2019 Business @ UM-Flint School of Management Magazine

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN-FLINT SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

BUSINESS UM-FLINT FALL 2019

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STUDENT SUCCESS THROUGH ENGAGEMENT

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u WORKING IN THE ‘PEOPLE BUSINESS’

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u DOING BUSINESS IN CHINA

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u INNOVATIVE SCHOLARSHIPS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE OFFICE Dean, School of Management Scott Johnson PhD

Associate Dean, School of Management Yener Kandogan PhD

PUBLICATION

2

DEAN’S MESSAGE

3

NEWS & BRIEFS

5

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: LAUREL KOBE

6

MAIZE & BLUE AWARD WINNERS

6

STUDENTS GRADUATING WITH HONORS

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CAREER PANEL SPOTLIGHT: MOHAMED MOHAMED

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BETA GAMMA SIGMA INDUCTEES

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DOING BUSINESS IN CHINA

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SHOWCASING STUDENT SUCCESS THROUGH ENGAGEMENT

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Managing Editor ................................Kimberly A. Laux, MA

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Graphic Designer ........................... Tricia Borcherding, BFA

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CHANCELLOR DEBASISH DUTTA

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Contributors ............................................... Kristin Arntz, BA

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CAMPUS ENGAGEMENT

21

DOWNTOWN FLINT GAMEPLAN

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SOM STUDENT INTRODUCES FLINT TO NEW CUISINE

23

SCHOLARSHIP FOR WORKING STUDENTS

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ALUMNI RELATIONS

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SCHOLARSHIP FOR “C” STUDENTS

Katelyn Stuck

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SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

Board of Reviewers ................................... Kristin Arntz, BA

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FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: RITA FIELDS

28

NEW FACULYT/STAFF & RETIREMENTS

29

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

31

SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS/PRESENTATIONS

33

FUNDRAISING HIGHLIGHTS

34

DONOR HONOR ROLL

Matt Bueby, BBA Robert Gold, BA Scott Johnson, PhD Yener Kandogan, PhD Kimberly Laux, MA Alexis Menard Antonio Riggs, EdS, MA Louanne Snyder Melissa Stephens-Farrell, BBA

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Craig Gomolka, MSA Scott Johnson, PhD Yener Kandogan, PhD Brent Nickola, MS Antonio Riggs, EdS, MA Melissa Stephens-Farrell, BBA Anna Swartz, BA

DEAN’S MESSAGE Dear alumni and friends of the School of Management: Each new academic year is a joy. It grants us the opportunity to look back with a sense of accomplishment while we also plan ways to better serve our students and community.

The magazine this year showcases student success through engagement.

What is new? Our business leaders clearly asked us to help students develop their “soft skills.” In response, we are launching the Career Development Requirement (CDR) to give students additional skills, knowledge, and behaviors that will help them hit the ground running as confident business professionals. In addition, we continue to encourage internships, study abroad, company site visits, guest speakers, and student employment.

We also opened a new Business Innovation Center in the School of Management with flexible seating, movable white boards, and wall-mounted computer screens. This will support student networking, student organizations, space for receptions, and a venue for guest speakers. A new student organization was formed this year, the National Association of Black Accountants. I am impressed and proud of these students.

Once again, our financial supporters have stepped up to provide scholarships to deserving students. It is gratifying to witness how these gifts positively affect our students. Thank you so much! Please take the time to read the stories featuring our wonderful students, alumni, faculty, and staff. I know you will be impressed.

Scott D. Johnson Dean of School of Management

Finally, please help me in welcoming Chancellor Debasish Dutta and his wife Fataneh Taghaboni-Dutta!

Thank you for your continued support and GO BLUE! Sincerely,

Scott D. Johnson, PhD Dean

The School of Management is located on the second floor of the Riverfront Center on the University of Michigan-Flint campus.

u umflint.edu/som

NEWS

&

BRIEFS

ENTREPRENEURS SOCIETY HONORED WITH FOUR CAMPUS AWARDS The 2018-19 academic year was a massive success for the School of Management student organization, Entrepreneurs Society (ES). The organization received four awards at the Wolverine Excellence banquet in April. The banquet was hosted by the Department of Student Involvement and Leadership (SIL) and recognizes the contributions of a student organization that exhibits strong leadership skills — such as teamwork, collaboration, and communication— while also implementing initiatives that fulfill the mission of their organization.

Entrepreneurs Society received the Outstanding Organization Award and the Student Organization Community Contribution Award. The Outstanding Student Organization Award recognizes student organizations that demonstrate significant leadership qualities and contributions to campus over the 2018-19 academic Entrepreneurs Society receive awards at the Celebrating Wolverine Excellence Dinner. Pictured left to right: Elisabeth year. Along with these two distinguished organizational awards, Hamilton, Todd Fridline, SOM Dean Scott Johnson, and the SOM faculty member and advisor to Entrepreneurs Society, Carryn White.

Michael Witt, PharmD, JD, received the Outstanding Student Advisor Award. Lastly, Entrepreneurs Society president Todd Fridline, a senior majoring in finance, received the Outstanding Student Leader Award.

LUNCH WITH ENTREPRENEURS DAVID OLLILA & HEIDI MCARA As part of last year’s Lunch with an Entrepreneur series, the Hagerman Center organized an informative presentation featuring David Ollila, president/chief innovation officer for Skypoint Ventures, and Heidi McAra, executive director of 100K Ideas. Over ninety students from UM-Flint, Mott, and Kettering— as well as alumni, faculty, staff, and community members — attended the event at the Ferris Wheel that included lunch, networking opportunities, and presentations.

The Hagerman Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, the School of Management, and the Entrepreneurs Society of UM-Flint were all pleased with the learning atmosphere and conversation between presenters and the crowd of local students, entrepreneurs, and community members. Topics included the revitalization of Flint, entrepreneurial endeavors, David Ollila, president/chief innovation officer at Skypoint Ventures, was part of last year’s Lunch with an and the backstory of Phil Hagerman and 100K Ideas.

Entrepreneur series.

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According to Ollila, “this floor has been five different things, and today it’s a venue space for a conversation.” He was “blown away” by the number of people interested in 100K Ideas and entrepreneurship in the Flint community.

NEWS

&

BRIEFS

SOM STUDENTS PRESENT WORK AT MEETING OF THE MINDS Last May, Kyle Arrowood (BBA, ’19), Brant Beck, Raymond Kusch, and Peter Millar (BBA, ’19) presented work at the annual Meeting of the Minds undergraduate research conference. Their presentation, “Analyzing the Acquisition of Dr. Pepper Snapple Group by Keurig Green Mountain, Inc.,” grew out of a semesterlong group project assigned by Sandun Perera, PhD, assistant professor of operations and supply chain management.

The abstract reads, “The world of business is an ever-changing platform that requires every firm to be adaptive, as well as to think about their future for success in an increasingly demanding market setting. We investigate the operations and market SOM students present work at Meeting of the Minds. performances of Dr. Pepper Snapple Group to determine Pictured left to right: Kyle Arrowood (BBA, ’19), Peter their success before their decision to merge with Keurig Green Millar (BBA, ’19), Brant Beck, Professor Sandun Perera, and Mountain, Inc. In this presentation, we will provide information Raymond Kusch. on the operational and organizational strategies that Dr. PepperSnapple had implemented to imply the direction that their company would have forgone without a drastic business decision. We use quantitative and qualitative methods to derive managerial insights on this acquisition.”

Meeting of the Minds (MOM) is an annual undergraduate research conference inviting students from UM-Flint, UM-Dearborn, and Oakland University to share their interdisciplinary work. This year, the conference was held at UM-Flint and included 128 presentations. The day consisted of oral presentations in Riverfront’s second floor classrooms and poster presentations in the Riverfront suites.

SOM EGG HUNT Last April, Alexis Menard, web/social media assistant in SOM, organized a two-day egg hunt to bring students together in a fun way and help relieve stress before finals. She hid fifty eggs in the SOM classroom areas, Finance Lab, the North Riverview seating area, and the New Business Innovation Center. Inside the eggs were slips of paper identifying a prize and instructions for claiming it. Some of the prizes included Visa, Amazon, Flint Farmers’ Market, Cafe Rhema, and Hoffman’s Deco Deli gift cards, as well as SOM t-shirts and coffee/travel mugs. One prize was awarded per student.

“It was a super crazy successful event,” said Menard. “Every student was trying to find a plastic egg. The dean loved it. We’d like to do more events like this.”

Katelyn Stuck designed the poster used to promote SOM’s egg hunt.

BUSINESS @ UM-FLINT

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u ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

LAUREL KOBE BBA ’14

VICE PRESIDNT OF COMMERCIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MOORE TRANSPORT (TOLEDO, OHIO)

WORKING IN THE PEOPLE BUSINESS “No matter what business you are in, you are in the people business.” Laurel Kobe learned this truth early in her education, and it’s her favorite (and most challenging) aspect of her career today.

Kobe is vice president of commercial and organizational development at Moore Transport in Toledo, Ohio. The company transports cars from assembly plants, import locations, and rail vehicle distribution centers to dealers across the country. In her role, Kobe focuses on networking with Moore’s customers to increase efficiency and customer satisfaction, and building relationships that will lead to long-term contracts. Internally, she is responsible for aligning human behavior of her team members with Moore’s strategy, processes, procedures, and objectives.

“Watching our team members grow and develop is the most enjoyable part of my career,” said Kobe. “When I first started at Moore, we had forty-two trucks; we have more than 300 today.

Our team has grown so much over the past four and a half years. They’ve become stronger leaders with a higher level of trust in the organization and each other.

“While people have been my favorite part of the job, they can also be the most challenging — particularly when it comes to change. Change is always difficult, but it has made us stronger as a team and company. We focus on the right people in the right positions, and each change creates a bit of friction. We’ve focused on smooth change management, and it has produced desired results for the company and employees.

“No matter what business you are in, you are in the people business. Our people are our most important asset. While data and analytics drive a lot of decisions, the human factor is always what sets companies apart. It can be the difference between good and great.”

While Kobe admits to always being a “people person,” she didn’t plan on studying human resources in college. She originally planned to study education, then switched to business finance until a conversation with her business law professor changed everything.

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“One day in class, Professor Francine Cullari asked me if I enjoyed finance,” Kobe recalled. “I said I was good at it. She said, ‘that’s not what I asked.’

“I laughed. I told her that I thought it would be a good balance with my work experience. She said it was clear I enjoyed the business law class and should consider the HR concentration because I was good at it, and I really enjoyed it. She taught me that just because you are good at something doesn’t mean that’s what you should do. You should study something you are good at and enjoy.

“That conversation changed my path. I look back and realize that class (and conversation) led me to where I am today. To say that my education had a direct impact would be an understatement.”

Kobe balances her busy professional life with officiating MSHAA competitive cheer, church, yoga, hiking, and family—her greatest focus.

“My greatest accomplishment was returning to college as a non-traditional student, working full time, and graduating with high honors while raising a family,” said Kobe. “My son is an amazing kid with a heart the size of Texas. I see him as one of my greatest accomplishments.

“Life has taught me to expect the unexpected! I never expected to be in business, but it is right where I belong. A career in business with my focus in organizational development really isn’t that different than the path I thought I would originally take as a teacher.

I teach each and every day.

I’m fortunate to have found a career path that feeds my passion.”

