vision,” she said.

“What they’re proving to us at the classroom level is that [educational inequality] is a problem that is solvable.”

Since its inception, Teach For America has impacted hundreds of thousands of young people in urban and rural areas by providing them with excellent teachers. There are currently 6,000 TFA teachers in the field and 14,000 alumni.

Kopp encouraged her student audience

to consider serving for two years as a teacher after graduating from Mays.

Fonseca is only one of the many Mays graduates that have taken on Kopp’s challenge. After spending two years with TFA, Fonseca is now a study abroad advisor in the International Programs Office at Texas A&M. “It’s life changing,” said Fonseca of her TFA experience. “It’s rewarding.

You see the impact, the growth, the change, immediately.”

The Kupfer Distinguished Executive Award is given in memory of Harold Kupfer ’54 by his friends Gerald Ray ’54 and Donald Zale ’55. The award recognizes a business professional that has made a significant impact on the world.

To read more coverage about the 2008 Kupfer event, see tinyurl.com/ Kupfer2008.

Network

Spirit-filled

Two Mays students serve as Aggie yell leaders

O

n Saturdays in the fall, they have only one thing on their mind when donning their starched white uniforms and matching athletic shoes: leading the Aggie team to victory and preserving the 12th Man spirit that defines Texas A&M University.

Finance majors Ben Debayle ’09 and Casey Schaefer ’10, both from Katy, have served as Aggie yell leaders this year, balancing the demanding position with their role as students.

For yell leaders, performances are a year-round activity. The group travels across Texas from week to week, including summer and school holidays. Debayle and Schaefer say that their ability to handle these high expectations is due to their Corps of Cadets experience.

“I think the Corps really prepared us both for this. The Corps responsibilities and the pressure you get in your freshman year really prepare you for what you have to do as a yell leader,” said Debayle. While fellow Aggies enjoyed leisurely summer activities, Debayle and Schaefer joined the three other yell leaders in almost daily performances.

The group visited several Texas cities to perform for A&M Clubs, Aggie Mom’s Clubs, and schools; the group often split up to cover all of the events.

Adding to the packed schedule, Debayle, Schaefer, and the rest of their crew attended football two-a-days, promoted and planned First Yell, and introduced traditions to the next generation of Aggies at each session of Fish Camp.

Debayle and Schaefer say that being part of one of Texas A&M’s greatest traditions makes it all worthwhile.

“There’s not much we can complain about. Yeah, there are times when we get only one or two hours of sleep a night,

Aggie yell leaders, including Mays students Ben Debayle ’09 (third from right) and Casey Schaefer ’10 (far right), pose with President George H.W. Bush.

“It’s awesome to keep that Aggie Spirit alive, the thing that makes this school so special.” but it’s nothing we can’t handle. We get up and go, just do it,” said Schaefer.

For Schaefer, the desire to spread the spirit of the 12th Man could in part be a result of his Aggie bloodline. His father graduated with an accounting degree in 1977, and his grandfather is a proud member of the class of 1928. “Looking at where we’ve come from and where we’re at now, this is just such a special time at Texas A&M. It’s awesome to keep that Aggie Spirit alive, the thing that makes this school so special,” he said.

For Debayle, who serves as chaplain for the Corps of Cadets, being a yell leader is more than just about the tradition; he also sees it as a unique ministry opportunity, as he interacts

with so many people. “I looked up to the upperclassmen in the Corps when I was a freshman; they taught me a lot about myself spiritually and physically.

I always knew this position would be a great opportunity to be there for another freshman some day,” he said.

Both men recognize that Aggie yell leaders help build the foundation of tradition at A&M, and Debayle and Schaefer are proud of their involvement in the continuum. “A&M has changed; it’s the nature of things.

But one thing that will never change is the spirit, and we are the leaders that are responsible for keeping that alive on campus,” said Debayle. maysbusiness.tamu.edu

13

Network

Working for Beans …

How can coffee be used to stimulate the economy? Using his Mays education, Nic Tauton ’07 worked with the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture to improve the lives of desperately poor people in Butare, Rwanda, through coffee production.

… But not for nothing

P

acked-dirt streets. Dilapidated buildings. Bustling streets lined with trash. Women in bright-colored dresses. Balanced fruit baskets on heads. Eyes of the children. More than a decade after the 1994 genocide claimed one million lives, the Rwandan people struggle to restore normalcy to their devastated country.

It was the eyes of the children he remembers most. “I was stared at

14

@MAYS

everyday, everywhere I went, and for some young children I was the first white person they had ever seen. One even cried in fright. The staring eyes held everything from fascination to contempt.”

Unlike most college students who rev up their résúme upon graduation and prepare for their entrance into the corporate world, Nic Taunton ’07 decided on a different path—one that led him to one of the most poverty-

stricken regions of Africa. His unique service opportunity in Rwanda surfaced through his relationship with Ed Price, director of the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture at A&M. “Dr. Price oversees many Texas A&M projects abroad where people are making an incredible difference in our world, and I was fortunate enough to convince him that I could help with one of those projects,” said Taunton.

Network

The project of choice involved Taunton with the United States Agency for International Development, Sustaining Partnerships to Enhance Rural Enterprise and Agribusiness Development, more easily referred to as USAID/ SPREAD. The SPREAD project gave Taunton the opportunity to travel to Rwanda, the poorest and most densely populated country in continental Africa. SPREAD uses coffee production as an economic development tool.

While there, Taunton used his business knowledge to consult two small entities that play a role in Rwanda’s economy: Rwanda Small Holder Specialty Coffee Company and Rwanda Specialty Coffee Roasters. The Specialty Coffee Company exports coffee and returns a portion of their sales to the farmers, and planned to use the roasting business to increase the farmers’ coffee production profit. With his plan, Taunton hoped to improve both businesses and in turn improve the farmers’ quality of life.

“I was stared at everyday, everywhere I went, and for some young children I was the first white person they had ever seen.”

If that sounds easy, it wasn’t.

“When I first stepped into the small warehouse, the company consisted of three workers who roasted and packed coffee, wrote down sales on a piece of paper, filled orders along the way, and only worked about 25 hours per week. In hopes of improving this situation, I was given full authority to manage the company and enact business procedures as I saw fit,” Taunton said. He restructured the board of directors, decreased the workforce and brought new standard operating procedures to the office.

He also developed an export logistics

“My experience [in Rwanda] was one of the most humbling and inspiring times of my life,” said Taunton who is now a student at the University of Texas School of Law. He says that his goal for the future are simple: find another opportunity to serve.

database and created new marketing material for company promotions.

As if restructuring a struggling business wasn’t hard enough, the language and cultural barriers also presented a major challenge. After getting past this, Taunton was able to significantly improve the company and create its first ever sales report and accounting procedures. “None of what I did was rocket science; it only took patience and persistence to get the plans put into action in a society that is slow to change and where business is not taught or understood,” he said.

While he did encounter obstacles due to the differences in mindset and education, Taunton pointed out that the people he worked with were some of the best and brightest in Rwanda, who continue to impact their country each day. “My experience was one of the most humbling and inspiring times of my life,” Taunton said.

During his years at Texas A&M, Taunton earned accolades, including student body president and leadership positions in other campus organizations.

After graduating from Mays with a degree in finance, Taunton received the Brown Foundation-Earl Rudder Memorial Outstanding Student Award, A&M’s highest honor bestowed upon a graduating senior.

Taunton is currently enrolled at the University of Texas School of Law. As for his plans after law school? While he is still unsure of the specific area of law he’ll enter, Taunton’s goal is simple: find another opportunity to serve.

maysbusiness.tamu.edu

15

Features

China

T h e R ising S u p e r p o w e r

S

lightly larger in square mileage than the U.S. and slightly smaller than Europe, China is the world’s most populous country, home to one-in-five people on the planet. It’s one of the oldest continuous civilizations, dating back more than 6,000 years. Known for its exclusivity in its 20th century history, in recent decades it has thrown wide the gates for companies from all over the world, including such iconic American brands as McDonald’s and Wal-Mart; at the same time, the Chinese are spreading their clout through global investments.

