MIS Competition Got Students Thinking Like Toy-Company Execs

December 4, 2020

MIS partnered with PwC to bring this year’s MIS Case Competition into the virtual world. (istockimage.com)

For this year’s MIS Case Competition, students were tasked with analyzing the financial performance data for a fictional toy manufacturer and identifying cost saving and operational efficiency.Continue Reading

UConn Management Professor: Workplace Interruptions Jeopardize Productivity

December 3, 2020

UConn Today – In many American workplaces, employees are bombarded with almost incessant interruptions that disrupt concentration, derail productivity, and generate stress.

Many office workers and IT professionals report being interrupted every three to 11 minutes, while nurses, on average, are interrupted six to 12 times an hour. Most business emails are opened within six seconds of being received, and employees check their emails up to 36 times an hour, according to UConn management professor Nora Madjar.Continue Reading

A Year of Change

I have been sharing thoughts regularly since my return to the School of Business after 15 months in the Provost’s office. In June, I reflected on George Floyd’s death and in August, I urged us all to be active—to vote and to respond to the census. As I look at the election, the big news is fuller engagement. At this writing, we know that over 66% of eligible voters voted, well above the 60% engagement in 2016. We responded to the imperative to choose. Engagement is good for our democracy and our communities.

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Vaccine logistics: The ‘challenging task’ of delivering billions of doses

CTPost – Getting a COVID vaccine to the entire country — and perhaps the entire world — will present a unique challenge, according to Tao Lu.

“It’s the first time you are trying to do such a huge job in such a short time frame,” he said.

Lu is an assistant professor at UConn’s School of Business, specializing in supply chain management and logistics.

He said development of a vaccine — there are currently two coronavirus vaccine candidates on the fast track for worldwide distribution — is just the first problem.

“The next challenging task is how to deliver the vaccine to every single person in the nation, or in the world,” he said.Continue Reading

UConn School of Business Receives First-Ever Top 30 Ranking for Graduate Entrepreneurship from Princeton Review

November 19, 2020

UConn Today – The rankings, released today by Princeton Review and slated to be published in the December issue of Entrepreneur Magazine, included more than 300 applicants, putting UConn in the top 15 percent of all survey participants. For the second year in a row, UConn ranked at No. 46 for undergraduate entrepreneurship and, for the first time, the UConn School of Business ranked at No. 28 for graduate entrepreneurship amidst the competitive field of participants in this year’s survey.Continue Reading

UConn Students Repeat Winning Tradition During National Analytics Challenge

November 17, 2020

A female worker wearing a hardhat and safety vest standing in front of a work truck.
This year’s JMP Discovery Summit challenged participants to build a model for a telecommunications company. UConn’s team took 1st place. (istockphoto.com)

For the second consecutive year, a team of UConn graduate students earned the first-place award in a national analytics competition. Their award-winning presentation addressed how a telecom company can analyze and utilize data to help retain existing customers.Continue Reading