Know

Grounded in the Business: Good IT Leaders Think about More than Just Tech

KnowWPCarey — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 10:42:35 EST

IT professionals bring specialized knowledge to companies, but it's a mistake if they think of themselves as separate from the business, warns Avnet senior vice president and chief information officer Steve Phillips. Good IT leaders are grounded in the business, and approach technology as a tool. Phillips talked to computer information systems and supply chain management undergraduates about the professional -- and personal -- characteristics that lead to business success.

Shell Executive Curtis R. Frasier: The World Energy System

KnowWPCarey — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:42:35 EST

Curtis Frasier is the executive vice president and general counsel of Royal Dutch Shell’s Upstream Americas business. He is also Shell’s head of legal in the USA. In his speech at the Economic Club of Phoenix on February 2, 2012, he described Shell’s business worldwide and commented on sustainable energy issues. The Economic Club of Phoenix is a forum for the discussion of economic and business issues among academic, business, labor and public sectors in the Phoenix area.

Tribute:
Remembering Wm. Polk Carey

KnowWPCarey — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:42:35 EST

On January 2, 2012, the W. P. Carey School of Business lost its benefactor and friend, Wm. Polk Carey. At the January Economic Club of Phoenix luncheon, Dean Robert Mittelstaedt delivered a tribute, speaking about Mr. Carey’s early interest in business, his innovations and his high ethical standards. Mittelstaedt also recalled Mr. Carey’s support of higher education, especially the school at Arizona State University that bears his name.

An Analytical Look at Border-Crossing Delays

KnowWPCarey — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:42:35 EST

Uncertainty is the enemy of the supply chain, and unfortunately that enemy is a constant companion of companies that maintain complex, extended, global supply chains. One factor in that uncertainty is the irregular nature of border-crossing delays, which W.P. Carey Supply Chain Management Professor Arnold Maltz is currently studying. Border-crossing delays are a reality for any company transporting products across a global supply chain, notes Maltz, who is researching ways to incorporate those delays into analytical inventory planning models.

From Facebook to Freedom: Does Technology Spur Democracy?

KnowWPCarey — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 10:42:35 EST

Henry David Thoreau may have penned more than 9,300 words urging people to fight unjust governments in his essay on civil disobedience, but today's political dissidents have brought throngs to the streets with 140 characters or less. Such is the power of social media. In the wake of 2011's Arab Spring, many now think that information and communication technologies (ICTs) are a driving force behind increased levels of democracy. W. P. Carey researchers are asking, are they?

European Debt Crisis Puts Pressure on the Continent's Currency

KnowWPCarey — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 10:42:35 EST

For more than a year, the European Union has been in crisis over the huge debts faced by its weakest economies. Cutbacks in social programs and benefits have stirred unrest in those countries, as well as in better-off nations in the Eurozone. The specter of sovereign default looms across the continent. The way out of Europe's volatile debt crisis is likely to involve painful belt-tightening, increased emergency aid, and eventually a restructuring of debt in the most troubled countries, according to finance experts at the W. P. Carey School of Business.

Tom McCabe: Asia Positioned for Post-Recovery Strength

KnowWPCarey — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:42:35 EST

The pain of the newly-declared recession knows no boundaries, and the Asian economies are not immune, but that region is positioned to rebound faster than the U.S. and come out stronger than before, according to Tom McCabe, managing director of Standard Chartered Bank PLC. Speaking from the perspective of more than a decade in the banking industry in Asia, McCabe told an audience of executives in Phoenix that Asia will be the world's engine of growth in the next 50 years, driven by India and China.

Grappling with a Global Confidence Crisis

KnowWPCarey — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:42:35 EST

It's been called a crisis of confidence. It started with bad real estate loans and highly leveraged bets on those loans. Now it has frozen credit markets. Banks aren't lending to each other. Businesses can't get the short-term loans they need to finance day-to-day operations. If it stays this difficult to access credit, the financial crisis threatens to become a real economic one. And it's global. Welcome to what Thomas Friedman calls the "flat" new world.

Standards Deviations: U.S. Financial Accounting Heads for Change

KnowWPCarey — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:42:35 EST

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is moving to replace existing rules-based accounting standards with principles-based, international ones in filing requirements. IFRS are the international equivalent to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), which are the standards and rules auditors follow when preparing financial statements in the United States. Since 2005, companies in the European Union have been adhering to IFRS, a circumstance that some feel puts U.S. markets at a disadvantage globally, says Philip Reckers, professor of accountancy at the W. P. Carey School of Business. Among changes to come: Auditors will require dramatic retraining; accounting firms face different legal liability issues; and investors will likely see more footnote disclosures in corporate financial statements.

It's Not About You: Navigating Cultures in the Global Market

KnowWPCarey — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:42:35 EST

It's important to understand the differences between cultures in order to succeed when doing business across cultural lines, said diversity and inclusion expert Christine French, speaking at the annual meeting of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO). Even if you are not doing business outside your country, your customers without doubt come from a range of cultures. French is the founder and president of Phoenix-based Global Diversity Consulting LLC. "My mantra is this: it's not right or wrong, it just is," she said. "How you deal with it can make a difference. Don't judge."

The Dollar: Down but Not Out

KnowWPCarey — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 10:42:35 EST

The dollar has been in sharp decline in recent months -- the greenback is now worth less than the Canadian dollar, and against the euro, it has lost 60 percent of its value since 2001. A doomsday scenario has the U.S. economy spinning out of control: the dollar plunges, financial markets crash, and the Federal Reserve is powerless to halt the collapse since cutting interest rates would send the dollar down even further. But W. P. Carey experts Herbert Kaufman and Kent Hill believe that concerns of a dollar-triggered financial crisis are overblown.