China is the fastest growing major economy, contributing the most to global growth in 2007 and represents the fourth largest economy in the world after the United States, Japan, and Germany (Chinese media reports that by 2010 their economy will be ranked third). This bustling country, experts say, is poised to become the next great economic superpower.

As China grows in its influence, understanding its people, culture, and economy is essential for those in business, in the U.S. and abroad. Here, you’ll find three perspectives on China, each with insights on its past, present and future and its increasing global influence.

Part I: The Academic

How economic growth in China is transform ing Am erica

By Venkatesh Shankar Most Americans are aware that the Chinese economy is growing rapidly and is changing the balance of power in the global economy. At the same time, we have seen a number of recalls of tainted “Made in China” products, mainly toys 16

@MAYS

and milk—arguably, a casualty of the unfettered economic growth in China. Just how fast is the Chinese economy growing, and what does it mean for U.S. businesses?

China’s GDP is growing at an average annual rate of 8.2 percent (by comparison, the U.S. economy is in recession). I suspect that as the global financial crisis continues, even China’s growth rate will slow; however, according to estimates by Goldman Sachs, China is poised to overtake the U.S. as the world’s leading economic power by 2043. While this trend offers significant business opportunities for American companies, it is also changing the landscape for U.S. firms and consumers.

• U.S. multinational companies are now treating China differently than other countries. The head of an international firm’s China market is typically among the top executives of the corporation. Some companies, such as Kodak, have shifted their Asian headquarters from places like Singapore and Hong Kong to mainland China. Most U.S. firms now have Chinese managers as the head of China operations—a far cry from the past when expatriate Americans used to run their companies’ China operations.

Features

• China is developing its own global corporations. The personal computer maker, Lenovo, which bought IBM’s PC business, is among the top five global PC companies today. Haier, an appliance manufacturer, is rapidly boosting its international scope. CNOOC, a top Chinese oil and gas firm, is fast expanding across the globe, most notably in Africa, seen as the future growth continent.

• The global strategies of many American companies are driven

by China. While the legendary U.S. automaker General Motors is bleeding in the U.S., it is making a solid profit in the Chinese market. Also, Microsoft and Motorola have identified China as a leading source of future R&D and manufacturing.

• Entrepreneurs are flourishing in China and the U.S. Many Chinese start-up firms are now able to take successful U.S. business ideas, be it franchising or componentmanufacturing, and turn them into successful businesses, mainly due to the presence of large markets within and outside China. By the same token, U.S. entrepreneurs are now able to sell many products in China, thanks to the Internet and the increasingly free flow of trade.

• As with many rapidly growing economies, there is the side effect of growing environmental pollution in China. The surging demand for oil, coal and steel compounded with the inadequate climate control restraints have catapulted China into the unenviable position of being among the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world.

What changes do these developments portend for Americans? For starters,

Bicycles are still a common method of commuting.

I predict that more of us will learn about China, and more people from each country will visit the other. We will also see more Chinese products targeted at value-conscious market segments. We should expect more capital to come from China and more R&D and manufacturing activities to be based in China. There will be increasing demand for American-style education, know-how, and technologies in China. Distinctly American concepts and products will be more popular in China, such as coffee and ice cream cake (Chinese are traditionally tea drinkers and don’t eat much cake). The growth in trade and business with China will bring Americans increasingly closer to China. Will we eventually drive Chinese cars and speak Mandarin Chinese? Time alone will tell.

Venkatesh (Venky) Shankar is professor of marketing and Coleman Chair in Marketing at Mays Business School. His areas of specialization include digital business, competitive strategy, international marketing, innovation, new product management, pricing, retailing, and branding. His research

has been published widely and his first book, on the topic of the emergent superpower economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, will be published in 2009. He may be contacted at venky@venkyshankar.com.

Shankar predicts In the near future…

• More Americans will learn Chinese • More Chinese products will be introduced in American markets for value-conscious segments • More global companies’ R&D and manufacturing will be based in China • Demand for American-style education and products will increase in China • Growth in trade will bring American and Chinese economies and cultures closer together

maysbusiness.tamu.edu

17

Features

Part II: The Businessman As a finance student at Mays the thought never occurred to Cyrill Eltschinger ’89 that someday he would be an Olympic torchbearer.

However, one day last July, Eltschinger jogged slowly through the busy streets of Lanzhou, in Gansu province, holding aloft the flaming symbol of athletic purity and the quest for perfection. For this Aggie entrepreneur and author, building a life in China for nearly 15 years has been full of these sorts of unexpected opportunities. He says that the country is more than a fascinating place to do business. It’s also home.

“Being a foreign professional in a market like China today is absolutely amazing, once you get familiar with the rules of engagement in this complex environment,” says Eltschinger, the Swiss-born CEO of Softtek China, a global IT outsourcing and software development services firm.

Based on his own successes in the country, Eltschinger wants business-savvy Aggies to prepare themselves for the future by gaining expertise on the Asian giant. “It’s an absolute must,” he says. “Whether you like it or not, the China market and the Chinese economy is going to catch up with you in the market you will choose to be in, wherever that may be.”

“Doing business in the future will not only be a global endeavor, but those that will become the next generation of business leaders will be those that understand the strategic importance of a vigorous engagement including market share in China,” says Eltschinger, who received the 2008 Great Wall Friendship Award for just such engagement. The award from the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality is the highest recognition given to foreign business people in the city. It was as part of this recognition that Eltschinger was able to carry the Olympic torch for the 2008 games.

“My recommendation to Mays graduates is to…get familiar with Asian culture and how business is done here,” he says. Eltschinger stresses the importance of learning the language now, as he says it’s more challenging to carve out time for study once you’re in the Chinese marketplace, where 12- to 15-hour workdays six days a week can be the norm.

Building a career in China has been an exciting ride for Eltschinger. A three-week assignment with previous employer EDS first brought him to the country. Soon after, he became the head of technical infrastructure for EDS in China, responsible for the information and communications systems and automation of General Motors’ operations in that country. Eventually, he put out his own shingle, starting the software development service I.T. United. In August 2007, he sold the company to Monterrey-headquartered Softtek, but continues to run the China market for the company.

18

@MAYS

Presentation is everything: In China, the presentation of a business card is more formal than in the U.S. Giving your card to a business contact requires both hands and a slight bow. It’s poor form to accept a business card and put it in your pocket without taking a moment to read it fully. Also, Chinese business cards tend to be on higher quality stock with the person’s title prominently placed.

His experience has made him an expert in the field of IT services in China. A frequent public speaker, Eltschinger is the author of Source Code China: The New Global Hub of IT Outsourcing, which addresses China’s growing technology boom for software development and high-tech services. He also serves as a strategy advisor for the TORCH Center, the technology-focused agency of China’s Ministry of Science and Technology, as well as several other groups.

Though he lives abroad, Eltschinger is still an active Aggie.

He is the founding president of the Texas A&M University China Club. More importantly, he played a vital role in establishing a relationship between the A&M MBA program and Tsinghua University in Beijing, China’s premier business school. Thanks in part to his efforts, there is now a reciprocal exchange program for students at both universities. “I believe it is a formidable asset for Mays and for the Tsinghua MBA program to have forged this partnership,” he said. “It will

Features

The skyline of Shanghai on the Huangpu River. Shanghai, with a population of 20 million, is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world. It’s located on the Eastern coast of China at the mouth of the Yangtze River.

hopefully create a wealth of mutual academic achievements. It will benefit students, not only from an economic perspective, but also from cultural and friendship aspects as well.”

Kerry Cooper, director of the Center for International Business Studies (CIBS) at Mays, agrees with Eltschinger about the value of the reciprocal exchange with Tsinghua.

“China is enormously important to the United States, to the world economy.

The more we can get our students to study China or go to China, the better off they’re going to be when they are doing business with the Chinese in the future, as they most certainly will be.”

“One of our biggest priorities is to get our students to China, and we have a number of relationships that make it easy to do that,” said Cooper, mentioning both short-term and semester-long programs Mays students have available to them through CIBS in Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong. In addition to time in Chinese classrooms, these programs also involve visits to Chinese business firms and cultural sights, such as Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.