MAIZE AND BLUE DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR AWARD The Maize and Blue Distinguished Scholar Award is the highest academic award bestowed upon graduates of the University of Michigan-Flint and presented to no more than 13 graduates at the December and April commencement ceremonies. Students must have a minimum GPA of 3.75 and demonstrate intellectual maturity and depth, character, talent, and service to the department, university, or community.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS YEAR’S SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT MAIZE AND BLUE AWARD WINNERS! Summer/Fall 2018 Ashley Born Sydney Parvin

Joylynn Orvis Moira Tuttle

Winter 2019 Khadija Mohammed

STUDENTS GRADUATING WITH HONORS Honors: 3.5 or higher

High Honors: 3.75 or higher

Summer/Fall 2018 Ashley Born Ashley Darga Raquel Davila Mariah Dominguez Morgan Gavulic Tyler Harbin Jacob Hewitt

Zubera Jemal Rania Kattoula Clarian Kmetz Alex McCliment Joylynn Orvis Taylor Osentoski Sydney Parvin

Meagan Rinck Kari Romanowski Weston Schwab Jim Traxler Moira Tuttle Richard Walker Maria Zaldivar

Winter 2019 Hawra Almukhreq Kaitlin Anderson Kyle Arrowood Rebecca Bade Samantha Bader Nick Beaune Stacy Broekstra Haley Bruns Jon Chapman Hui Cheng Gabryel Crenshaw Robin Flood Lauren Fortin

Madigan Franko Joseph Gardner Carlton Harahuc William Hembruch Christopher Herr Tabitha Hill Kylie Johnston Connor Krish Andrew Macko Alex McDougall Marc Middleton Sarah Miller Khadija Mohammed

Sonu Mori Raghad Muhiyaddin Seth Ricketts Caroline Rishmawi Riley Schank Brooke Steinley Rebecca Watt Bryce Watts Precious Willamson-Murray Preston Zaremba

BUSINESS @ UM-FLINT

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u CAREER PANEL SPOTLIGHT

MOHAMED MOHAMED MBA ’17

NETWORK ANALYST MERIT NETWORK (ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN)

Anticipating change can be one of the most exciting (and challenging) aspects of working in the dynamic tech industry.

It’s not enough to be on the cutting edge; you have to be ready for the future.

Mohamed Mohamed discovered that to succeed in his field, you must be “continuously willing to learn.” That’s why he decided to pursue an MBA degree at UM-Flint.

“I knew that one day down the road, the natural progression of my career would lead to a managerial position,” said Mohamed, who was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. “I wanted to ensure that I have the necessary skill set that would allow me to perform at my best in this role. When that time came, I wanted to make sure I was ready for it.”

first-level support to all Merit members by troubleshooting service outages, analyzing performance issues, and processing service requests.

“While I originally went after my MBA with more futuristic plans in mind, I was able to apply what I was learning in the program to my present position,” he said. “Most notably, the leadership and strategic thinking skills have been invaluable.”

Mohamed works as a network analyst at Merit Network, a nonprofit organization that provides internet services to other non-profits in Michigan. As a network analyst, he provides

Mohamed was part of the Winter 2019 Alumni Career Panel that shared experiences about life after college with undergraduate pre-business students. The alumni speakers gave their opinions on how to manage stress and work-life balance, how to bounce back from a failure, what companies look for in hiring young talent, the importance of internships during college, and the perks of their professions.

u Other panelists included: Laura Bell (BBA,’16), Lewis Knopf Alex Benda (BBA, ’14), CEO of Oh Hello Companies Amanda Coon (BBA,’14; MSA, ’15), Plante Moran Laurel Kobe (BBA, ’14), Moore Transport Sherri Powers (MBA,’16), TechSmith Corporation Jennifer Rakowicz (BA’14 ), JRA Marketing Consulting

SOM will have more opportunities for alumni panelists in 2019-20. If you are interested, please connect with the School of Management LinkedIn page where you will find updates on the need for alumni speakers at events, or contact Anna Swartz at annas@umich.edu or (810) 424-5587.

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BETA GAMMA SIGMA Beta Gamma Sigma is the honor society that serves business programs accredited by AACSB International (the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business). Membership in Beta Gamma Sigma is the highest recognition a business student in a program accredited by AACSB International can receive.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS YEAR’S BETA GAMMA SIGMA INDUCTEES: Majdi Alhasan

Kalisha Fenner

Bonnie McIntosh

Samantha Bader

Robin Flood

John Schlaack

Jisoon Barton

James Harris

Chad Wernicke

Kealy Belcher

Chun Hin Hui

Yulin Xiao

Page Brown

MD Tarik Khan

Ruchi Chaudhary

Kevin Koonmen

BUSINESS @ UM-FLINT

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Doing Business in China

By Kimberly Laux Photos: Dene Olivo and Milton Straham

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BUSINESS @ UM-FLINT

Last spring, fourteen students went overseas to experience culture and business in China. The faculty-led education abroad trip was taught by professors Shichun (Alex) Xu and Greg Laurence.

Pictured left to right: SOM Professor Alex Xu, Dr. Bai Xiaowei of North China University of Technology (NCUT), and SOM Professor Gregory Laurence. As part of the experience, Bai delivered an introductory presentation about China’s foreign trade.

“When it comes to learning about a culture, experiencing and living in that cultural environment is much more effective than textbooks and lectures,” said Xu, associate professor of marketing. “Through interactions with local people and observing their conducts and behaviors, students get a much deeper understanding of how cultural values shape people’s daily lives.

“This study abroad also serves as an opportunity for our students to identify their potentials. Most of them expressed nervousness before departure. It is understandable as most of them had never travelled outside the US before. Upon completion of the program, I believe most students are more confident in dealing with unfamiliar environments. Given the challenge of language and the unfamiliar environment, our students did extremely well. Even though I was there to help them, some students really ventured out and tried to figure things out on their own.”

One of the highlights of the faculty-led trip was a company visit to NIO, an electric car manufacturer in Beijing. Students were impressed with the “outside the box,” entrepreneurial thinking of the company. Their investigation into battery replacement stations along highways (as opposed to battery charging stations) could potentially change the game for the electric car industry.

“This firm is on the cutting edge and has taken the lead in Asia and Europe,” said MBA student Nic Custer (BA, ‘11). “While they may still be unknown in Michigan, their technology has the potential to make NIO a global leader in carbon-free transportation. Without this trip, I would not have been able to understand how excitingly diverse and competitive the global landscape for electric vehicles is today, or to envision myself as a part of that industry.”

Through interactions with local people and observing their conducts and behaviors, students get a much deeper understanding of how cultural values shape people’s daily lives.

- Alex Xu BUSINESS @ UM-FLINT

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Students in class at North China University of Technology (NCUT).

In addition to learning about business, students benefited by experiencing a new culture. MBA student Milton Straham (BBA, ’16) noticed that people he met in China followed more of a collective mindset (versus the individual focus more prevalent in the US) and adhered closely to tradition.

“I noticed that the people we met were more conservative; they followed tradition,” said Straham. “But they were still welcoming and open-minded toward foreigners. They wanted to learn from us as much as we wanted to learn from them.”

In a few instances, students came face to face with China’s much greater ‘power distance’, the strength of social hierarchy within a society. Professor Laurence recalled one example that occurred during a visit to a pharmaceutical company where there were assigned seats and name plates for company representatives and professors, but not for students.

“A couple of students asked about this and it was a good teaching moment to indicate that status and hierarchy are very important in China,” said Laurence, associate professor of management and co-director of the International and Global Studies Program.

“So even though the company visit was ‘for’ the students, recognition of hierarchy was still reflected in the seating arrangements and other aspects of the visit in a way that maybe it would not have been at an American company.”

Custer, who earned one of his undergraduate degrees in anthropology, said the experience provided him with a crucial element of his education that could not be found in a classroom or a textbook.

“By interacting with people from around the world, students are able to immerse themselves in perspectives and opportunities which lie beyond Flint, the region, and even the United States,” he said. “This experience helps students to operate in and adapt to a changing global economy and to prepare for whatever challenges are thrown their way in their careers.”

In addition to tuition for the spring semester, students paid $3,732 to cover airfare, housing, health insurance, activities, group transportation, and meals. Scholarships of $1,250 were awarded to eligible students from the School of Management and the International and Global Studies Program.

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Milton Straham enjoyed the opportunity to experience a new culture.

The Great Wall.

“Student eligibility is dependent on the scholarship fund but is mainly GPA-based,” said Shelby Newport, co-director of the International and Global Studies Program and chair, associate professor, and resident costume designer in the Department of Theatre & Dance.

“We try to find the right fund for each student applying and, in most recent courses, have been able to fund each student going. However, we are always looking for new ways for alumni and community members to engage in the powerful impact of study abroad. For some of our UM-Flint students, traveling on a faculty-led study abroad course is the first time they may travel by airplane, leave the county or state, and experience a new culture firsthand. The scholarship funds help to offset the financial barrier that often comes with international travel and makes global education accessible to more students.”

Funds that support faculty-led study abroad include the Kartha Family Scholarship for Study Abroad, Ester C. Stone International Studies Fund, Virginia Hoover Thompson Scholarship, Ralph M. and Emmalyn E. Freeman International Studies Scholarship, Matthew Hilton-Watson Study Abroad Scholarship, and the Myron & Margaret Winegarden Scholarship for Study Abroad.

Dene Olivo, an MBA student in healthcare administration, went on this trip seeking a personal and educational growth experience in the international marketplace. She most enjoyed visiting the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.

“It was a life-changing experience!” exclaimed Olivo. “And I appreciated each of the scholarships I received. I recommend the study abroad experience to each and every student. I’m so glad that I chose to take advantage of it!”

Professor Xu points out that the benefit of participating in such a faculty-led education abroad experience goes far beyond the three credit hours students earn on their transcripts.

“Their personal growth will help them tremendously in the long run,” he explained. “I think our students are more open-minded, more confident, more self-reliant, and more adventurous after this experience. It really is life-changing. We are proud of the students’ personal growth, and Dr. Laurence and I are glad to be part of the process.”

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SHOWCASING

STUDENT SUCCESS THROUGH

ENGAGEMENT Over the past decade, SOM has consistently made lists of leading business schools compiled by the Princeton Review, US News & World Report, TFE Times, and other college ranking entities.

What sets SOM apart from its competitors in a world of countless degree options? A commitment to meaningful engagement.

“SOM’s vision is to enable students to make a positive impact on organizations, society, and the world,” said Scott Johnson, PhD, dean of SOM. “This begins with knowledge. Students are learning from faculty who are recognized as experts (academically and professionally) in areas of accounting, finance, marketing, organizational behavior/human resources, entrepreneurship, international business, and operations/supply chain management, among other related business (and non-business) fields.

“But we don’t believe a student’s education ends in the classroom.

We want students to experience how what they are learning aligns with business practice in the professional world. This requires meaningful engagement.”

Success stories about engaged faculty, staff, and students are frequently featured in Business@UM-Flint. In addition to special programs, events, business competitions, education abroad trips, service learning projects, and other initiatives mentioned in this issue (and those past), SOM promotes academic and professional engagement opportunities through:

u u u u

We want students to experience how what they are learning aligns with business practice in the professional world. This requires meaningful engagement.

- Scott Johnson

Requiring career development and internships Encouraging involvement in student organizations Creating opportunities within SOM to gain professional skills Expanding resources available to students

By Kimberly Laux Photos: Antonio Riggs, Alexis Menard

u NEW CAREER DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENT, INTERNSHIP INITIATIVES, AND COMPANY TOURS This fall, SOM added a career development requirement (CDR) to its undergraduate curriculum. Students will be expected to attend/participate in internships, presentations, workshops, seminars, or online tutorials that will help them attain eight 21st century skills that the National Association of Colleges and Employers deem necessary for career readiness.

These include: critical thinking/problem solving, oral/written communication, teamwork/collaboration, digital technology, leadership, professionalism/work ethic, career management, and global/intercultural fluency.

