education, and this issue of Perspectives provides
for our faculty and
examples of how those partnerships make a
difference to both academic and business communities.
students are available because of the investment our Corporate Partners make in the education
Articles focusing on faculty research highlight how professors collaborate to uncover new strategies for business, such as the work of Frank Liu and Nick Petruzzi on page 19. Our Intersections feature on page 8 shows how the mentorship of a professor can create additional learning opportunities for a student. And the Partners in Business Ethics Conference, hosted by the College and
the next generation of responsible leaders. Many of these opportunities for our faculty and
leaders."
students are available because of another important partnership—the investment our Corporate Partners make in the education of future business leaders. To all
[ MY ] PERSPECTIVE
Principal Partners $50,000 + Archer Daniels Midland Company BP America Inc Busey Bank Caterpillar Inc CME Deloitte LLP John Deere & Company State Farm Companies
colorfully illustrated on page 26, brought business and academia together to brainstorm on how to best develop
of future business
CORPORATE PARTNERS 2012-2013
of them and all of you who support our College’s efforts, our sincere thanks. We value each and every partnership. Sincerely,
Larry DeBrock Josef and Margot Lakonishok Endowed Dean
Lead Partners $25,000 - $49,999 KPMG LLP Motorola Solutions Inc. Senior Partners $10,000 - $24,999 Abbott Laboratories Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP The Boeing Company Robert Bosch, LLC Ernst & Young LLP Grant Thornton LLP Grosvenor Capital Management, LP Illinois Mutual Life Insurance Madison Dearborn Partners LLC Michael Best & Friedrich, LLP Rockwell Collins Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Partners $5,000 - $9,999 Abercrombie & Fitch Baxter International, Inc. Crowe Horwath LLP Exxon Mobil Hammer Haley Metropolitan Capital Navigant Consulting, Inc. Polygroup Services NA Inc. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Transco Products Inc.
DEAN Larry DeBrock
IN-DEPTH 2
Driving Growth Predictive analytics create growth opportunities in the insurance industry.
6
Data Downpour Information technology investments power profit.
10
True Confessions What's the best way for corporate America to say "Sorry"?
12
Is Gray Here to Stay? Gray markets make an impact on business.
16
The Sound of Creativity Good ideas may begin with noise.
19
What's in Your Cart? E-commerce may give you less than you bargained for.
24
Inside Job How can businesses reduce employee theft?
MANAGING EDITOR Tracy McCabe EDITOR Cathy Lockman
SHORT TAKES
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Tom Hanlon Cathy Lockman Doug McInnis
8
PHOTOGRAPHERS Tricia Koning Thompson • McClellan Photography L. Brian Stauffer DESIGNER Pat Mayer
ON THE COVER Silence may be golden, but eliminating noise isn't always the best strategy for enhancing creativity. And it's not great for hearing directions during a photo shoot either, as Ravi Mehta, assistant professor of business administration, found out when he put on noise-cancelling headphones.
22
[ CONTENTS ]
P
artnerships are an important currency in business
FALL 2012
"Many opportunities
Intersections
15
60-Second Profile
22
History Lesson
26
The Main Event
28
Reality Check
30
100 Words or Less
32
The Reason Why
34
Parting Shot
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. Printed on recycled paper with soybean ink.