“Relations with China are extremely important. Our students need to learn about it in the classroom, and

above all, they need the opportunity to go there,” said Cooper.

You can contact Eltschinger at celtschinger@gmail.com and Cooper at kcooper@mays.tamu.edu.

Part III: The Students Ming Liu isn’t from Beijing, but after living there for eight years, he says the city of 17 million people is home to him. “Home is where you find yourself at home, where you are comfortable,” he says, which reminds him of one reason College Station just doesn’t feel like home: it’s too uncrowded.

Aside from missing life in a major metropolis, Liu, a first-year MBA student, says that he’s glad he chose to leave China to continue his education in the U.S. It was Mays’ prestigious rankings that drew him to the school last year. Liu plans to graduate in December ’09 and return to China to pursue a career in finance.

It’s been tough being away from his family and familiar culture, but Liu says that he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get an American education. “Business school in China is still kind of a new concept,” he said.

Fast Facts about China • Formal name: People’s Republic of China (PRC) • Capital: Beijing • Head of State: President Hu Jintao • Climate: extremely diverse, tropical in the south to subarctic in the north • Population density: 134 people/square km (four times greater than that of the U.S.) • Territory: 9.6 million square km • Annual per capita income: 19,000 yuan/ $2,760 US (2007) • Internet usage: more than 250 million users, the largest number per country in the world • Population: 1.3 billion • GDP: $11.4 trillion (2007) maysbusiness.tamu.edu

19

Features

“You ask why we come to the United States,” says Liu’s classmate, Ping Zhou, who will graduate with Liu in ’09. “It’s simple: to get the best education.”

Liu agreed with Zhou’s assessment.

“In the United States, you have the best faculty and world-class schools,” he said. “There is a solid foundation in your education system that other countries cannot yet replicate.” Both men are hopeful about their job prospects, despite the state of the economy. Zhou plans to stay in the U.S. after graduation and work his way up in a multinational company that has a branch of the business in China.

“There’s no survivor of this global financial crisis, because we are all part of the supply chain…but China has been relatively sheltered and the economy has not been quite as shocked,” thanks to the government’s capital flow restrictions, says Liu, who thinks it might be slightly easier for him to find a job in China than in the U.S. “If the economy was good, I would probably stay for five to 10 years here, to get experience. That would make me more competitive when I would go back to China,” he said, noting that China is not exempt from the economic woes that are gripping the global markets. “China has its own longexisting economic structural problem, as seen with the collapse of many exporting manufacturers in south China recently.”

Liu admits he has a secondary reason for returning to China: he wants to be closer to his family. “I’m more of a family man,” he said, and it’s difficult and expensive to make frequent trips home to visit. Liu says most of his Chinese friends studying in the U.S. see their families less than once a year.

Zhou and Liu hope that their growing familiarity with U.S. culture and business practices will be a boon as they begin their careers. Liu describes the U.S.-China business relations as “inseparable. Both economies are relying on each other… our relationship is strategic.”

20

@MAYS

“There’s no survivor of this global financial crisis, because we are all part of the supply chain.”

Though both men have studied English since middle school, they say that the language barrier has made their first term at Mays especially challenging. Still, they recognize how superior their English will be when they return to China after a period of immersion—a skill that will be very valuable in business.

“That’s why we are going to school, so that we can find a better job in this downward economy,” Lui said.

When asked about the rash of product recalls of toys and products manufactured in China, Liu says he doesn’t think it has had a great impact on the Chinese economy. “It created some distrust,” he said, amending that

Chinese products are still less expensive, so people will continue to buy them, despite their misgivings. Additionally, he notes that regulation of products is becoming tighter, which is improving the quality of products in China.

Zhou admires many things about business in the U.S., most importantly the transparency and regulation on corporations that keeps them honest.

This is one of the reasons Zhou wants to stay in the States, rather than return to China after graduation. “The reason many people from China come to the United States is that it’s a very attractive place. If you want to achieve success in academia or take a leap in your career, this is a good place to be,” he says.

Resources for more information:

Associated Press. “China Defends Right To Censor Web Sites.” 17 Dec. 2008.

The Washington Post.

Kurtenbach, Elaine and Chi-Chi Zhang. “30 Years Transform China, But Not Its Politics.”

18 Dec. 2008. CBS News.

Leow, Jason. “China Leaders Promise More Liberalization.” 18 Dec. 2008.

The Wall Street Journal.

Rosenberg, Matt. “China Population: The population growth of the world’s largest country.” July 20, 2008. About.com. www.China.org.cn

A few Mays entrepreneurs share their experiences

I

t’s the American dream: owning your own business, calling the shots, and experiencing the thrills of capitalism. But the luxury of being your own boss doesn’t happen without hard work, dedication, and the willingness to take a risk. It takes a special kind of person to endure the challenges that come with entrepreneurship, but it is these people that stimulate the economy and inspire us to make our dreams a reality. Though starting from the ground-up can be intimidating, when you are the owner, the possibilities are exciting.

Brad Cason ’06 MBA Co-founder, KirkLee Bicycles What is the greatest benefit of running your own business?

Being my own boss, and surrounding myself with people (both customers and partners) that love the industry as much as I do. The sky is the limit with entrepreneurship, and it is a lot of fun to build a company that is your own. As an entrepreneur, you have the ability to write and re-write the rules as needed.

What challenges did you face when starting KirkLee Bicycles?

KirkLee Bicycles is a manufacturing business that specializes in carbon fiber, so our challenges initially revolved around the manufacturing process. We had to design our own molds and processes to build the bicycles, so that took time. Once we figured out the manufacturing process, we were left with a product that no one knew existed, so the next challenge became marketing. We started telling our friends and later reached out to specialty stores, all while building the image of our product and company.

What success have you experienced since your business began?

Like all startups, not everything has gone our way, but in the short months since we have officially began, we have turned a lot of heads. The press we have received and the buzz about our bikes is excellent, and I attribute this marketing success to KirkLee’s focus on quality and pride in workmanship. Our client list consists of triathletes, AMA Superbike Racers, and professional cyclists, such as current U.S. national champion and Olympic gold medalist Tyler Hamilton, who rode with Lance Armstrong in the 1999, 2000, and 2001 Tours de France. All of our bills are paid in full, and each day is another step closer to our company vision. maysbusiness.tamu.edu

From the ground up

Features

21

Features

How has Mays contributed to your success?

If I did not get my MBA from Texas A&M, KirkLee would not exist. The largest contribution I have received from Mays is faculty contacts and networking opportunities. The friends I made at Mays are a big influence on me, and as KirkLee Bicycles grows, it gives me peace of mind knowing that I have faculty contacts with business experience that have been in my shoes.

Carolyn Goodwin ’01 Founder, WhirledCorp, LLC How did your business begin?

Before starting WhirledCorp, I was an investment banker for JPMorgan Chase.

During that time, I watched as certain companies continued to grow despite the ebbs and flows in the economy, and I realized that more than anything, it was the quality of the relationships that they held that allowed them to succeed.

What started as a simple concept of helping companies build relationships has grown into a full-service, relationship-based marketing firm, where we advise companies on how to develop the internal and external relationships essential to their success.

What sets WhirledCorp apart from others like it?

We’re different from traditional marketing companies in that we focus on the relationships that are built rather than the message that is presented. The truth is, it doesn’t matter how polished and refined a marketing campaign is if it doesn’t build loyalty with the target audience. When I meet with a prospect, my goal is to understand what the core value they provide is, and what relationships need to be developed in order to enable that company to succeed.

What are some unique challenges you have faced as a business owner?

Because I came from a completely unrelated industry, I had little experience in marketing. I didn’t know “standard procedure” when working with clients, such as how to structure a proposal or even who exactly I was marketing to. This actually turned out to be a huge asset, as it helped 22

@MAYS

me to start fresh and listen carefully to what my clients said, versus how I thought the process was supposed to be handled. I had to work extra hard to prove myself. I didn’t have a portfolio of work to share with prospects, so it was important to leverage the relationships I had made both in my personal life and in my career. I had to use my own business as an example of the work that I could do.

Has your business been successful?