“SOM identified ‘increasing student participation in professional skill development opportunities’ as one of the objectives of our strategic plan,” said Antonio Riggs, SOM’s student services coordinator. “This led to the implementation of the career development requirement. We believe it will help students successfully transition from student to working professional.”

As part of the requirement, students must earn 30 career development points prior to graduation. CDR categories include:

u Knowledge inquiries (learning a language, meeting

with employers, developing a resume, etc.), 2.5 points

u Attendance at events (career fairs, panels, tours, etc.), 5 points

u Participation in events (conferences, competitions, leadership roles in organizations, etc.), 10 points

u Practical experience (internships, service learning projects, job shadowing, etc.), 11+ points

Riggs tracks student participation via Blackboard, UM-Flint’s online learning tool. Students use Blackboard to identify opportunities, view professional development videos, and track points of participation. They can also access online tutorials about networking, resume writing, searching for jobs, interviewing, and business etiquette. After students complete the 30-point requirement, an indicator will appear on their MyDegreePlan worksheet.

Ruth J. Person, PhD, is professor of record for SOM’s internship program.

After reading over 300 papers about students’ internship experiences, she has identified transformation in these areas as being most meaningful: professional growth, personal skills, and technical proficiency.

“Students tend to come to the internship experience with limited project management and/or professional skills—most are either early in their careers or changing their careers,” said Person. “For many, this is their first opportunity to work in a business setting. Such an experience can help ease the transition from student to professional that many of our students face.

“Along with growing professionally, students develop personal skills, like showing up on time and talking to senior management. A growing number of students admit to initially feeling intimidated at having to talk to adults…

Students also report acquiring greater technical expertise.

Although they learn (and use) technology in many of their courses, the internship challenges them to become more proficient using these tools to generate business reports and complete other professional tasks.”

Over eighty students have completed internships each year since 2014. Most have been paid. The majority of students find placements in southeast Michigan; however, some have found opportunities out of state (one recently interned at Disney World) and others have been overseas. Regardless of where they interned, all students reported having a positive experience—even if it taught them they didn’t want to work for a particular employer after graduation.

“Internships are valuable; I wish every student could take advantage of this experience,” said Person. “Almost all of our students say that their coursework was great, but there’s no substitute for the real thing.

While this new requirement takes affect for undergraduate students entering the university beginning this fall, SOM invites all students to take advantage of career development and internship opportunities.

Students engaged in an activity during a visit to United Shore.

“SOM owes a debt of gratitude to the businesses and organizations that have partnered with us to offer students this opportunity. We’re also appreciative of the students’ supervisors. Many of our students report that these individuals end up becoming their mentors.”

In addition to internships, SOM organizes company tours.

During the 2018-19 academic year, students visited Domino’s, Quicken Loans, United Shore, Lear, Amigo Mobility, Auto Owners Insurance, General Motors, and the Ford Rouge Factory.

UM-Flint,” said Riggs. “During our tours, we have found that employers are really creating an environment supportive of work-life balance—including flex schedules, support for families, and amenities to reduce stress. These are the types of settings many of our students hope to work in after graduation.”

SOM is interested in expanding placement opportunities for students. To learn more, contact Antonio Riggs at anriggs@umich.edu or call (810) 237-6680.

“Company visits are initiated through student inquiry, company invitation, and interest in recruiting talent from

u GROWING NETWORK OF SOM STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS When Milton Straham (BBA, ‘16) returned to UM-Flint for his MBA, he wanted to fully engage in the college experience. He had been vice president of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) student chapter at Oakland University and wanted students to have similar opportunities at UM-Flint.

“I decided to pursue my master’s of accounting to help prepare and become eligible for the CPA exam,” said Straham.

“I knew it would give me greater depth of theory, and I could complete it quickly. But what inspired me most were the valuable connections I formed with professionals, educators, and others I met in the accounting field through my student membership in NABA. “I finished my MSA rather quickly, then decided to go for the degree I always wanted:an MBA. This is the degree those in upper management hold, and I knew it would help me move up the corporate ladder. So I came back to UM-Flint (where I studied as an undergrad) and brought NABA with me.”

About a year ago, Straham started the paperwork to form a student chapter of NABA on the UM-Flint campus. His goals were to raise awareness about the organization and increase membership. To form a student chapter, members must demonstrate longevity to the NABA board, which is why it’s especially important to attract freshmen and sophomores who will continue the organization after Straham graduates.

“I’ve been encouraging students to get more involved with NABA by interacting with the Detroit chapter, attending the national conference in Las Vegas, and applying for scholarships,” said Straham. “There are also opportunities for alumni and the community to get involved by attending meetings and hosting specific topics; for example,

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BUSINESS @ UM-FLINT

SOM students at the NABA Conference in Las Vegas.

transitioning from student to professional, keeping a job, and so forth. We don’t want to limit NABA to campus; we want to engage with the community.”

While NABA is “dedicated to bridging the opportunity gap for black professionals in the accounting, finance, and related business professions,” it welcomes students from all majors and ethnicities. Speakers at last year’s meetings included Allie Herkenroder from Americorps and Sheila Brooks, senior accountant from TI Automotive, who shared information about job opportunities and their experiences as NABA professionals.

“We want to offer students the best opportunities to make them well-rounded,” said Straham.

In addition to laying the groundwork for NABA, Straham balances graduate coursework with roles in advising and teaching.

Over the summer, he interned at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Chicago and participated in a faculty-led trip to study business in China—one of the “greatest experiences” he’s ever had. Straham, a firstgeneration college student, plans to graduate in Winter 2020.

Already, NABA is impacting other students in positive ways. During her senior year of high school, Za’Taia Shelby took a Career Cruising inventory that matched her strengths and interests with different career paths. The results pointed her to the field of forensic accounting, which will allowe her to do what she loves most—work with numbers and travel.

Shelby got involved with NABA because of the support system and networking opportunities the organization offered. Over the summer, she attended the annual NABA convention in Las Vegas. So far, she has interviewed with Nationwide, Cargill, PNC, Dow, and Deloitte. She has received offers from four of these companies for internships.

“It’s one thing to have your family or friends with different majors supporting you,” she said. “However, to have support from a peer/friend with your same major is a totally different feeling. They understand your anxiety or frustrations about accounting classes, and, most importantly, they motivate you to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“NABA opened my eyes to the various opportunities within accounting. In June, I attended the annual NABA Convention

in Las Vegas—the city I plan to live in after I graduate from college. The convention gave me additional insight into the CPA and CFE exams and allowed me to connect with future employers. I also had multiple opportunities to network with peers. By helping me develop a support system and creating opportunities to learn from professional forensic accountants, NABA is helping me become the best forensic accountant that I can be.”

During her life, Shelby has been homeless twice, but it never detoured her from her goals. She was her high school’s valedictorian (4.0 GPA) and has excelled in college, making the Dean’s List every semester with an accumulative 3.94 GPA. She started working at age fourteen and took on a second job two years later.

“My story has made me want more out of life,” said Shelby.

“And by having a plan to reach my career goals, I am destined to succeed.”

SOM students are encouraged to get involved and seek leadership positions in campus clubs and organizations.

Those of particular interest to SOM students and more information can be found at umflint.edu/som.

u WEB/SOCIAL MEDIA POSITION IN SOM One of the challenges of higher education is keeping up with trends in the professional world. In recent years, many students have expressed the desire to develop social media skills. However, the field has not been around long enough to hire professors who have studied it at the level SOM requires to teach. It also requires a unique interdisciplinary blend of knowledge and skills from the fields of business, art/design, computer science, information systems, and communication.

While several SOM courses address social media, the school doesn’t offer it as a major. But that doesn’t mean the school isn’t meeting this need in other ways. In 2015, Dean Johnson created a web/social media assistant position within SOM to help students acquire the experience they wanted and to keep SOM connected in the digital/social worlds. Helen Lund (BFA, ‘16) was the first to fill this position.

“I was fortunate to work for SOM for three years as a student,” said Lund.

“Outside of all I learned about the business world and marketing, the professional office skill set I gained from my time with SOM has been the most impactful. Being prepared,

showing up on time, and being organized really can set you apart from the competition. It’s often these small details that get overlooked, but they can make or break a situation. Those little details, in any area of life, set you apart as a professional and considerate colleague. My time with SOM staff, who spent so much time molding me, helped me get to where I am today.”

Lund is now the communications coordinator for the Departments of Anthropology and Afroamerican and African Studies at the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor. She creates print and digital items for advertisements, events, graduation, promotional materials, social media, and department websites. She manages and maintains two social media pages, creates and manages two digital newsletters monthly, and provides website maintenance. She also writes articles about the departments’ students and faculty, provides photography services, and assists with event planning and coordination.

“Over the summer, I created an archival database of over 300 pieces of artwork, music, and literature to ramp up for the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies’ 50-year celebration in 2020,” said Lund.

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“Outside of work, I’m currently planning my wedding, renovating my first house, and actively creating and applying to show my photography work. I’ll finally have a studio space to create a darkroom and store all my frames. I like to stay busy if you can’t tell!”

Currently filling the role of web/social media assistant is Alexis Menard.

She is majoring in marketing and organizational behavior and human resources management and expects to finish her courses in Spring 2021. Most of her work is aimed at connecting with students at SOM events and following up with them to do features on the website and various social media sites she manages.

“With all of these platforms, balancing content can be somewhat daunting,” said Menard. “To stay on task, I will typically schedule content to go out and review which areas could use improvement (i.e. under-utilization or low engagement). This helps me stay focused on creating content that not only appeals to a wider audience, but also keeps people coming back for more.

“One crucial piece of advice I can give is to avoid overposting.

This was realized through trial and error, as well as through research. I like to see how similar pages are styling their content, how often they are posting, and what’s trending

overall in the media. I’ve read articles and attended webinars and workshops funded by SOM. These experiences have helped me figure out how to strategize and efficiently manage SOM’s social media.”

In addition to web/social media assistant, Menard was selected as a Hagerman Scholar for the 2019-20 academic year, and assists the center with events and outreach to the community. She is currently interested in using her marketing background in a human resources career path to boost quality recruitments by using social media tools.

“I have interviewed with large firms that were trying to increase their presence on LinkedIn for their employees and give information to people interested in joining their company,” said Menard. “They said that they lacked applicants with my type of background. I will always tell my fellow business majors to double major just so you’re more marketable and have more skills compared to other applicants. Having marketing knowledge is crucial when trying to attract new talent in a dynamic and diverse environment, and I’m excited to see what opportunities present themselves after graduation.”

Employment opportunities at UM-Flint are listed at umjobs.org. Be sure to select “Flint campus” from the “Work Location” dropdown menu.

u EXPANDED SPACE & RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS To encourage student engagement, SOM is exploring ways of making space and special resources available to students. SOM recently acquired additional space on the second floor of the Riverfront building that will be used as the location for a new Business Innovation Center. The decision was based on results of a survey asking students how they would like to see the space used.

“The Business Innovation Center will be used for the Hagerman Center’s events, particularly guest speakers, as well as for the activities of student organizations who will no longer have to compete with classes for available classrooms,” said Yener Kandogan, PhD, associate dean.

The room will also be equipped with an 82-inch monitor, stackable and lounge chairs, and white boards to accommodate group work.

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BUSINESS @ UM-FLINT

SOM’s new Business Innovation Center will be used to welcome guest speakers and house activities of student organizations.

“In addition to the new Business Innovation Center, we are installing several single study carrels inside and outside in the hallway,” said Kandogan. “We’ve also acquired lockers for

students, so they don’t have to carry everything when they move from class to class. And, on days of interviews, they can look more professional as they will have a place to store their coats and books. We hope that all furniture will be in place by end of summer, and the Business Innovation Center will be operational before fall term.”

