News

All School of Business pressroom news

2016 iQ Winners

Posted on by Claire Hall
Elizabeth “Liz’’ Pouya, a rising senior majoring in physiology and neurobiology, who ultimately hopes to become a physician, presents her idea to prospective investors. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Elizabeth “Liz’’ Pouya, a rising senior majoring in physiology and neurobiology who ultimately hopes to become a physician, presents her idea to prospective investors. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

“I Was Surprised That Someone Hadn’t Invented This Yet”

UConn senior Stephen Hawes debuted as an entrepreneur several years ago, working diligently to perfect his first invention: a wrist-mounted, propane-driven flame thrower.

His parents worried that their son, a mechanical engineering student, would burn down their home.

But Hawes persisted, and brought his prototype to an engineering conference in New York City. There, he saw a company demonstrating artificial appendages for children missing fingers.Continue Reading

‘Treat People Right Throughout Your Life’

Posted on by Claire Hall
Bill Simon '81, '88 MBA, former Walmart CEO, at the UConn School of Business Stamford campus. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Bill Simon ’81, ’88 MBA, former Walmart CEO, at the UConn School of Business Stamford campus. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

‘Treat People Right Throughout Your Life’ Says Former Walmart CEO Bill Simon ’81, ’88 MBA

A store manager had been abruptly fired in a small North Carolina town and Walmart president and CEO Bill Simon‘s phone was ringing off the hook.

Customers were irate, store associates were upset, and even the town’s mayor called to lodge a complaint.

“Our store manager had chased a shoplifter into the parking lot, tackled him and brought him back into the store,” recalled Simon, who earned both his bachelor’s degree and MBA from UConn. “Our policy was that we don’t chase shoplifters because of the risk of someone getting hurt, and he had clearly violated the policy.Continue Reading

Implementing the Child Care Development Block Grant Act of 2014: Perspectives of Stakeholders

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education Labor & Pensions – The economic impact of investing in child care cannot be underestimated, noted Connecticut Office of Early Childhood Commissioner Dr. Myra Jones-Taylor at a recent committee hearing. Taylor referenced a study by the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis, which found that in the city of New Haven, Conn. there was a $9.4 million macroeconomic increase and a $17 million/year tax increase when you invest in child care programs and have them stay open, stay stable, and have quality.

Adding Value to the Team

Posted on by Claire Hall
Logan Bement (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Logan Bement (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

Logan Bement ’16 Uses Marketing, Data to Improve Professional Baseball for Fans, Players

Logan Bement ’16 may have stopped playing baseball after high school, but his love of the game has never diminished.

With a passion for marketing, a strong grasp of data analytics, and a powerful dose of initiative, Bement has launched a career that he hopes will enhance the best of Major League Baseball—both for the fans and the players. Continue Reading

Stay on the Cutting Edge – Marketing Department Research Series

Posted on by Nancy White

The Marketing Department hosted an interesting variety of speakers for the Spring 2016 Marketing Department Research Series. This set of speakers reflects the diverse research interests of the marketing faculty. The Marketing Department Research Series seeks to keep abreast of the latest research of leading scholars in the field as well as provide opportunities for doctoral students to interact with these scholars from around the world.  Continue Reading

UConn plans first dormitory housing in downtown Stamford

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

Westfair online – The University of Connecticut’s Stamford campus is no longer a runner-up prize for students wanting to attend the university’s main Storrs campus.

“Six years ago we had part-time MBA, two small business undergraduate programs and we were largely a feeder school for students wanting to get to Storrs,” said John A. Elliott, dean of the UConn School of Business, at the June 15 CEO Evolution panel hosted by the university in Stamford.

Gamification and Mobile Marketing Effectiveness

Posted on by Nancy White

Journal of Interactive Marketing 34 (2016), 25–36

Charles F. Hofacker, Ko de Ruyter, Nicholas H. Lurie, Puneet Manchanda, & Jeff Donaldson

A variety of business sectors have been buffeted by the diffusion of mobile technology, a trend that presents a variety of difficult challenges but interesting opportunities to marketers. One such opportunity is gamification, which, one hopes, will enhance appeal to mobile consumers. Our sense from both personal experience and the literature is that the gamified mobile apps currently offered by firms mostly miss the mark. We provide a systematic overview of game design and note how principles derived from that field are highly applicable to gamification in mobile marketing settings. We are aided by the work of Schell (2008), whose Elemental Game Tetrad Model allows us to offer a coherent look at how gamification should affect mobile marketing outcomes.  Full article.

Courage, Vision, Wisdom

Posted on by Claire Hall
Left to right, Mark L. Fagan, Scott Gillis, Bill Simon and Margaret Keane discuss business values at the "CEO Evolution." (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Left to right, Mark L. Fagan, Scott Gillis, Bill Simon and Margaret Keane discuss business values at the “CEO Evolution.” (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

Three Top Executives Share Business Advice, Values at ‘CEO Evolution’ Program in Stamford 

When UConn alumnus Bill Simon ’81, ’88 MBA, was a newly hired executive at Walmart, before he became its president and CEO, he made a gutsy decision that he knew could make or break his career there.

The low-price retail giant was excelling in its cost-saving mission on many fronts, but when Simon looked at the profit margin on prescription medicine, he realized it could do much better. Continue Reading

Xcite Program Debuts

Posted on by Claire Hall

 

Xcite - Connecticut's Conference for Women in Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship

YouTube Executive to Speak This Fall About Bringing Entrepreneurial Mindset to Business 

A top executive at YouTube, who helped grow the company to its present value of upwards of $85 billion, will be the keynote speaker at a new entrepreneurship and innovation conference for women sponsored by the University of Connecticut.

The program, dubbed Xcite, will be from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 16 at the Crowne Plaza Stamford Hotel at 2701 Summer St., in Stamford, Conn. It is presented by the University of Connecticut School of Business and the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI). Continue Reading