Yes, beyond what I ever thought possible. My original intent was to try this out for a time and gain experience in marketing so I could move into another corporate role. I had no idea there would be such demand for our services, and the extent to which we could help companies strengthen their brand. I’m excited to go to work everyday, knowing that I’m growing a business that brings a personal touch to the corporate world.

It’s become more than a business venture now; I’m on a mission to change the way that businesses market themselves.

Corey Walter ’10

Co-founder, Don’t Get Screwed Books What is your business, and how did you get started?

Don’t Get Screwed Books is an online textbook store, aimed at making the process of buying and selling back books more profitable for college students. My partner, Anil Kapoor ’09, and I come from entrepreneurial family backgrounds, so it was natural for us to take our knowledge and interest of business and create a service business that will help students avoid the high prices of traditional college bookstores.

I have been buying and selling books on Amazon.com for a few years, so doing it for other people is a no-brainer. Students simply give us a list of the books they need each semester, and we find them online and deliver them. This is a way for college students to get the books they need for 30-50 percent less than they would at a bookstore, and at buy-back time, we have the ability to mark up the book prices at least 50 percent more to enable students to gain more from selling books back.

How long have you been up and running?

We began planning in mid-September, which included meeting with Mays Center for New Ventures and

Features

Entrepreneurship, as well as receiving legal advice from Mr. Keith Swim, a Mays business law professor and practicing attorney. Our first buy-back experience happened at the end of the fall semester 2008, and the first sales and delivery occurred with the start of the spring 2009 semester.

What challenges have you faced in getting started?

networking methods such as creating a Facebook group, sending information through an e-mail listserv, and telling people within our school organizations. With this comes the challenge of convincing people to buy their books online— most students won’t do this, so we have to show them that it’s in their best interest to purchase books in a new way.

Figuring out a way to market our company without actually paying for marketing. We really aren’t looking for a profit—we’re just looking to find the best deal for our customers, so the only expense we are working with is the initial book buy-back. Because of this, we have to find other ways to get the word out about our services, so we’ve utilized

What are your future plans for the business?

Bill on BIL

Garret Lisi (both of whom also presented at TED). The rest of the agenda was on an empty white-board broken into 15-minute time-slots, allowing any attendee of the two-day conference to sign up and become a presenter.

Erickson said they were amazed that the board filled up in four minutes. “Everybody came with something to say,” he said. BIL organizers expected an audience of 150, but they were pleased to have more than double that number in attendance, including 30 TED participants. Speakers presented on a variety of topics, from darknets (private virtual networks), to stem cell research, to quantum mechanics.

BIL 2009 was an even bigger success. This year’s conference was held at a larger venue in Long Beach to accommodate the more than 600 attendees. The white board was scrapped in favor of online registration for speakers.

The main speaker was Cameron Sinclair, the 2006 TED Prize recipient. Sinclair is the co-founder of the charitable organization Architecture for Humanity, which designs opensource housing for low-income people around the world.

Erickson said that the entire cost of the event, about $10,000, was contributed via free-will offerings from attendees, with the help of a few corporate sponsors.

In 2010, BIL is expanding—and getting smaller.

Erickson says in the next year, there will be “mini-BIL” conferences organized by others around the country, as well as the main conference in the spring. There has also been serious talk of BIL U.K. in the near future, though Erickson says that while he’s in favor of the conference going global, he doesn’t plan to organize it. For it to be successful, he says it will have to have local leadership. “If BIL U.K. happens, it’ll be because people there want it to happen,” he said. “I’m not a leader. I’m just a catalyst.”

Erickson, a finance major and entrepreneur from The Woodlands, Texas, is on target to graduate in May 2009.

Mays student seeks to democratize knowledge through free conference Bill Erickson ’09 is interested in simple ideas that change the world, not to make personal profit, but to benefit everyone.

Erickson’s latest venture: making knowledge free.

Inspired by TED, the annual conference for the world’s preeminent thinkers and entertainers, Erickson and his colleagues set out to create a gathering just as important, but sans the $6K admission ticket. Hence BIL, the “unconference” with the tag line “minds set free” debuted in March 2008 in Monterey, California—in the same neighborhood and following close on the heels of TED to encourage participation in both.

(As a side note, Erickson wanted to be sure to point out that the conference title was not a narcissistic act, but rather a nod to the 1989 cult classic Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.)

BIL was organized over the course of one month by Erickson and a network of colleagues in cyberspace who promoted the event through blog posts, Twitter, and their website bilconference.com/. They scheduled two headliners to speak, well-known scientists Aubrey de Grey and

As of right now, the goal is to get things running and expand our client base. Hopefully within five or six semesters, we’ll have a better idea of where we stand. Until then, we get the experience of creating a start-up business while saving people money.

maysbusiness.tamu.edu

23

Features

Anything but disabled: The first class of Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans at Mays featured warriors interested in ventures from retail to real estate.

Hooah, Ags.

Entrepreneurship Bootcamp at Mays offers disabled veterans a chance to make their dreams come true

J

ohn Reed owns the Double R Ranch, 30-acres in Gatesville, Texas, where he and his family raise horses and cattle.

Reed has a big dream for his ranch: a refuge for disabled veterans and others with physical or emotional trauma. He wants it to be a place for soldiers and their families to find healing together.

Until 2007, Reed was a sergeant in the Army, serving tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Combat injuries led to medical retirement, leaving him with 24

@MAYS

severe emotional issues as well as hearing loss and damaged knees. “I have real bad PTSD. The only place I feel comfortable is with my animals. I thought maybe that would work for others,” he said.

Reed realized the need for this sort of operation when he returned from duty and found that his disability was destroying his marriage. While there were plenty of medical services available to him, he couldn’t find help for his wife and children, who needed to learn

how to cope with the man who returned from the battlefield so changed.

Someday soon, Reed’s dream could be a reality, thanks to a new program offered at Mays Business School. Last summer he and 15 other disabled American veterans were the first to participate in the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV), which offered wounded warriors with vision and determination the tools needed to be able to make their businesses a success.

Features

The Program Dallas resident Natasha Espinoza is the sort of student you’d expect to find at Mays. She’s young, trendily dressed, and full of excitement about her proposed business venture, Royal Recreation, a boutique for “sneaker freaks,” those that pay top dollar for rare footwear. You would never guess by looking at Espinoza that she is an Army veteran, a Purple Heart recipient, and that she struggles daily with debilitating injuries sustained during a tour of combat duty in Iraq.

It’s for people like Reed and Espinoza that the EBV program began in 2007 at Syracuse University. It is now offered in consortium with that program through the Center for Executive Development at Mays, with UCLA, and Florida State University (Purdue University has joined the consortium for 2009). Participants are required to complete a three-week online course prior to an eight-day residency on one of the four campuses.

This crash course in small business start-up and operation is supported by a year of one-on-one mentoring from business faculty volunteers.

One of the best features of the program is that it is 100 percent cost-free for participants. Donors underwrite the entire program, including travel and lodging.

Ricky Griffin, then-interim dean of Mays, says that partnering with Syracuse in this venture was the easiest decision he’s made in his 15 months as dean, as Mays is a natural spot for this type of program.

“This university has a unique history that reflects a strong entrepreneurial spirit and a pervasive military culture,” Griffin said, citing noted Aggie entrepreneurs such as Lowry Mays as well as the tradition of the Corps of Cadets, which enables A&M to produce more officers than any other school with the exception of the military academies.

A&M President Elsa Murano echoed Griffin’s thoughts. “The folks that

One of the best features of the program is that it is 100 percent cost-free for participants. are in this program are the epitome of one of the values that we treasure so dearly here at Texas A&M and that is selfless service…A&M has a legacy of loyalty and love of country.”

While on the A&M campus in August 2008, participants heard from some of Mays’ best faculty who taught on a variety of topics, including innovation, sales, marketing, accounting, financing, supply chain, and business structure and strategy. Bootcamp was an accurate title. While the student vets may not have had to endure physical hardship, they did have a marathon of mental exercise to complete, culminating in a final presentation of their business plan in front of an audience of their classmates, local entrepreneurs, and faculty members. Participants were often faced with 12–15-hour days as they took a dream and crafted a workable business plan around it.