In addition to allocating additional space to engage on campus, SOM is offering other tools and resources to enable students to take advantage of engagement opportunities in lands farther away. In 2016, SOM purchased licenses for Rosetta Stone to help students learn foreign languages.

Roughly seventy students have already taken advantage of this popular language learning software, with frequent waitlists for access to one of SOM’s ten licenses. The most popular languages requested by SOM students have been Spanish, followed by a tie between German and French, then Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic. A few students have also studied Dutch, Filipino, Italian, Korean, Persian, Polish, and Portuguese.

“Students often learn the languages of their employers’ partners as they interact with their co-workers from these countries,” explained Kandogan. “They recognize that while most people speak English, by learning a foreign language, you also learn about another culture. In addition to helping you avoid cultural faux-pas, it demonstrates interest in long term relationships.

“Students have also used this tool prior to faculty-led trips to Japan and China, as well as preparation for study abroad programs in European countries, like the internship program

Professional Development on us!

School of Management Students & Alumni can attend a Flint & Genesee Chamber event for free!

in Germany. They have been mostly used by international business majors.”

Khoa Lam (MBA, ‘18) took advantage of SOM’s Rosetta Stone software because he had heard it was an effective language learning tool.

“My wife and I work in healthcare and are also entrepreneurs,” said Lam, who holds a doctoral degree in physical therapy, as well as an MBA. “We felt that learning another language such as Spanish would be helpful in our work—especially since moving to Kansas City, Missouri, where there’s a large population of Spanish speakers.

“What I appreciated most about this software was its ease of use and portability. I can listen to it anywhere when I want to practice. I’m still not too confident in my command of the language to say I am fluent, but I can roughly speak. I’ve already used it a few times in my interactions with patients and families.”

Rosetta Stone software is available online in thirty major languages and for all proficiency levels. Options include Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Dari, Dutch, English (American), English (British), Filipino (Tagalog),French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Pashto, Persian (Farsi), Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish (Latin America),Spanish (Spain), Swahili, Swedish, Turkish, Urdu, and Vietnamese. It can be accessed from home or computers in SOM.

Rosetta Stone licenses are available for students interested in furthering their foreign language skills. For more information, contact international business faculty members Yener Kandogan, PhD, (yener@umich.edu) or Keith Kelley, PhD, (keithkel@umich.edu).

Go to go.umflint.edu/SOMChamber New students admitted for Fall 2019 will be able to gain credits towards their Career Development Requirement.

Pick an upcoming event to attend View specific event concentrations that pertain to your field of work or study like Financial Planning, Marketing, Organizational Development, and Non-Profit.

Register Complete the form and a SOM staff member will register you and follow up via email in 1-2 business days with your confirmation.

Questions?

Call 810-762-3160 or email alumni contact Anna Swartz, annas@umich.edu or student contact Antonio Riggs, anriggs@umich.edu.

BUSINESS @ UM-FLINT

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u CAMPUS NEWS

DEBASISH DUTTA

Selected as Next UM-Flint Chancellor

By Kim Broekhuizen, Public Affairs, University of Michigan Originally printed in The University Record

Debasish Dutta is the new chancellor of the University of Michigan-Flint. His five-year appointment was approved in June by the Board of Regents. He is a distinguished professor of engineering and the former chancellor at Rutgers UniversityNew Brunswick. As UM-Flint chancellor, he will serve as the chief executive officer of the Flint campus and as an executive officer of U-M. “Dr. Dutta brings a lifetime of academic leadership experience and accomplishment to his new position at the University of Michigan-Flint,” says U-M President Mark Schlissel. “I welcome him back to Michigan and look forward to working with him and the entire UM-Flint community to advance the university’s legacy of educational access, academic strength, and service to the region.”

Dutta’s appointment was effective August 1. He succeeds Susan E. Borrego, who stepped down as UM-Flint’s leader when her current term was completed at the end of July. Dutta began his career at U-M as an assistant professor of mechanical engineering in 1989 and moved through the ranks to professor in 2000. While at Michigan, he was the director of the College of Engineering’s Program in Manufacturing and the founding director of its Interdisciplinary Professional Programs.

“I am thrilled to return to the University of Michigan to lead UM-Flint, a campus with exciting possibilities and a special place,” said Dutta. “The university has a lot to offer Flint and the region, and vice versa. I look forward to working with faculty, staff, students, and the community to improve access, enhance excellence, and serve the citizens of the state of Michigan.”

As chancellor of Rutgers’ flagship, land-grant campus, Dutta led a public research university with a $1.6 billion annual budget.

His administration brought focus and accountability in key areas, increased research funding, and worked effectively with legislators, business leaders, and alumni to create institutional momentum around academic excellence, student success, and affordability.

From 2014-17, he served as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity at Purdue University. Prior to that, Dutta served as associate provost and dean of the graduate college at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 2009 to 2014, where he was also the Edward William and Jane Marr Gutgsell Professor and interim vice-chancellor for research.

As Purdue’s chief academic officer, Dutta was responsible for all academic and faculty affairs across the system. He helped increase graduation rates, enhanced student advising, established innovative programs, and increased faculty size. As chief diversity officer, he helped develop and launch a diversity action plan, increase the enrollment of underrepresented minority students, and the recruitment of faculty of color. Dutta also provided leadership for the implementation of the boardapproved restructuring of Purdue’s regional campuses.

While at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dutta helped strengthen doctoral education and established new interdisciplinary programs to foster campus-wide research collaborations and increased diversity in graduate education.

Dutta is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and has served as a scholar-in-residence at the National Academy of Engineering. He holds a PhD in industrial engineering from Purdue, a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Evansville, and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Jadavpur University in Calcutta, India.

Dutta is married to Fataneh Taghaboni-Dutta, a clinical professor of business administration in the Gies School of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Taghaboni-Dutta previously spent 19 years in the UM-Flint School of Management where she rose through the ranks to become a tenured full professor. They have three adult daughters: Anita, Nikita, and Maya.

u ENGAGED ON CAMPUS

CAMPUS ENGAGEMENT Leads to Bigger Opportunities

By Kimberly Laux Photos: Courtesy of Jaylen McKinney

As a member of this prestigious fraternity, I was able to network and meet a lot of people. I was also able to do way more in the community, which, to me, was the most important part.

President of the Epsilon Mu chapter of Phi Beta Sigma, founder of Afrobella, active member of Block Club, UM-Flint orientation leader—Jaylen McKinney (BBA, ‘18) thrived as an engaged student at UM-Flint. He graduated with over 600 documented hours of community service and was deemed UM-Flint’s Greek Man of The Year (2017) and Student Involvement and Leadership (SIL) Outstanding Student Leader (2018).

While McKinney valued each of these experiences, his involvement with Phi Beta Sigma was most meaningful to him.

“Without Phi Beta Sigma, I wouldn’t have been able to travel to so many different places and meet the many entrepreneurs that I am still in contact with today,” he said.

McKinney got involved with Phi Beta Sigma as a sophomore after hearing about the fraternity from a classmate. He was impressed by the brothers’ level of involvement both on campus and in the community.

“Their dedication and values aligned with mine perfectly,” said McKinney, who eventually became president of the fraternity’s Epsilon Mu chapter.

Under McKinney’s leadership, Phi Beta Sigma was recognized with the Bigger and Better Business award, the March of Dimes Award, and The Program and Implementation Award, which they received for having the greatest involvement in several categories (Bigger and Better Business, Education, Social Action) and mentoring their auxiliary group. McKinney also won a scholarship and a certificate of achievement.

“As a member of this prestigious fraternity, I was able to network and meet a lot of people,” said McKinney. “I was also able to do way more in the community, which, to me, was the most important part.”

McKinney was recently offered a teaching job in Baltimore working with special education elementary school students. He worked with NextGen America in 2018 to help get the community registered to vote. His team was responsible for getting 60 percent of Genesee County registered to vote by mid-term elections. According to nextgenamerica.org, his efforts helped the organization become “the largest youth vote program in American history” with a reach of 7 million young adults (ages eighteen to thirty-five).

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u COMMUNITY NEWS

DOWNTOWN

FLINT

GAMEPLAN

To create a downtown for all of Flint, we need to embrace additional definitions of assembly, create places and opportunities to gather, identify common purposes around which to organize, and celebrate the ‘fitting together’ physically, socially and economically.

Compiled from text and images located at flinttown.info

The purpose of the plan was “to determine what land use, placemaking and mobility enhancements are needed downtown, map out their respective locations and identify the critical next steps to maintain and accelerate recent momentum. The Gameplan seeks to fit within the context of Flint’s recent city-wide master plan, but provide greater specificity on downtown issues and strategic opportunities.” According to the plan, investment priorities should focus on:

u EMBRACING THE RIVER: Priority focus should go to public realm enhancements and development projects near the river,

especially adjacent to Riverfront Plan investments. This includes enhancements that make the UM-Flint campus feel more permeable to public access.

u CREATING ENTERTAINMENT DESTINATIONS: Priority should go to public realm mobility and development projects that create new entertainment venues in proximity to existing destinations. This is especially true along Saginaw and East 2nd Street.

u ENHANCING EXISTING AMENITIES: Priority should be given to development, mobility, and parking solutions that make the

most of existing resources and create value with lower capital expense. Examples include improving access to currently built but underutilized parking lots, or boosting activity through event programming at otherwise dormant times of year.

u MAINTAINING MOMENTUM: Early development efforts must focus on delivering currently planned projects and occupying

buildings under renovation. Residential development is a priority for downtown, as well as new attractions for visitors inside and outside of Flint. New and renovated residences will build a critical mass of activity downtown and enhance the market for existing and proposed amenities. New destination attractions compliment the residential growth and combine to help draw additional commercial development and employment growth.

The Gameplan was developed by a steering committee from multiple Genesee stakeholders and two consultant teams. While developing the plan, the steering committee and consultant teams engaged with over 40 stakeholders representing residents, business owners, employers, institutional partners, university leadership, City of Flint officials, Genesee County officials, and civic and philanthropic organizations.

For specific details on these recommendations or to read the 128-page plan in its entirety, visit flinttown.info.

u ENGAGED IN THE COMMUNITY

SOM STUDENT Introduces Flint to New Cuisine

By Kimberly Laux Photos: Courtesy of Jeron Dotson

Entrepreneurs and brothers Justin Bush and SOM student Jeron Dotson are the owners of The Pokè Bowl in Flint.

After devouring their first pokè bowls out on the West Coast, Jeron Dotson and his brother, Justin Bush, were determined to bring this culinary concept home to Flint. The entrepreneurs spent the next two years planting the seed for a new local restaurant, The Pokè Bowl, and watching it grow.

“We originally went to California to film a music video,” said Dotson, a senior majoring in international business and minoring in Chinese. “Since we were so close to the ocean, we wanted to try the freshest fish possible before returning to Michigan. Our quest led us to a place that served pokè. I tried one bowl. Then another. We realized then that we had discovered something new, different, and healthy—just what our city needs.”

Pokè (pronounced “POH-kay”) is a traditional Hawaiian dish (with influences from Japanese and other Asian cuisines) that combines rice with a protein (usually seafood), vegetables, and a sauce. Some describe it as “a fresh take on sushi” or “sushi in a bowl.” While other pokè restaurants have popped up in Michigan, The Pokè Bowl will be the first in Flint.