Guest presenters provided part of the curriculum as well. Successful entrepreneurs told participants about their own challenges. A disability specialist presented daily about benefits and services the vets could take advantage of as they set out on their new venture. A banker and a legal expert both gave advice about common pitfalls of entrepreneurs and helped EBV participants to get the inside track on those vital components of the business world.

There was a little time for entertainment, too, as the group was treated to a dinner at the Sam Houston Sanders’ Corps of Cadets Center. They toured the museum, ate Texas barbeque, and visited with the next generation

military—Corps members that will soon be officers in the armed forces. EBV participants also spent an evening at Messina Hof, a local winery owned by Mays graduate Merrill Bonarrigo ’75 and her husband, Paul, who gave the wouldbe entrepreneurs a realistic look at what it takes to be successful in business.

The people Those who took part in the program at Mays were a variety of ages, some in their early 20s, others in their early 60s. Some were amputees, others had scars, several wore hearing aids. They were of different ranks, races, genders, and education levels, with varying lengths of service in four branches of the military, but they were united by the shared experience of military life.

It didn’t take long for the members of the group to become a close-knit family, helping each other with their projects and giving encouragement through the long and challenging classes.

Many of their business plans focus on veteran services, from websites that help others get the benefits they deserve, to affordable housing for the disabled. This group of entrepreneurs isn’t out to make millions for themselves; their focus on service extends beyond their military deployment. Take for example Orlando Casteneda, an Army vet from Arlington, Texas. When he was medically retired, he went to work raising money for scholarships for the children of disabled veterans. Discouraged with the number of businesses and individuals that said they supported the troops but wouldn’t open their wallets to show maysbusiness.tamu.edu

25

Features

Participant Toni Williams served eight years in the United States Marine Corps. Her dream is to open a childcare facility and school for special needs infants through adolescents from economically disadvantaged families.

it, he determined to start a business and raise the capital himself.

Casteneda’s trade in customizable wearable art began while he was serving in Iraq: He drew a design on his patrol cap and people noticed. Friends liked it so much, they asked him to personalize their combat wear. In 2003, his vehicle hit a roadside bomb, leaving him with brain trauma that affects his vision, hearing, and memory. While recovering at a military hospital in Germany, his business continued to grow as he made personalized items for other patients.

The light bulb moment came when he was offered $100 for a hat that cost him $3 to make. Today, his work can be seen on celebrities such as rapper Lil Flip and NBA player Devin Harris. This kind of success only fuels Casteneda’s passion for using his art to raise money for other disabled veterans and their families.

Casteneda says he gained more than business knowledge from the EBV program, he also found important business contacts: two other participants with previous business experience have agreed to serve as his CEO and chief marketing director. “If we make enough money, we’re going to be able to finance everyone else in the class,” he says, noting that his EBV classmates all had excellent ideas that he wants to be a part of.

26

@MAYS

Boots on the ground at Mays Donald Martinez was medically separated from the Army only a few days prior to the start of EBV. He has a two-inch, pink scar running down his right wrist, a memento of a humvee rollover. After multiple surgeries, he still can’t do a push up or fire a weapon. What is harder to see are the emotional scars he bears. He, like many veterans of this war, is a victim of post-traumatic stress disorder, which leaves him sleepless, anxious, and unable to focus. His experiences with these unexpected setbacks motivate him in his new business venture as a financial advisor. His dream is to help young soldiers plan for financial security in life beyond the military, so that they can be prepared for whatever might happen when they go into the field.

“All of us in the [Aggie EBV] program joined the military before the war on terror, not knowing what we were getting into, unlike today’s officers and enlisted,” said Martinez. “Despite the war, people are still volunteering for the military, and that’s why I am doing what I am doing as a financial planner for those coming in. I want to

provide them protection and service that I did not get when I came in.”

That preparedness is part of the military mindset—and part of the logo for the EBV program: a set of combat boots standing at attention. This image symbolizes troops at the ready, prepared for action. That idea was prevalent throughout the week of residency at Mays as the student vets equipped themselves for action with education.

To send the participants off with their new skills and knowledge, a formal graduation ceremony was held at the Annenburg Conference Center at the George Bush Presidential Library. With much fanfare, the EBV participants entered through a saber arch provided by the Ross Volunteers. The Singing Cadets provided stirring entertainment, including Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.” Murano and other top A&M system administrators attended the event.

The capstone of the evening was an address from Texas Governor Rick Perry ’72, who lauded the vets for their service.

As a former Corps of Cadets member and Air Force captain, Perry’s remarks had special significance for the audience.

“Texas has always been a place that has respected its veterans,” said Governor Perry. “Texans understand that men and women that have sacrificed for our freedoms are special individuals. Therefore, how can we take care of them?” He introduced a plan being developed by the state called the Texas Veterans Leadership Program, which will help returning soldiers to reorient into civilian life.

“The future of America is in young men and women’s hands, just like yours,” he told participants. “Thank you for giving back. Thank you for understanding that this country is great.”

Applications are now being accepted for the 2009 EBV program. Details may be found at whitman.syr.edu/ebv.

Partners

Peggy and Lowry Mays ’57 continue investment in Mays Business School Com m it additional $7.5 m illion for faculty support

F

ounder of Clear Channel Communications Lowry Mays ’57 and his wife Peggy have announced their continued support for the business school that bears the Mays name. Their recent $7.5 million gift will support a number of endowed faculty chairs. Part of the fund will be matched with gifts from other donors, bringing the total impact of the gift up to $12 million.

“At a time when so many are affected by this challenging economy, we are fortunate to benefit from the Mays’ generosity,” said Jerry Strawser, dean of Mays Business School. “Their

past support has enabled our school to achieve status as one of the top public business schools in the world, and this most recent gift will allow us to continue delivering outstanding programs to our students. We are proud to have one of the most influential businessmen in Texas history endorse our programs in this meaningful way.”

This latest gift builds upon the Mays’ 1996 contribution of $15 million, which continues to support business school’s initiatives. It was at that time the college of business at Texas A&M was formally named in the Mayses’ honor.

Partners in education Mays faculty and staff strive to provide the best education possible to our students, but we can’t do it on our own. That’s the reason our partners are vital to enriching the business education at Texas A&M. Each year, hundreds of guest speakers present in classes and business organization meetings, exposing our students to the most current information from the “real world” of business. For a complete list of our executive speakers, visit tinyurl.com/executive-speakers.

Along with their contributions, those that give money to Mays are also important partners in our work. Financial gifts enable us to give students an experience that is truly top-notch: a chance to study under world-renowned faculty in the best facilities.

Without these partners in education, Mays Business School could not deliver the high quality that we’re known for.

In calendar year 2008, more than $13M was pledged to support the people and the programs of Mays.

A full 2008 giving report will be available in this summer’s Benefactor.

It is automatically mailed to any one who gave to Mays during 2008. If you did not give in 2008 but would like a copy, please contact Pam Wiley, Mays director of communications, at psw@tamu.edu.

Interested in giving to Mays? Visit mays.tamu.edu/giving for more information.

The major elements of their gift are focused on faculty excellence and include: • A $2 million eminent scholar’s chair named in honor of Peggy Pitman Mays • A $1 million chair named in the honor of Benton Cocanougher • $2 million to match two $1 million gifts from other donors to create two additional eminent scholar chairs • $2.5 million to match five $500,000 gifts from other donors to create five additional chairs

Anonymous donors touch the future Mays has been recently nam ed in two estate gifts by donors who wish to rem ain anonym ous.

• $9 m illion for scholarships • $3 m illion in unrestricted funds Once realized in the future, the scholarship bequest will provide hundreds of scholarships for undergraduate business students, while the other bequest will be used at the discretion of the dean to enhance the school’s academ ic program s.

“We are trem endously grateful for these generous com m itm ents, which will touch the lives of so m any students,” said Dean Jerry Strawser.

“In these trying econom ic tim es, it is wonderful to see our form er students continuing the ‘Aggie Miracle,’ m aking a world-class education available to the next generation of business leaders. The fact that these individuals did not seek personal recognition for their generosity m akes this act of giving even m ore noteworthy.” maysbusiness.tamu.edu

27

Partners

Giving his all

Scenes from the life of Jam es R. Whatley ‘47

I

t was the ugliest tie she’d ever seen: bright red, spotted with yellow ducks. Most brides would have been horrified to see such an atrocity waiting for them at the end of the chapel aisle, but Elizabeth Whatley says that if it weren’t for the hilarity of her soon-tobe husband’s neckwear, she might not have gone through with the ceremony.

Before the wedding, my father kept telling me that it wasn’t too late to back out, that I’d better change my mind now if I was going to, because it’d be much harder to do after we were married. I had almost decided he was right and I shouldn’t go through with it when James Royce turned around and I saw his tie and started laughing.

I laughed all the way down the aisle.

Today, 62 years later, Elizabeth says she still has the tie. I probably wouldn’t have married him without it. We were married for 58 years that were mostly very happy.

We were young when we fell in love, and we just never fell out. We were young sweethearts and it lasted a lifetime. *** James and Elizabeth were married in 1947, not long after James had returned to Texas A&M University. He enrolled at A&M in 1943, but after five months as a student he, like so many of his peers, joined the fray in the South Pacific, serving aboard the USS Jefferson as a naval gunner. He survived the horrors of the war and came back to A&M with a renewed passion for academics, quickly completing both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in accounting and earning his license as a CPA. He began his career with Exxon Corporation and four years later moved to Kaneb Services, Inc., a young petroleum engineering pipeline company in Richardson, Texas. Over

28

@MAYS

the course of 30 years with the firm, Whatley’s leadership grew as the company grew. He served in a number of roles including CFO, controller, vice president, president, CEO, and chairman of the board of directors.

He was at the helm when Kaneb became a publically traded company on the New York Stock Exchange.

While continuing to grow Kaneb, Whatley became involved with commercial banking. With a group of investors, he purchased controlling interest in the Pittsburg National Bank in Pittsburg, Texas, his hometown.

He served as chairman of the board of directors of the bank for 24 years, staying active in business and in the community long after he had officially retired. He and Elizabeth settled a few miles away from town on Lake Bob Sanlin.

Though Whatley lived on the lakefront and owned a hunting cabin, he seldom fished or hunted, preferring to hurt no living thing. He enjoyed skeet shooting and visits to the cabin with business associates instead. “He was a very kind and gentle man,” says Elizabeth. “He didn’t like the thought of hurting an animal.” *** Whatley, who himself had grown up poor during the Great Depression and its aftermath, was touched by the young people of Pittsburg. “There were a lot of people in that area who could afford to send their kids to college, but there were even more that couldn’t,” said Elizabeth. Whatley was passionate about providing opportunities for young people to get the education they might not otherwise have access to.

One of Whatley’s proudest achievements was his contribution to the founding of Northeast Texas Community

Honoring a lifetime of giving: James R. Whatley ’47 recently gave $2 million to Texas A&M University, half of which went to Mays Business School to endow a faculty chair.

College in Mount Pleasant, just 12 miles from Pittsburg. Whatley was part of the original board of trustees that secured the funding and set about to build the college from the ground up.

Over the years, he took great pleasure in providing scholarships to students at NTCC; the most promising ones, he sent back to A&M with scholarships to achieve advanced degrees.

“He was just a very generous person,” said Elizabeth. “He really loved being able to help people.”

Whatley also held a deep love for A&M and traveled to College Station frequently, especially during football season. Despite his passing in 2005, Whatley’s impact continues, as his final gift to his alma mater was recently announced: $2 million for endowed faculty chairs in Mays Business School and in the College of Geosciences.

Philanthropy was Whatley’s favorite pastime. In addition to education, he also enjoyed supporting the arts in East Texas, Texas heritage and history, and A&M football. Touched deeply by the loss of his only son to leukemia, Whatley also supported cancer research. For all of his personal and professional contributions, Mays Business School presented him with an Outstanding Alumni Award in 2002.

Partners

The impact of giving illustrated

Thrust and parry, debit and credit Mays student balances full academ ic load with passion for fencing

A

As a National Merit Achievement Scholar, Andrew Spriggs ‘11 could have gone just about anywhere for his education. Thanks to the generosity of Mays supporters, Spriggs chose Mays for the quality of its programs as well as the scholarship funds he was offered.

s a National Merit Achievement Scholar, Andrew Spriggs ’11 could have gone just about anywhere for his education. Yet out of all of his college options, this highly intelligent and successful young man chose Mays.

The offer of substantial scholarships was what first caught Andrew’s eye about Texas A&M. As the recipient of a President’s Endowed Scholarship, Director’s Excellence Award, and National Merit Recognition Scholarship, Andrew is able to attend Mays at no cost.

This was important to him, as his father recently retired from the Army with the rank of Major. Andrew was determined not to burden his family with his educational expenses while his father transitions from a 20-year military career into the civilian sector.

Beyond the financial incentive, Andrew was drawn to A&M on his first visit by the friendliness of the campus.

“Even though it’s a big school, everyone here tries to reach out,” he says. “It really feels like a big family.”

Andrew recognizes that the donors that fund his education are an important part of that Aggie family. He appreciates the opportunity that he’s been given and knows that it comes with a responsibility. “I feel that there is an obligation on me now…I want the donors that support me to feel that they’ve made a good investment in me,” he says.

Rest assured, that investment is bearing dividends.

Andrew is maintaining a 3.8 GPR as a business honors student, in addition to spending most nights working out with his teammates on the A&M fencing squad.

Andrew is planning to be an accounting major, and intends to graduate from the Professional Program— achieving his BA and MS in accounting, along with a CPA certification—in just four years, instead of the usual five. maysbusiness.tamu.edu

29

Partners

To whom honor is due Mays recognizes outstanding alum ni It isn’t easy to examine the more than 50,000 Mays former students and choose a handful each year to receive the title of outstanding alumni. In 2008, a new precedent was set when five alumni were honored with the award, including the first female recipient. The selected honorees represented a variety of occupations from accountancy to ice cream making, as well as a spread of almost 50 years of A&M history, but each of the recipients had something in common: a dedication to improving their communities and their alma mater.

For more coverage of this event, visit tinyurl.com/outstandingalumni.

Ernest L. Wehner ’41 (1920-1991) A native of Del Rio, Texas, Ernest L. “Pete” Wehner ’41 graduated with a degree in agricultural administration, as the university did not offer a degree in business then. Wehner took every accounting class that was offered, earning enough hours to sit for the CPA exam. Shortly after graduating, Wehner was called to serve his country in World War II and attained the rank of major.

Wehner enjoyed a successful career in accounting, spending the majority of his career with Arthur Andersen and Co. where he eventually became a senior partner. He also spent seven years on the firm’s international board of directors.

30

@MAYS

Paul W. Kruse ’77

Daniel L. Sparks ‘89

Paul Kruse ’77 operated his own law practice for several years before he was elected to serve on the board of directors at Blue Bell in 1983.

By 2004 he was CEO and president of the company. Kruse is active in his community, working with Trinity Medical Center, the Blinn College Foundation, the Brenham Rotary Club, and the Texas 4-H Youth Development Foundation, as well as other organizations. He has received the Soaring Eagle Award from the International Dairy Foods Association and was inducted into the Dairy Products Institute of Texas Hall of Fame.

Though he lives in New Canaan, Connecticut, Dan Sparks ’89 and his family can often be spotted around College Station.

Sparks graduated in 1989 with degrees in finance and accounting. Later that year he started working at Goldman Sachs, where he would build a career for nearly two decades. He has held a variety of positions at that company, with responsibilities usually focused around commercial and residential loans. Sparks left Goldman Sachs in June of 2008 to pursue other business opportunities.

Alan B. Roberts ’78 After working in accounting for a number of years, Alan Roberts launched his own venture in 1981 when he founded Pumpco, Inc., an oilfield services company. He and wife Robyn (Meyer) ’89 have grown the company, increasing in territory, workforce, and services provided. In 2007, Pumpco was named to the Aggie 100, the list of the top 100 fastest growing Aggie-ownedor-operated businesses. The Robertses recently sold Pumpco, though they still maintain leadership of the operation.