“It’s similar to Chipotle in that customers can customize the ingredients we use to fill their bowls,” said Dotson. “In addition to seafood, we offer options for vegetarians and those with allergies, as well as fruit bowls. And, to keep everything as fresh and healthy as possible, we get most of our produce from the Flint Farmers’ Market and other locally sourced outlets.”

The Pokè Bowl debuted at pop-up locations in Genesee County over the summer. Its restaurant at 1214 University Avenue is planned to open in March (2020).

Dotson and Bush originally presented the idea for The Pokè Bowl to FlintSoup, a monthly dinner that raises seed money for startups and creative projects in the Flint community. Organizers awarded them a cash prize and guidance to move forward with their plan. They went on to participate in Flint Shark Tank and UM-Flint’s Business Pitch competition, and attended the Michigan Good Food Business Boot Camp. They started working with Nic Custer from UM-Flint’s Office of University Outreach Innovation Incubator located at the Flint Ferris Wheel, to develop the business plan required to participate in Habitat for Humanity’s innovative Work/Live Program. Custer introduced them to Harry Blecker, senior business growth consultant at Kettering University. The brothers jumped at the opportunity to open their business along University Avenue (close to UM-Flint and Kettering).

“We’re thankful to all the individuals and organizations who helped make this a reality for us,” said Dotson. “At each point in the process, we were fortunate to meet guides willing to offer the time and resources we needed, then point us in the next direction.”

In addition to the valuable network he’s forged in the community, Dotson credits SOM faculty for the expertise and support they’ve offered along the way.

“It’s always been my dream to travel the world, then bring new and interesting ideas back to Flint,” said Dotson. “That’s what inspired me to pursue international business. I had some initial concerns about the study abroad requirement, but Dr. Yener Kandogan offered me the inspiration and guidance I need to graduate at the end of the fall semester (2019).

“Dr. Michael Witt has inspired me professionally as well. I remember him saying that your first $10,000,000 is the hardest to make. I think about this every day. And his connections to Habitat for Humanity were instrumental in moving us through the pre-qualification stage of the Work/Live Program.”

In addition to classes and the time he has spent starting The Pokè Bowl, Dotson works for the State of Michigan (Secretary of State) as part of their Student Assistant Program. He is also involved fraternally as a mason at a local masonic lodge.

“It’s taken a lot of hard work and tiresome nights to finish school, work, and lay the groundwork for a business,” said Dotson.

“Through it all, I’ve learned to set a goal—and never stop.”

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u ALUMNI GIVING BACK

creates

ALUMNUS NEW SCHOLARSHIP FOR WORKING ACCOUNTING MAJORS

By Kimberly Laux

“To whom much is given, much is required.”

These powerful words were spoken by President-elect John F. Kennedy to challenge government to consider how the “high court of history” would one day judge them. “In the brief span of service, have we fulfilled our responsibilities?” Michael Torrey (BBA, ‘82) believes the same should be asked of us today.

“Those words have become my philosophy and approach to life,” said Torrey, who is now vice president of Rates and Regulation at Consumers Energy. “I know how hard it is to work while pursuing an education. I was fortunate to receive scholarships as a student. Now I’d like to help others who are in similar situations.”

Torrey established the Michael Torrey Family Scholarship for accounting majors who are balancing the demands of the rigorous accounting program with employment — a reality Torrey faced himself as a student.

Torrey started his education at U-M in Ann Arbor, then landed a full-time job at Flint Truck Assembly and transferred to UM-Flint on a part-time basis. After being laid off, he became a full-time student to finish his degree.

“I originally pursued accounting because I loved working with numbers,” said Torrey.

“However, I quickly learned that accounting is one of the most powerful roles in business.

Professors like Clark Chastain and Walker Fesmire helped me realize that it’s often accountants who inform decision makers and enable good in organizations.”

The opportunity to work with decision makers to enable good is what Torrey enjoys most about his 36-year career at Consumers Energy. He spent his first fifteen years as lead senior accounting analyst at the nuclear

Photo: Compliments of Michael Torrey

power plant in Covert, Michigan. Then he became executive director of rates and business planning at the Jackson, Michigan headquarters before accepting the position of vice president in 2016. He leads the 30-person team responsible for preparing requests seeking Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) approval.

“I get to work with the entirety of the organization — from the CEO to our first line employees,” said Torrey. “I develop close relationships with regulatory staff and provide decision support to our leadership team. And, through collaboration with our engineers, we are able to share stories — storytelling with numbers — for energy projects and programs that help enhance the quality of life in Michigan.”

The Torrey family has a lifelong commitment to the community. Torrey Road is named after one of his ancestors. Jesse Torrey settled in the area in 1836 with his wife, daughter, and four sons. Their neighborhood became known as the Torrey settlement.

According to records maintained by Genesee County, “at this settlement were cut the first logs ever floated down the Flint River, about one thousand, for which a compensation of fifty cents a log was received.”

Although Torrey, his wife Marcia, and two grown sons now live in the Ann Arbor area, he continues to support the community through scholarships, serving on the SOM Advisory Board, and hiring UM-Flint graduates.

“Graduates of all schools bring to the table a certain level of education and experience — that’s to be expected,” noted Torrey. “But UM-Flint alumni offer something more. They come with the shared values of hard work, perseverance, and resilience. And that is worth rewarding.”

The Michael Torrey Family Scholarship is an endowed scholarship to support students pursuing undergraduate accounting degrees within SOM. To be eligible, students must have declared a major in accounting, live in Genesee County, work part-time or a minimum of 15 hours per week, and have a minimum GPA of 3.0.

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BUSINESS @ UM-FLINT

ALUMNI RELATIONS The Office of Alumni Relations adds value to the alumni experience through fostering university spirit and managing communications between the university and its graduates. Our programs build leadership, create traditions, support students, and foster connections among our 46,000 alumni. Our office, in collaboration with the University of Michigan Alumni Association, is your tie to the Leaders and Best. Here’s how you can stay connected to SOM and the University of Michigan-Flint:

BE SOCIAL

Follow UM-Flint social media. Share your photos, Tweets, and videos using the #umflint hashtag, and follow our official social media sites: umflint.edu/socialmedia. And be sure to like the UM-Flint School of Management page on Facebook!

HIRE THE LEADERS AND BEST

Recruit from the deep UM-Flint talent pool that has been producing leaders for more than 60 years. SOM alumni can post internship/job postings as well as utilize career counseling and assistance to find a job. For more information contact Antonio Riggs, SOM student service coordinator, at (810) 237-6680 or anriggs@umflint.edu.

UPDATE YOUR INFO

Did you move? Get a new job? Get married? Let us know what you’ve been up to and how we can contact you to stay connected. Find us at umflintalumni.org.

MAKE A GIFT

Give back to SOM! Every gift to our entire campus matters, regardless of size. Support the university’s efforts to prepare the next generation of Leaders and Best. Contact Annual Giving at annual_giving@umflint.edu or visit umflint.edu/som and click on “give online.”

VOLUNTEER

Build your resume while giving back. The Office of Alumni Relations offers many volunteer opportunities throughout the year. Visit go.umflint.edu/volunteer.

WEAR IT ON YOUR SLEEVE

Wear your UM-Flint pride. Check out the UM-Flint Bookstore for your UM-Flint and Wolverine gear. Visit go.umflint.edu/ bookstore.

SPREAD THE WORD

Stay up-to-date with the latest UM-Flint news and stories about your friends and fellow alumni. Check out news.umflint.edu.

TAKE US ALONG FOR THE RIDE

UM-Flint is in the Vehicle City. Show your UM-Flint pride with a UM-Flint license plate available from the Michigan Secretary of State michigan.gov/sos.

NETWORK WITH US

The Office of Alumni Relations and the U of M Club of Greater Flint host a number of events throughout the year. Stay up-todate with the latest events on our website: umflintalumni.org.

KEEP IN TOUCH!

For more information about alumni opportunities in the School of Management contact, Anna Swartz, SOM alumni liaison, at (810) 424 5587 or annas@umflint.edu.

u ALUMNI GIVING BACK

Alumnus

CREATES

By Kimberly Laux Photos: Courtesy of SOM

new scholarship opportunity for “C” students

Groceries, gas, or tuition? Successful entrepreneur Steve Whitener (BBA, ’77) remembers making tough spending choices as a student. He worked forty hours a week and relied on financial aid and scholarships to help pay for college. By the end of eight years at three different schools, his goal was simply to graduate.

“I was just about broke,” said Whitener. “I’d work from four until midnight, then get up again at six and drive an hour to campus. My schedule left little time for homework. I often scrambled to finish it in the car. It was tough. But a degree from the University of Michigan system was worth it to me, so I persisted.

“Since I was struggling to get by, my GPA made me ineligible for many of the scholarships at UM-Flint. I frequented the Financial Aid Office to see if any new scholarships ever popped up, and sometimes I’d get lucky, but there weren’t many available for a ‘C student.’”

This experience inspired Whitener to start the Stephen A. Whitener Merit + Scholarship. Available this year, the needbased award is open to students whose GPAs fall between 2.0 and 2.9 and work a minimum of twenty-four hours a week. Prior to this gift there were no scholarships available to students in this GPA range. According to University Advancement, of the approximately 800 students in SOM pursuing an undergraduate degree in business 70 percent are in the range of 2.0, with 30 percent around a 2.3. Based on other info gathered through SOM’s academic advisors, these students typically work thirtyplus hours per week, and are “goal driven, hard-working, bright students.”

“It’s no surprise that students with high GPAs go on to land good jobs,” said Whitener. “But over the years, I’ve observed that it’s often ‘C students’ who go on to start something really great.

They recognize opportunity. When they discover the need for a product or service, they work tirelessly to fill that void. Risk 25

BUSINESS @ UM-FLINT

doesn’t scare them. They develop strong ‘people skills’ and understand the value of networking. This is what leads to a successful career in business.”

Whitener is no stranger to success. After graduation, he purchased several real estate properties and worked in sales at Westinghouse Electric, Eaton Cutler Hammer, Pirelli International, and Anixter. He founded National Systems Installers in 1993 to provide infrastructure cabling services to a Fortune 500 company and their 300 retail locations across the US. In 1999, he founded Nuspire Networks, a multimillion-dollar cyber-security company that he sold in 2016.

“Blessed beyond his wildest dreams,” Whitener feels obligated to help others. He donated a van to Meals on Wheels and is currently laying the groundwork to help the organization build a kitchen to serve seniors in the Livingston County area. Whitener has also been a strong supporter of his alma mater. In addition to the Stephen A. Whitener Merit + Scholarship, he established the Stephen A. Whitener Scholarship for Innovators and serves on the SOM Advisory Board.

“This is a way of expressing my gratitude,” said Whitener. “I know the difference a scholarship can make. I’m grateful to the donors who made it possible for me to get through school, so I’m repaying them by helping others. What’s intriguing to me is the number of people who don’t give back. If every graduate gave $50 a year (less than a quarter a day), think of what could be possible!

“I’m also appreciative of the faculty in SOM. I was fortunate to learn from outstanding professors like Paul Webster, James Walters, and Robert Cojeen — business geniuses who also inspired us. Serving on the SOM Advisory Board allows me to lend my expertise to the school. Business is changing at the speed of light. I want to help SOM continue moving forward.

For example, cyber-security is the hottest job ticket in the world right now, yet very few schools offer it. This could be a big opportunity, not only for SOM but the entire U-M system.”

In his spare time, Whitener enjoys playing golf, cruising the waters in his 38-foot Sundancer, and spending time with his fiancee, Theresa Burda; son, David; daughter, Nicole; son-inlaw, Chris; and two grandchildren.