Robyn Meyer Roberts ‘89 After earning an accounting degree from A&M, Robyn (Meyer) Roberts ’89 went to work for Browning-Ferris Industries as a controller in their San Antonio office. A marriage proposal brought her back to her hometown of Giddings, where she became coowner of the company her husband founded, Pumpco, Inc. She has served in the capacity of corporate treasurer for the company for many years.

Ideas@Mays

The modern employee and the electronic leash Work-life balance im pacted by com m unication technology, for em ployee and fam ily

D

o you check your work email or take business-related phone calls while at home? Does it bug your spouse?

Friends? Children? Significant other?

While we are conditioned to believe that this kind of intrusion of work into family life is always bad, that is not necessarily so, says Mays Associate Professor of Management Wendy Boswell, who specializes in the study of human resource management.

Her research into the influence of communication technology on the employee and on the organization has some surprising results.

Boswell calls communication technology “the electronic leash,” because of the way it tethers an employee to the office. “There’s something unique about communication technology as opposed to taking work home…It’s the interruption, the spontaneity that makes it hard to deal with,” she says.

Boswell and her team surveyed 360 employees at a large public university (not Texas A&M) about their use of communication technology for work purposes during non-work time (evenings, weekends, and vacation time). They also surveyed a subsample of respondents’ significant others (87 percent of the time this was a spouse) about how they are affected by their partner’s use of communication technology “after hours.”

On the surface, Boswell found what she’d expect to find: that the greater the use of communication technology for work during off hours, the greater the conflict between work and life was reported, from both the employees and the significant others.

What she didn’t expect to find was that the employee’s motivation behind the increase in after-hours availability came not from their concern for the

New research shows that when it comes to communication technology, those that struggle most with work-life balance are often those that are highly ambitious, seeking promotion, or feel defined by their work.

company, or from mandates of the job, but rather from their own ambition.

While some businesses expect their employees to be available for work no matter what the time of day, Boswell says most strive to help employees find a harmonious equilibrium between the demands of their work and family responsibilities. Those that struggle most with that balance are often those that are highly ambitious and are seeking promotion or other reward through their work, or those that feel defined by their work. Either way, they have a reward for their extra effort.

That added benefit to the employee often doesn’t translate to their significant other, however, which can lead to further conflict in one’s home life. Boswell says

that managers should be aware of that, as keeping those partners happy can be as important as keeping the employee happy. “Significant others certainly have an influence on whether an employee stays with an organization,” she says.

In the end, if you do use communication technology to stay connected at work, you might have more work-life conflict; but if you don’t use it, you also might have more work-life conflict, in that you lose the flexibility to do things such as attend a child’s soccer game during traditional office hours. “Technology has broken down boundaries. As individuals we have to build new boundaries up, and define what works for us and our families,” Boswell says. maysbusiness.tamu.edu

31

Ideas@Mays

Quit now, or forever bear the consequences? Researchers at Mays looked at the ramifications of staying with a failing firm versus getting out early.

Sink or swim?

When your company is struggling, what’s your best career move?

J

ohn’s bank is in trouble. As executive vice president of the trust and loan department, he has access to classified information that shows the organization is in dire straights. He realizes that it’s not a question of if the bank will fail, but when. This situation brings John to a moral dilemma: does he stick with the bank until the bitter end? Or should he look for another job before the bank’s financial distress becomes public knowledge and his career is tainted by association?

According to research by current and former Mays faculty and a doctoral alumnus, John’s decision to go or stay will have a deep impact on his future career opportunities. Their research found executives who changed employers

32

@MAYS

in the two years prior to a company’s failure suffered fewer labor market consequences than their counterparts who stayed with the floundering firm.

Finance professors Don Fraser and Scott Lee, former colleague Albert Canella (now of Tulane University) and PhD alumnus Matt Semadeni (now of Indiana University) looked at data collected from 2,326 Texas bank executives during the credit crisis in Texas in the late 1980s. During this tumultuous period, nearly one in three banks in the state failed, leaving many banking professionals in need of other employment.

The researchers examined a very narrow scope of the complex issue: whether executives that strategically left

their firms to seek a new position prior to the bank’s failure fared better than their peers who remained at the firm.

They used two factors for comparison: demotion in new position and geographic relocation; that is, did the job seeker have to take a position lower than their designation at their previous job, and they have to move to find a new job.

Fraser and Lee said they were not surprised by the results: those that “jumped ship” sooner—up to two years prior to the bank’s closing—were less likely to have to accept a lower rank at a new company and were significantly less likely to have to relocate to find a job. “They got better jobs than if they hadn’t jumped ship,” says Fraser.

The researchers concluded that a “stigma effect” exists and can be a hazard of showing unswerving loyalty to one’s business during times of financial unrest.

In the final evaluation, they found that 54 percent of those executives who stayed with a failing bank had to accept a demotion, versus only 41 percent of those that left the company prior to its public failure. Similarly, those that stayed ended up having to change cities 77 percent of the time, as opposed to just 23 percent of the time for those that left the floundering company early.

“These strategic job jumps really worked out for them relative to a set of peers,” says Lee. “Those that left early avoided the stigma of failure by getting out before it could be assigned.”

Fraser believes these research findings are still valid, though based on dated materials. “Our study is of a particular industry, at a particular time, in a particular geographic area, but there’s no reason to believe it doesn’t have broader application,” he says. Both he and Lee agreed that executives facing a situation like this should recognize that the stigma of failure can cripple a career and should start honing their résúmes rather than delaying their job search.

Ideas@Mays

Pre-employment testing can help employers spot short-timers

I

f quitters never win and winners never quit, why do short-timers keep landing plum jobs? Usually, it’s because employers can’t see their true personality traits—a trend Ryan Zimmerman is trying to reverse with his work in human resource management.

Zimmerman recommends that employers put their applicants through personality testing, particularly one of the five-factor models of personality tests.

“Organizations have used various types of employment testing for decades, and primarily to predict future job performance,” says Zimmerman, an assistant professor of management at Mays. “I wanted to look at it from the perspective of whether someone is more likely to quit—as a retention factor, if you will.”

The factors that are typically tested include conscientiousness, emotional stability, agreeableness, extroversion and openness to experiences.

“Of those five, the ones that tend to predict job stability or turnover are conscientiousness, agreeableness and high emotional stability,” Zimmerman says.

Conscientiousness can be equated with work ethic, so the higher the level the more likely the employee is to stick around.

Those with lower emotional stability have less allegiance to their jobs because they feel insecure about other areas of their lives, he says. And those who are more agreeable are more likely to weather anything that happens on the job, so they will stick around longer.

Zimmerman says only 20 to 30 percent of employers use these types

Turnover is costly and disruptive, so why do short-timers keep landing great jobs?

of tests, but he says he is encouraging more companies to do so.

“In general, high turnover is bad and it is costly, so it makes sense for employers to make this investment on the front end and find out about someone before they hire them,” Zimmerman says. “This is kind of a win-win in the way it answers these questions before the hire is made, and helps employers avoid turnover.”

In a related set of studies, Murray Barrick, department head and professor of management at Mays, has examined the relationship of individuals’ personality traits and their job performance. He too looked at conscientiousness and emotional stability, determining that these two factors, along with general intelligence,

are predictive of job success in all fields.

He also found that conscientiousness and emotional stability correlated positively to higher levels of job satisfaction, which leads to less turnover.

Surprisingly, Barrick and colleagues discovered that these traits, assessed as early as high school, could predict an individuals’ career success for 50 to 60 years.

“Taken together, our findings reveal why personality matters. It predicts how well you perform and how well adjusted you are at work, and these traits contribute to your success every single day you work, predicting success over one’s entire career,” said Barrick.

Want to know more? Contact Zimmerman at rdzimmerman@tamu.edu or Barrick at mbarrick@mays.tamu.edu.

maysbusiness.tamu.edu

33

Ideas@Mays

Career ambition vs. concern for others

I

n business, looking out for number one is often stressed more than caring for the well-being of others; however, according to Michael Shaub, clinical professor of accounting at Mays, this focus on self rather than society can lead down a dark path and, sometimes, to scandal.

“We think of these two ideas as being in direct conflict, the idea of career ambition or self-interest versus concern for others,” says Shaub, whose recently published research examines the two traits in a business ethics setting.

“We’re always making these decisions in life about do I do what’s best for others or do I only look out for me.”

Shaub and colleagues looked at what he called “egregious decisions,” such as falsifying financial records or insider trading, and how one’s level of career ambition as opposed to their concern for others was related to the tendency to make unethical decisions.

They conducted two studies, the first with 87 MBA students (not at Mays) and the second with more than 1,100 certified management accountants.

“The question is if I am ambitious, does that make me more willing to do egregious things, and is that type of person less likely to care about others?” says Shaub, who defines career ambition as a “willingness to do whatever it takes to get ahead.”

The findings were similar between the two studies: the higher the career ambition a person reports, the more willing they are to break the rules and make “egregious decisions.”

Surprisingly though, there was not always a relationship between a person’s ambition and their concern for others. “There are people that are truly ambitious, but they also truly care about others—so the issue is

34

@MAYS

What’s more important, getting ahead as an individual, or advancing as a team? Your answer to that question may be related to your willingness to behave unethically, says new research from Mays.

“Career ambition can make you more willing to do things you ought not to do.” more complex than simply a good guy, bad guy sort of thing,” says Shaub.

“Career ambition can make you more willing to do things you ought not to do,” says Shaub, who warns that hiring managers need to be aware of an applicant’s level of ambition. To avoid hiring people who are at risk for making egregious decisions, they need

to determine if that ambition is present in the absence of concern for others.

Shaub says that, “sometimes to do the right thing leads to bad stuff in the short term, and sometimes doing wrong things leads to really good things that people want in the short term.” But in the end, without truth the market would collapse. “Ethics is the lubricant that keeps the marketplace running,” he says.

Ideas@Mays

Hugging, branding, and happiness in tough economic times Quick tips from the annual Center for Retailing Studies Retailing Summit

N

early 250 retailing executives gathered at the elegant Adolphus Hotel in downtown Dallas, Texas for the annual Retailing Summit, hosted

by Mays Business School’s Center for Retailing Studies at Texas A&M University. This event paired industry leaders with the latest research from the world of retail. Representatives from 92 companies in 21 states attended the summit October 2 and 3.

“It was a phenomenal presentation,” said one attendee, Gary Freedman, who owns a retail consulting firm in California. Freedman says that in the current economic climate, this event was timely. “Retailers are desperate for new ideas to grow their business, or sometimes just stay in business,” he said. Freedman felt that the summit provided a great forum for innovation in the industry. “I would recommend that anyone in retail attend,” said Freedman.

The 2009 Summit will be held at the Westin Galleria in Dallas, October 1 and 2.

Speaker highlights Jack Mitchell, author of Hug Your People and Hug Your Customers, chairman of Mitchell’s • Recognize your people by paying them well and by publicly praising them for a job well done.

• Talk to your employees about their career, not their job, so that they know you want them there for a long time.

• Trusting your people instead of policing them creates loyalty. Check in with your staff, rather than checking up on them. Send birthday cards

Jack Mitchell, entrepreneur and author, addressed the audience at the Retailing Summit in October 2008.

and other notes to let your people know that they are valued.

Carl Sewell, CEO, Sewell Automotive • Hire people you like. Ask yourself, do I enjoy being around this person? If the answer is no, chances are your customer won’t enjoy them either.

• Don’t associate yourself with a product if it isn’t great.

• In this time of economic turmoil, streamline inventory and staff. Look for growth opportunities in every situation.

(For example, while car sales are down, he’s emphasizing service.)

Kathleen Mason, President and CEO, Tuesday Morning

Retailers are feeling the pinch of the problems on Wall Street.

Mason says it’s more important than ever before to understand what it is that customers want and how your business can deliver it. Recent research indicates what consumers are looking for: • Time saving, easy • Home delivery (especially if it’s free) • Turnkey solutions (“Get it done right, right now.” A product or service where one step solves the whole problem.)

• Quicker to prepare (no-assembly or pre-cooked products) • Smaller/more convenient • Healthier and greener (Full synopses of all Summit speakers at tinyurl.com/retailingsummit08)

maysbusiness.tamu.edu

35

The spirit of service At Mays Business School, the spirit of service doesn’t just appear in December; it is a yearround emphasis. Each year hundreds of Mays students participate in service activities that are student-organized, faculty-led, or part of a class curriculum. In fall 2008, the 52 students in the sophomore-level “Integrated Worklife Competencies” class collectively raised a total of $48,000 in donations and volunteer hours for a variety of organizations, such as the Children’s Museum of the Brazos Valley.

Mays students give Students led by clinical assistant professor of management Keith Swim hosted a gift drive for disadvantaged children and teens in the local area. They partnered with Child Protective Services to provide three gifts each for 100 young people. Students raised funds as well as shopped for, wrapped, and distributed gifts.

Whether it’s the gift of a toy or of time, Mays students prove the impact of the college population on the Bryan/College Station area.

“It’s really easy to get caught up in school and work and being a student,” said Leslie Reitmeyer ‘11, whose group worked with the Brazos Valley Rehabilitation Center helping disabled children experience horses (above). “But it’s important to be involved and realize the importance of giving back to the community, and the fact that a lot of what we do would not be possible without its support.”

36

@MAYS

Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis visits Texas A&M The end is near, says Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of America. No, not the end of the world—the end of the U.S. recession. In April, Lewis shared insights on the economy from his unique perspective as leader of the largest bank in the nation with students at Mays.

Lewis was on campus filming an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, after which he made two appearances at Mays Business School, meeting with a group of Business Honors undergraduates and hosting a Q&A session with MBA students.

During his television interview, Lewis commented that he believes the U.S. economy is headed for a turnaround by the end of this year. “You can’t throw as many things as we’re throwing at [the financial crisis] and not break the back of this thing,” he said, mentioning that the beneficial refinancing options available are enabling many Americans with loans to have more money in their pockets each month. Lewis reported that BofA is seeing an unprecedented number of loan refinancing applications currently, totaling $5 billion per day.

Despite the turmoil in the banking industry, Lewis reported that his bank is still doing well and making a profit, albeit a smaller one than in years past. Last year, BofA made $4 billion after taxes. When compared to the many banks that closed their doors in 2008, that is a significant number. He predicts that in two years, BofA will be extremely profitable once again.

Lewis was asked about the $45 billion in TARP money that his bank has taken on, which he believes was more than what they needed to weather the storm. Bank of America is committed to repaying the loan as quickly as is responsible, says Lewis, reporting that

Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis spoke to Becky Quick of the CNBC financial program Squawk Box in April. Following the interview, which was filmed at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum at A&M, Lewis addressed two student groups at Mays Business School.

they just made the first $400 million payment a few weeks ago. He doesn’t regret having used a portion of the TARP funds to purchase Merrill Lynch in January 2009, though many have criticized this action. The acquisition of Merrill Lynch and mortgage lender Countrywide Financial “will prove to be two of the best acquisitions we’ve ever made, if you judge us over two or three years rather than two or three months,” said Lewis.

Is the U.S. government doing the right thing to bring us out of the recession, students asked. “We could argue about components of the stimulus program,” said Lewis, but basically he does agree with the government’s response, saying that a more laissez faire approach would likely have led to more unemployment and a downward spiral of despair.

Students quizzed Lewis about executive compensation, asking how

a bank can retain its top people if the government prevents the bank from paying a competitive salary. Lewis acknowledged how difficult it will be to retain top talent when compensation is capped at American-owned banks, but not at foreign-owned banks in the U.S. such as UBS. However, he does believe that the compensation system needs to be restructured, with an increase in base salaries and a decrease in bonus pay so that there is less incentive for executives to engage in risky practices in the hopes of reaping large bonuses.

Lewis joined the company in 1969 (at that time NationsBank) and has served as the head of both international and domestic operations during his years with the organization. He is widely respected in his field and has been recognized twice

by US Banker as Banker of the Year.

In 2007, Lewis was listed among Time Magazine’s “Most Influential People.”

Why are these kids so happy?

And what’s it got to do with Mays?

Story: pg. 14