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2018/2019 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS! Gifts totaling $259,740 were awarded to the following students:

BAKER-ROBERSON SCHOLARSHIP Amber M. Kosha Brooke M. Steinley

MBA SCHOLARSHIP Bishr A. Al-Dabagh

JAMES AND DESOLINE COKLEY FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP Preston R. Zaremba

OLIVER LAGORE VANVALIN INVESTMENT GROUP SCHOLARSHIP London A. Haught

DIPLOMAT SCHOLARSHIP FUND Jessica L. Backmeier Libin J. Philip William G. Hembruch Stacy L. Trussell Stephanie A. Lopez Melody Wendling Brina Patel

DAVID A. PAGE CPA SCHOLARSHIP Maria V. Gatica Austin J. McKenzie

WALKER E. FESMIRE ACCOUNTING SCHOLARSHIP Amanda M. Wilson R. & E. FREEMAN NETPLUS MBA SCHOLARSHIP Jerry S. Eluskie Nick L. Niedzielski Ola Hasso Dene M. Olivo Eric Hui Latonia R. Raines Kirstin E. Knag Shannon M. Rueckert Kevin E. Koonmen Michael Surato R. & E. FREEMAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT SCHOLARSHIP Kyle M. Arrowood Cheyenne S. McFarland Rebecca L. Bade Khadija Mohammed Stacey L. Broekstra Noemi Pineiro Robin L. Flood Riley M. Schank James R. Harris Nicholas E. Schultz London A. Haught Edward L. Upchurch Tawn M. Hill Rebecca A. Watt Casey J. Lester Carryn E. White GMAT SCHOLARSHIP CJ Balley Corrine E. Calhoun Beth M. Duffy Justin D. Hernandez Jackie A. Hodges

Mitchell J. Mynatt Shannon L. Pilon Cassie L. Sadler Kemeng Wang

JESSICA HAGEMEISTER CPA SCHOLARSHIP Kirstin E. Knag HAGERMAN SCHOLARS SCHOLARSHIP Elisabeth M. Hamilton Carryn E. White Sydney L. Parvin CATHLEEN E. HALE SCHOLARSHIP Janica L. Eskridge HEITMANN, JOHN & KATHIE FAMILY CONTINUING EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP Connor S. Krish Joylynn T. Orvis PAMELA HERNANDEZ SCHOLARSHIP Stacey L. Broekstra

Milton Straham

PLANTE MORAN ACCOUNTING SCHOLARSHIP Edward L. Upchurch TIMOTHY PURMAN CPA SCHOLARSHIP Jennifer L. Fias CHARLES ERICKSON RACHOR SCHOLARSHIP Alyssa Walker THOMAS P. RYAN & THOMAS P. RYAN, JR. SCHOLARSHIP FUND Mike R. Allen Megan E. Lavasseur Muhammad Ammar Cheyenne S. McFarland Kyle M. Arrowood Khadija Mohammed Rebecca L. Bade Michael J. Mooney Samantha J. Bader Noemi Pineiro Randi L. Bannister Rayshawn D. Riley Stacey L. Broekstra Caroline F. Rishmawi Haley R. Bruns Riley M. Schank Michael C. Curran Allison M. Smith Robin L. Flood Alexis E. Snel LaKia Hamilton Brooke M. Steinley James R. Harris Jim E. Traxler Alexsis N. Hedgley Edward L. Upchurch Tawn M. Hill Rebecca A. Watt Kylie A. Johnston Carryn E. White Christopher Jones Preston R. Zaremba Clarian M. Kmetz SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT ALUMNI SCHOLARSHIP Benjamin A. Pierce SOM EXCELLENCE FUND Robert D. Kelley Gabriel L. Stone SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL EASTERN SCHOLARSHIP Claire Chang Alexandra Li Hui Yun Chang Wei-Ting Liang Ming-Hsin Chao Muho Mun Ting Wei Chiu Li-Nung Shih Hsu Hung Chou Kuan Chin Tsai Han Ju Hsieh Tuan-Liang Wu Tae Eun Kim Ya-Ting Wu Gris Kuang Ching Yi Yang Angela H . Lee Chih-Wen Yeh

LINDA AND RANDY LEACH FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP Dayna A. Flowers

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT STUDY ABROAD SCHOLARSHIP Dene M. Olivo Vonda Simpson Ryan M. Palomba Milton Straham Kim S. Poma Matthew H. Walker Kailey N. Porritt Angela S. Wang Jenee C. Price Marcia O. Yhap-Davson Mathew M. Rojeski

DR. CATHLEEN L. MILLER CPA ACCOUNTING SCHOLARSHIP Caroline Rishmawi

DAVID C. TUCKER CPA SCHOLARSHIP Jennifer L. Fias

I. DOUGLAS MOON SOM UNDERGRADUATE MERIT SCHOLARSHIP Amanda M. Wilson

STEVE WHITENER SCHOLARSHIP FOR INNOVATORS Ashley N. Hardacre Gabriel L. Stone BUSINESS BUSINESS@ @UM-FLINT UM-FLINT Deema K. Hasan

KARTHA FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP FOR STUDY ABROAD Brant R. Beck W. Khalid Mohammed Nic Custer

14 X

u FACULTY SPOTLIGHT

RITA FIELDS

LECTURER OF MANAGEMENT

Stories of resilience are inspiring, especially in a community that’s faced the gamut of hardships, from economic ups-anddowns to accessing safe drinking water. Perhaps that’s why so many UM-Flint students connect with Rita Fields, DM, lecturer of management. Her example of resiliency offers valuable lessons about organizational management and the need to persist when facing seemingly insurmountable challenges.

Fields ran away from home at age seventeen and dropped out of school. She worked part time at a fast food restaurant in Detroit, but she wasn’t bringing in enough income to cover food or living expenses. She learned she was pregnant after she became homeless and resorted to panhandling. She had no hope or vision for her future.

After eating scraps of food left over from a little league game, Fields got food poisoning and sought help from a local shelter.

This was a turning point in her life. Balancing the role of a parent, she returned to school and started working a steady job. Sometimes, she had to take as many as nine buses a day to take care of all her obligations. These experiences taught her the need for resourcefulness, commitment, and time management — qualities that eventually led to her success as a business leader, educator, and sought-after speaker.

“Students often express surprise and gratitude at how much I am willing to share with them,” said Fields, who teaches Human Behavior in Organizations to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as a graduate-level Talent Management course.

“Over the years, I’ve found that being honest about my experiences helps us to understand each other on a deeper level than what is traditionally available in the traditional professor/ student construct. It allows me to connect meaningfully with students and be honest with them about the world of work. I especially love helping students recognize the importance of self awareness and respect for others with regard to organizational success.”

In addition to teaching at several colleges and universities, Fields has over two decades of professional experience, including ten years in health care. She is currently the CEO of 313 Industries, a machining and milling corporation, and chief strategist of Copper Phoenix Consulting, an independent human resources consulting firm. She considers her most significant professional

accomplishments to be developing and executing a human capital strategy for a hospital and spearheading an employee development initiative for those at the lowest levels in the organization.

Fields is active in several professional organizations, has served as a spokesperson for the Center for the Education of Women at the University of Michigan, and presented at TEDxDetroit.

She has received numerous awards and recognition for her work, and serves on boards for the South Oakland Shelter (SOS), Coalition on Temporary Shelter (COTS), and Sinai Grace Hospital in Detroit.

“The deepest professional insight I’ve made for myself was recognizing the value of intellectual diversity in my career,” said Fields. “I’m also passionately committed to serving the metropolitan Detroit community, and especially grateful to be in a position to serve on the board of the shelter that I lived in when I was seventeen.”

While Michigan will always be considered home, Fields enjoys traveling. She has already visited six continents, and each year on her birthday, she makes sure to wake up in a different country.

“I love to travel,” said Fields. “The world is full of mystery and gems of discovery — about ourselves and those in our communities.”

Although this is only her second year at UM-Flint, the campus community has embraced Fields as an esteemed and inspiring member of the faculty.

“We are happy to have Dr. Fields join our faculty,” said Yener Kandogan, PhD, associate dean and professor of international business. “She has been well received and liked by our students, as her very high course evaluations right from the first term here demonstrate.”

u NEW FACULTY/STAFF & RETIREMENTS

u ANDREW EKSTROM, MS Lecturer I

For over a decade, Andrew Ekstrom worked in academic and commercial chemical analysis labs where he used his statistical knowledge to improve and maintain the quality of data. After starting his MS in Applied and Computational Mathematics, he turned his interests into mathematically modeling physical systems.

His work has appeared in Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) papers about using real-time inputs for finding potholes and rough roads in Michigan. He has also used his analytics savvy to improve student outcomes at Henry Ford College. Ekstrom’s research passions are creating mathematical models of physical and biological systems, and working toward significant improvements in student outcomes by improving prerequisite requirements and optimizing the student pipeline.

u RITA FIELDS, DM

u THOMAS LECHNER, PHD Lecturer of Accounting

Thomas Lechner has been an accounting academic for over thirty years, teaching at Cleveland State University and the University of Utah, among other schools. His work has been included in academic, practitioner, and educational publications. He earned his PhD in accounting from the University at Buffalo as well as BA and MS degrees in economics from Carleton College and Iowa State University. He is a CPA, spending four years as an auditor with Arthur Andersen & Co. in Chicago.

He is also a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA). Lechner enjoys attending his son’s soccer games, and getting beaten in 5K-10K races (by his son). He can still beat his son in chess, but that is likely to reverse shortly.

u PHILLIP SCHRAMM, PHD Lecturer of Management

Lecturer III

Rita Fields is CEO of 313 Industries, a machining and milling corporation, and Copper Phoenix Consulting, where she offers expertise on talent and operations management. In addition to her lecturer position in SOM, Fields also teaches healthcare administration at Central Michigan University, and is a dissertation advisor at Assumption University in Bangkok, Thailand. She worked at the senior executive level in the healthcare industry for ten years and in corporate America for two decades. More about Fields can be found on page 27.

u JENNIFER HAGERMAN,

PHARMD, FMPA

Lecturer of Leadership and Change Management Before joining SOM, Jennifer Hagerman served as a lecturer of pharmacology in UM-Flint’s School of Nursing and was invited to participate in the U-M College of Pharmacy’s Dean’s Leading by Example Lecture Series (2017). She is vice president of education and quality at Diplomat, the nation’s largest independent specialty pharmacy, and serves as Diplomat’s pharmacy residency program director. Additionally, Hagerman has served on the executive board of the Michigan Pharmacists Association (MPA), and was a recipient of the MPA’s Distinguished New Pharmacy Practitioner Award. Hagerman has also taught as a full-time faculty member at Ferris State University (FSU) College of Pharmacy, with a practice site at Hurley Medical Center. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from FSU and completed a post-graduate pharmacy practice residency at Borgess Medical Center.

Philipp Schramm, Executive Vice President Purchasing, joined Webasto in 2010 as Head of Corporate Development and Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A).

As an executive leader with worldwide experience in transformational leadership through continuous improvement, he successfully led an organization-wide cultural transformation program within the Webasto Americas region. Schramm is a Harvard alumnus and holds a PhD and Business Administration Diploma from the Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt in Germany.

u PROFESSOR PEETH KARTHA, PHD Professor Peeth Kartha, PhD and David M. French Distinguished Professor of Quantitative Methods, retired this past year after thirty-nine years in the School of Management. He holds a doctorate in statistics with a minor in industrial engineering from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. In addition to teaching and research, he served as a member of the Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and also served as a senior examiner for the Michigan Quality Leadership Award. In 2018, Professor Kartha, along with his wife and daughters, established the Kartha Family Scholarship for Study Abroad to provide financial assistance to students wanting to study abroad.

Dean Scott Johnson notes, “Peeth will be greatly missed. He helped hundreds of students by means of his patience in explaining complicated problems. He thoroughly enjoyed working with students to help them understand and value the quantitative aspects of decision making.”

BUSINESS @ UM-FLINT

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u RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

u WHAT TO DO WITH MATH ERROR NOTICE LETTERS FROM THE IRS

By Russell Zhaochu Li, PhD; Clement Chen, CPA, PhD; and Keith Jones, CPA, PhD Published by Journal of Accountancy

Russell Zhaochu Li, PhD

In 2015, the IRS received more than 146 million individual tax returns and audited 1.2 million of them, a mere 0.8 percent (IRS 2016). At the same time, the IRS found more than 2.17 million math errors from individual tax returns and sent more than 1.67 million math error notice letters (some returns have more than one error). What are these math errors, and how should taxpayers and tax practitioners respond to them? In an article published by Journal of Accountancy, Russell Zhaochu Li, PhD, Clement Chen, CPA, PhD, and Keith Jones, CPA, PhD offer insights on the legal rights of taxpayers when they receive math error notice letters.

“Our study provides a general understanding of what constitutes a math error on a tax return,” said Chen, professor of accounting and David M. French Professor in SOM. “The research discusses areas of the tax return that are prone to math errors and offers advice to taxpayers if/when they receive a math error notice letter. It also provides suggestions for prevention of math errors on tax returns.”

According to the article, the top four errors include: arithmetic mistakes, exemption amounts/ numbers, earned income tax credit, and standard/itemized deductions.

Clement Chen, PhD

“Given the stress for taxpayers, tax advisers should therefore do their best to help clients avoid unpleasant surprises,” the article states. “First, tax advisers should inform clients that math error notices are not audits and that the IRS screens all tax returns for these errors. Second, tax advisers should respond promptly to a notice. When a taxpayer receives a notice, he or she may assume it is the tax adviser who made the mistake. However, the error could be from incorrect information the taxpayer provided, such as an incorrect tax identification number (TIN). When the relevant information is provided, most math error notices can be reversed.”

Professor Chen points out that the findings released in this article can inform tax practitioners who advise clients and may be of interest to non-tax-specialists who file their own taxes.

u STOCK PRICE REACTION AND DATA BREACHES Mark S. Johnson, PhD; Min Jung Kang, PhD; & Tolani Lawson, CPA, MS. Published by the Journal of Finance Issues

Data breaches come in different forms (bad security practices, hacking, insider attacks, data theft, etc.), and it’s becoming more common. Min Jung Kang, PhD and co-authors Mark S. Johnson, PhD, and Tolani Lawson, CPA, MS, started to wonder whether such data breaches would affect not only the consumers but also the shareholders, who are the owners of the company.

“The paper presents an analysis of the stock market’s assessment of the cost of data breaches in 261 publicly traded companies between year 2005 and 2014,” said Kang, assistant professor of finance in SOM. Min Jung Kang, PhD

“We find that the firms lose on average of 0.37 percent of their equity value when data breach occurs. Particularly, we find that breaches resulting from payment card fraud contributed more to negative announcement returns than the other type of breaches. Also, we find a high correlation between firm size and the existence of multiple, repeat data breaches. Such results imply that large firms hit by a data breach are more likely to experience subsequent breaches than small firms.”

As computer and online activity continues to increase, Kang stresses the need for managers and owners (shareholders) to understand more fully what financial consequences occur with different types of data breaches.

“Our results should help managers determine the degree of their risk exposure and the level of effort that should be expended on cyber security in their firms,” she said. “With more time and resources, we would have liked to investigate corporate governance effects on data breaches and subsequent CEO punishment after a data breach.”

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BUSINESS @ UM-FLINT

u RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

u ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICES AND FIRM PERFORMANCE IN EMERGING MARKETS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF PRODUCT QUALITY

By Muhammad Usman Ahmed, PhD; Ismail Gölgeci, DSc; Erkan Bayraktar, PhD; and Ekrem Tatoglu, PhD Published by Production Planning and Control

Usman Ahmed, PhD

Companies in emerging markets like Turkey are investing in environmentally friendly operations.

This surprised Usman Ahmed, PhD and co-authors Ismail Gölgeci, DSc, Erkan Bayraktar, PhD, and Ekrem Tatoglu, PhD because past research has shown that in such emerging economies regulations are not strictly enforced, and consumers are generally not willing to pay an appropriate price premium for green products.

“We were naturally curious because past research had indicated that consumers in such economies were generally not willing to pay an appropriate markup for green products,” said Ahmed, assistant professor of supply chain and operations management in SOM. “The regulations surrounding environmentally friendly production were also weaker than developed countries or often not enforced. So absent pressure from consumers and the government, what could be driving some companies to invest in environmentally friendly operations? The research project started from this curiosity to know why…”

Through statistical analysis of data, Ahmed and his colleagues discovered that, on average, companies that invest in environmental management practices are able to increase product quality, which lead to higher financial performance. The analysis finds no direct effect of environmental practices on financial performance, as expected. However, environmental practices are able to increase financial performance through their positive spill-over effects on product quality.

“We discovered that companies in emerging markets are reluctant to invest in environmentally friendly production because they are not sure if a business case can be made in their country of operation,” said Ahmed. “This research shows that there are positive spill-over effects of trying to greenify your operations. These spill-over effects improve product quality for the company’s offerings. Higher quality is linked with greater financial performance, because consumers are willing to pay more for quality. Also, higher quality can lead to market share expansion and greater export opportunities. By establishing that positive spill-over effects on product quality exist, this research helps companies in emerging markets like Turkey to invest in environmentally friendly operations.”

This research was a collaborative effort between Ahmed and colleagues in Turkey and the United Kingdom. Ahmed notes that this international collaboration was instrumental in collecting data from Turkey and answering a question that has global relevance.

ECONOMIC FORUM

The School of Management and the Rotary Club of Flint invite you to our annual Economic Forum. This event features a panel of financial and economic leaders who will address the topics of US and world economics. There is no cost for UM-Flint students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

Community members are welcome; cost is $10.

DECEMBER 13

Noon - 1:30 p.m. (Buffet opens at 11:30 a.m.)

Northbank Center Ballroom

RSVP at: umflint.edu/som Questions: Kristin Arntz kristicu@umich.edu • (810) 762-3253

BUSINESS @ UM-FLINT

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u RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

2018-19

SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS JOURNAL ARTICLES, BOOKS, AND BOOK CHAPTERS Ahmed, M. U., Kristal, M. M., Pagell, M., & Gattiker, T. F. (2019).

Building high performance supply-chain relationships for dynamic environments. Business Process Management Journal. Forthcoming.

Ahmed, M. U., Gölgeci, I., Bayraktar, E., & Tatoglu, E. (2019).

Environmental practices and firm performance in emerging markets: The mediating role of product quality. Production Planning and Control, 30(4): 315-328.

Ahmed, M. U., Pagell, M., Kristal, M. M., & Gattiker, T. F. (2019).

Micro-foundations of supply chain integration: An activity-based analysis. Logistics. Forthcoming.

Banerjee, S. (2019). Geosurveillance, location privacy and personalization. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing. Forthcoming.

Sultan, F., & Banerjee, S. (2018). Enhancing customer insights with public location data. Harvard Business Review.

Blume, B. (2019). Differentiating the effects of entrepreneurs’ intelligence and educational attainment on venture outcomes.

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 25(3): 518-537.

Jancenelle, V., Javalgi, R., & Cavusgil, E. (2019). Cultural entrepreneurship and legitimate distinctiveness in international prosocial crowdfunding. International Business Review. Forthcoming.

Belbag, A., Uner, M., Cavusgil, E., & Cavusgil, S. T. (2018). The new middle class in emerging markets: How values and demographics influence discretionary consumption. Thunderbird International Business Review, 61(2): 325-337.

Liu, Y. S., Deligonul, S., Cavusgil, E., & Chiou, J. (2018). Always trust in old friends? Effects of reciprocity in bilateral asset specificity on trust in international B2B partnerships. Journal of Business Research, 90: 171-185.

Yalya, S., Yeniyurt, S., Ulsay, C., & Cavusgil, E. (2018). The role of market orientation, relational capital and internationalization speed in foreign market exit and re-entry decisions under turbulent conditions. International Business Review, 27: 1105-1115.

Hemphill, T. A. (2019). ‘Techlash’, responsible innovation, and the self-regulatory organization. Journal of Responsible Innovation, 6(2): 240-247.

Hemphill, T. A. (2018). Obesity in America: A market failure? Business & Society Review, 123 (4): 619-630.

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BUSINESS @ UM-FLINT

Hemphill, T. A. (2018). Say-on-pay voting: A five year retrospective.

Business & Society Review, 124 (121): 63-71.

Johnson, M. S., Kang, M., Lawson, T., & Singh, A.J. (2018). The impact of data breaches on hotel and restaurant firm stock return. Journal of Hospitality Financial Management, 26 (2): 15-26.

Kelley, K., & Alvarado-Vargas, M. (2019). IT signal generation and management capabilities’ effect on corporate reputation: A typological approach to strategic positioning in a digital world.

Corporate Reputation Review. Forthcoming.

Kelley, K., & Thams, Y. (2019). Global reputation management: Understanding and managing reputation as shared value across borders. In David Deephouse, Naomi Gardberg, & William Newburry (Eds.), Global Aspects of Reputation and Strategic Management Vol: 18.

Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Li, W., & Li, X. (2019). The solution attractor of local search in traveling salesman problem (part 2): computational study. International Journal of Metaheuristics, 7 (2): 93-126.

Li, Z., Chen, C., & Jones, K. (2019). Navigating the waters of educational assistance and related tax credits. Today’s CPA. Forthcoming.

Li, Z., Chen, C., & Jones, K. (2018). Non-traditional students: Strategies for minimizing tax liabilities while avoiding pitfalls. The CPA Journal, 88 (9): 42-46.

Ling, Q. & Liu, Z., (2019). XBRL data comparability current use of extensions and opportunities for CPAs. The CPA Journal. Forthcoming.

Liu, Z., & Lin, S. (2019). Determinants and consequences of voluntary switches to Chinese auditors in Hong Kong. Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics. Forthcoming.

Longstreet, P., Brooks, S., & Gonzalez, E. (2019). Internet addiction: When the positive emotions are not so positive. Technology in Society, 57: 76-85.

White, G. (2018). The entry mode contract negotiation and formation process in emerging market environments. Defining the frontiers of global business research across emerging countries. McGraw Hill.

Xu, S., & Cavusgil, E. (2019). Knowledge breadth and knowledge depth development through successful R&D alliance portfolio configuration: An empirical investigation in the pharmaceutical industry. Journal of Business Research, 101: 402-410.

u RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS Ahmed, M. U., Shafiq, A., & Mahmoodi, F. (2018). Impact of supply chain analytics capability on buyer-supplier relationships.

Academy of Management Annual Meeting 2018, Chicago, Illinois.

Banerjee, S. & Poddar, A. (2018). Run of the mill or avant garde?

Identifying restaurant category positioning and tastemakers from digital geo-location history. Global Marketing Conference, Tokyo, Japan.

Han, Y., Bagchi, R., & Banerjee, S. (2018). Motion, emotion, and indulgence: How movement influences consumption.

Association of Consumer Research, Atlanta, Georgia.

Chen, C. (2019). Understanding the audit risk. The 2019 International Academy of Business and Public Administration Disciplines Conference, Orlando, Florida.

Helmuth, J. & Zdanowicz, J. (2019). The real balance of trade: Adjusting for abnormal pricing of imports and exports. Academy of Business Research, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Kandogan, Y. (2018). Political economy and income inequality: How did trade liberalization and changes in political and economic freedom affect the middle classes across the World?

International Atlantic Economic Society, New York, New York.

Kang, M., Kim, Y.Han, & Liao, Q. (2018). Do bankers on the board reduce crash risk. Financial Management Association Conference, San Diego, California.

Kang, M., Kim, Y.Han, & Chang, J. J. (2018). Bankers on the board and CEO turnover. Asian Pacific Conference on International accounting issues, San Francisco, California.

Laurence, G. & Newport, S. B. (2019). On teaching ‘The Business of the Arts in Japan’: A trans-disciplinary design thinking approach to course development. Asian Conference on Cultural Studies, Tokyo, Japan.

Li, W. (2018). Solution attractor of local search: The key to global optimization for the traveling salesman problem. 19th SIAM Meeting on Discrete Mathematics, Denver, Colorado.

Li, W. (2018). Solution attractor of local search: The key to reducing computational complexity. Japanese Conference on Combinatorics and its Application, Sendai, Japan.

Li, W. (2018). The solution attractor theory of local search system: the TSP case. 2018 INFORMS International Conference, Taipei, Taiwan.

Li, Z. (2019). Do R&D tax credits improve innovation efficiency?

Evidence from the 1981 US R&D tax credit. International Academic of Business and Economics, New York, New York.

Mehdian, S. (2019). An analysis of investors’ reaction to intraday unexpected price movements in major U.S. equity market.

Academy of Business Research, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Mascha, M. F., Miller, C., & Kraten, M. (2018). The greenwashing challenge: Should novice investors be informed of quantitative textual evidence of bias? AAA Public Interest Section Mid-Year Meeting. Washington, District of Columbia.

Simon, M. (2019). How anchoring influences crowdfunding success. Academy of Management Annual Meeting 2019, Boston, Massachusetts.

White, G.O., Hemphill, T. A., Rajwani, T., & Boddewyn, J. J. (2018).

Political tie intensity and foreign subsidiary performance: A regulatory contingency perspective. Academy of International Business Annual Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Galang, R. M. N., Lavado, R., & White, G.O. (2018). Imposing Cooperation: The impact of local institutions on the efficiency of cooperatives in an emerging market. Academy for Global Business Advancement Annual Conference, Bangkok, Thailand.

RESEARCH INSIGHTS SOM faculty recognize that profound changes in today’s dynamic business environment and related fields continue to transform the discipline.

Through meaningful research initiatives, SOM faculty are meeting the business world’s needs by providing knowledge and offering their skills to organizations, society, and the world.

From 2014 to 2018, SOM faculty had 120 peer-reviewed journal publications, including 61 articles in journals that are considered high quality by the Journal Citation Reports and discipline-specific listings. The average yearly impact factor (frequency an article has been cited) of faculty publications over the 2014-18 period also continues to grow. According to Google Scholar, over the last five years SOM faculty research was referred to in 9,938 other peer-reviewed journal publications. They have also presented their findings at leading universities around the world and received external grants to support their work.

BUSINESS @ UM-FLINT

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u FUNDRAISING HIGHLIGHTS Dear friends, The Victors for Michigan campaign ended successfully in December 2018. Over this past academic year, nearly 82 percent of the dollars raised supported student scholarships or student success initiatives — the number one campaign priority. It is thanks to many of you that the School of Management is in the position of being able to award additional resources to our students through your gifts. As Dean Johnson states in his message, “it is gratifying to witness how these gifts positively affect our students”— so thank you!

Additionally, your annual support of the Excellence Fund has helped SOM support new and existing student activities in all majors. We truly appreciate all individuals, corporations. and foundations who contribute their time and treasure. Your support inspires our students!

If you have not already, please consider actively engaging with the SOM community. We can always utilize your dollars to support our students, but we can also utilize the time you are willing to share to create a robust network of alumni and opportunities for our students to expand their skills and connections.

Melissa Stephens-Farrell Major Gifts Officer University Advancement

If you would like to explore how you can support or become more engaged, feel free to contact me directly at (810) 424-5480 or via email msfarrel@umich.edu.

Thank you and always--GO BLUE!

Melissa Stephens-Farrell You can also make a gift through the School of Management website at umflint.edu/som. Just click “Give Online” to make your gift.

FUNDRAISING HIGHLIGHTS NEW SCHOLARSHIPS AND PROGRAM SUPPORT:

$269,742 TOTAL GIFTS RAISED AND PLEDGED FOR 2018-19

• William and Victoria Crittenden Family Scholarship established by William and Victoria Crittenden, PhDs

82%

STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS

10%

STRATEGIC INITIATIVES/ EXCELLENCE FUND

5.8%

STUDENT PROGRAM SUPPORT

2.2%

FACULTY SUPPORT

• Dean’s Choice Scholarship Award established by Win and Jodie Cooper • Flagel Family Graduate Studies Fund established by Jennifer and Andrew Flagel • Nichols Student Success Fund established by Larry and Janet Nichols • Sherri Stephens Advancement in Wealth Management Scholarship established by Sherri Stephens • Michael Torrey Family Scholarship established by Michael and Marcia Torrey • Stephen A. Whitener Merit + Scholarship established by Steve Whitener

TOTAL MARKET VALUE OF THE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT’S ENDOWED GIFT FUNDS:

2014

$1,420,516

2015

$3,570,062

2016

$3,489,608

2017

$4,658,142

2018

$5,060,296

2019

$5,297,886

u DONOR HONOR ROLL

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

would like to thank our donors for their tremendous support for academic year 2018-2019 (July 1, 2018-June 30, 2019).

EXECUTIVE LEVEL

($15,000-$99,000) Win & Jodie Cooper* Linda & Randy Leach Rick & Michele Tromble* Stephen Whitener* & Theresa Burda

DEAN’S CIRCLE

($5,000-$14,999) Carroll Baker & Kimberly Roberson Cooper Commercial Group William & Victoria Crittenden Jennifer & Andrew Flagel Cathleen Hale* David Hoffman & Judith Kermans Larry & Janet Nichols* David Page Sheryl Stephens* & Daniel Roesner Michael & Marcia Torrey*

PARTNER LEVEL

($1,000-$4,999) Robert L. Anthony Michael & Laura Burke* Charles Stewart Mott Foundation David & Diana Gibbons Scott & Mary Johnson* Jimmy Krause Cathleen L. Miller* Keith & Jeannine Moreland* Plante & Moran Rachor Family Foundation James & Lucinda Rachor Michael Rachor Julius & JoAnne Shaw Michael D. Witt*

SUPPORTING LEVEL ($500-$999) Stephen Bolerjack Kenneth & Judy Leslie Jeffrey & Beth Sabolish* David Seitz Brenda & Charles Wood

CONTRIBUTING LEVEL ($100-$499)

Carl & Beth Ammerman Richard & Kathleen Bacha Richard Baird Robert & Catrina Beauchamp Brian & Rhonda Bissell Michael E. Braun Ryburn & Cheryl Brown Archie Canterbury

John & Beverly Carey Mary C. Caughlin Mark & Laura Chall Louis Ciccone Michael Clement Francine Cullari* & Jose Sanchez Scott Dinkgrave Kathy Elsworth & Steven Mahaffy John Fain David Fairman David Greiner RaShonda Harris Connie Palmer & John Hemingway Dustin Howes Robert & Sandra Hudson Charles & Barbara Hyde Teresa Irland-Munley* & Michael Munley Elizabeth J. Johnston Kelly Johnston Paul Jurewich Marilyn & Curtis Kimball Herbert & Mary Kops Elizabeth & Steven Kramer Heidi Lund Anthony Macksoud & Linda White-Macksoud Lisa & Richard Maiz Brian & Heather Malloy Brad Mikus Sydnee Morin James & Kathryn Mottern John Nathan Theodore & Genevieve Nelson Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. Michael & Heidi Nussdorfer Patrick & Mary Ouellette Jennifer Pawlaczyk Jerry & Bernadine Ponder Daniel & Sarah Quigley James Rau Karen Reimer Joseph & Linda Reynolds Marilyn Ringler Robert Ringler Kris Sayles Maria & Raymond Scott Thomas & Sharon Shannon Mark & Elizabeth Smith Melissa Stephens-Farrell* & Edward Farrell John & Mary Sullivan Gabrielle Sutton James L. Terry JoAnn Townsend

*Denotes faculty, staff, or an advisory board member of SOM

Barry & Denise Trantham Tracy & David Truchan Ruth Wagner-Belisle & Donald Belisle Marc & Sandra Warner Russell & Kathryn Yurk Andrew & Mary Zinn

DONOR LEVEL (Up to $99)

Damilola Alao Douglas & Heidi Barrow Steven Bartunek Matthew & Jessica Bohlen Tracy Brown Nancy & Raymond Collins Christie Copeland John & Pam Doughty Barbara & Jerry Ellis Stephen H. Epstein Cynthia Fairgate Melissa & Matthew Furey Charles Gearing Timothy Gould Carl Gretzinger Mary Jane Haggard Brent Helm Jacinda Kitts Stephanie & Chad Langworthy Sharon Leaman-Case & David Case Frank Lloyd Jashell Mithcell Thomas Nellis Ronald & Coleen Oppat Ronald Rhinevault Carl Rogers Michael Ryan Kathleen Sheehy Michael & Bernice Shegos Patricia Stein Jenn & Charles Swank Anna Swartz* Christopher Thomas Katherine & Nicholas Timmerman Martha Turner Richard & Patricia Utley Cassie Walker Richard Walker David Wallace Michael & Amy Weber Kathleen Wendling Alan Wilson Jed & Paula Winters Rhonda & Darrell Young

University of Michigan-Flint School of Management 2221 Riverfront Center 303 E. Kearsley St. Flint, MI 48502-1950

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE

PAID FLINT, MI PERMIT NO. 89

(810) 762-3160 umflint.edu/som

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT ADVISORY BOARD BRIAN BLUME Professor, Interim Associate Director of the Hagerman Center UM-Flint MICHAEL J. BURKE, JR. President Lakestone Bank & Trust BRITAIN BUTCHER Director of Ecommerce Coffee Beanery JIM CARNEY Flint Community Bank President Chemical Bank WIN COOPER (Board President) President Cooper Commercial Group, Ltd.

TERESA IRLAND MUNLEY Senior Vice President, retired Bank of America

KIMBER SMAIL Audit Partner Plante Moran

RICK TROMBLE Entrepreneur/CEO Tromble Bay Farms

RONALD JUSTICE President & CEO The State Bank

SHEILA SMITH Consultant SOM Alumna

PAUL WENSTROM First Vice President Investments, Merrill Lynch

JAMES MCGUIRK CEO Sun Steel Treating, Inc.

MELISSA STEPHENS-FARRELL Major Gifts Officer SOM/UM-Flint

STEPHEN WHITENER Entrepreneur & CEO National Systems Installers

LARRY NICHOLS Executive in Residence/Consultant UM-Flint

SHERYL STEPHENS CEO Stephens Wealth Management Group

CAZZIE WILLIAMS Global Director Electronics Commodity Management, Honeywell Corporate Sourcing

GHASSAN K. SAAB General Manager Saab Management Group

MICHAEL TORREY VP Rates and Regulations Consumers Energy

#umflint

University of Michigan-Flint is a Non-discriminatory, Affirmative Action Employer.

Regents of the University of Michigan: Jordan B. Acker, Michael J. Behm, Mark J. Bernstein, Paul W. Brown, Shauna Ryder Diggs, Denise Ilitch, Ron Weiser, Katherine E. White, Mark S. Schlissel (ex officio) © 2019 Regents of the University of Michigan