Video: The Crooked Line About Illegal Immigration

KnowWPCarey — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 10:42:35 EST

The illegal immigration debate is a example of the old saw about econometrics: the discussion is often a crooked line from an unproved assumption to a foregone conclusion. In this video interview, Dawn McLaren, research economist at the W. P. Carey School of Business, takes apart some of the myriad assumptions about illegal immigrants that lead to politically expedient but often erroneous conclusions. This inaugurates a partnership between Knowledge@W. P. Carey and AnalysisOnline, the "content arm" of The Communications Institute -- a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising the level of knowledge and discussion on critical issues in society.

Creating fair practices for Chinese investors

KnowWPCarey — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 10:42:35 EST

Too often, Chinese customers buy wealth management products without a real understanding of what they're getting into, according to Xiaoling Wu, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China. Wu was speaking at the Fourth Annual Executive Forum, hosted by the W. P. Carey School of Business and the Shanghai National Accounting Institute. To grow wealth management services in the next decade, she said, Chinese institutions would do well to clarify regulations, communicate with customers, and offer a higher level of service to China's new investors.

Straight and narrow: Steering an ethical course through international waters

KnowWPCarey — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 10:42:35 EST

For Marianne Jennings, a healthy market economy depends on four pillars -- business, investors, government and customers. Each relies on the others in a symbiotic relationship that leads to mutual benefit and smooth operations. But when ethical lines are crossed, even in just one of the four areas, everyone is at risk. "If one of these [four groups] falls, the system falls," said Jennings, a professor of legal and ethical studies at the W. P. Carey School of Business, during a recent speech in Mexico City.

Podcast: The tangled web of illegal immigration -- what do we really know?

KnowWPCarey — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 10:42:35 EST

The ascent of a Democratic majority in Congress shifts the balance in the debate on illegal immigration. Voices on both sides quote numbers to prove their points, but as decision makers formulate policy, it's important to separate myth from reality. Dawn McLaren, research economist at the W. P. Carey School of Business, cuts through the spin about the demographics and the economic impact of the immigrant population and uncovers some commonly held assumptions that may not be true.

Trust me: Building strategic partnerships in a global marketplace

KnowWPCarey — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 10:42:35 EST

Trust has always been the cornerstone of a successful business relationship. But in a global marketplace, your business partners may include a myriad of companies spread across the globe, linked by information gateways. Issues of trust, privacy, security and validation -- integral components to maintaining an effective information supply chain -- were the subject of a panel discussion at the recent "Cultivating and Securing the Information Supply Chain" symposium sponsored by the W. P. Carey School's Center for Advancing Business through Information Technology (CABIT).

CANAMEX Corridor Opens New Options for Trade with Asia

KnowWPCarey — Wed, 24 May 2006 10:42:35 EST

The CANAMEX Corridor of Innovation initiative has been working in recent years to plan improvements to public and private shipping, rail, highway and inspection facilities through a multistate cooperative of Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Idaho. Now, most truck and freight train traffic in Arizona goes east and west. CANAMEX (aka "Smart Corridor") has the potential to free up north-south trade in North America and more efficiently reach out to the Far East. CANAMEX can expand trade to more markets by easing bottlenecks, according to experts at Arizona State University and the W. P. Carey School of Business. Stepped-up trade with China, Japan and other Asian nations has made Los Angeles-area ports so busy that CANAMEX planners are looking south for easier access to the Pacific trade routes.

The Importance of the Test Drive: Explaining Worker Turnover Differences Between the U.S. and Europe

KnowWPCarey — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 10:42:35 EST

Following weeks of strikes and protests, French President Jacques Chirac recently withdrew a proposed youth-labor law that sought to lower France's 22 percent youth unemployment rate by making it easier to hire and fire workers under the age of 26. The controversy highlighted differences in labor practices in Europe versus the United States -- a topic that W. P. Carey economics Professor Richard Rogerson has explored in depth. In a recent paper that looks at worker turnover in the United States and in Europe, Rogerson and his co-author suggest that when government policies interfere in the ability of employers and workers to "test drive" a new relationship, the economic costs can be very large.

Cat and Maoist: Chinese Officials Debate China's Economic Development with a Nobel Laureate

KnowWPCarey — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 10:42:35 EST

Europe and the U.S., which had been clamoring for a free-floating Chinese currency in the hopes of addressing growing trade deficits, got their wish this summer when China announced a limited float for the Yuan. While the announcement should please many free-market economists –- among them Edward C. Prescott, 2004 Nobel Laureate and professor at the W. P. Carey School of Business -- Chinese national leaders have made it clear that when it comes to its economy, they do not welcome external "advice."

Central, Eastern European Economies Benefit from 'Boomerang Investing'

KnowWPCarey — Wed, 17 Aug 2005 10:42:35 EST

The transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe presented lucrative opportunities for Western investors who were willing to accept the risk of becoming involved in these hitherto untapped markets. But the uncertainty and hazards of operating in these emerging economies impacted native entrepreneurs as well. The result is a pattern of direct foreign investment originating in those countries, as central and eastern European business people found ways to park profits safely in companies based outside their native lands. Sometimes that money makes its way home as foreign investment, where it enjoys some protections not available to other homegrown capital.

China's Potential Hinges on Smart, Sustainable Growth

KnowWPCarey — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 10:42:35 EST

Much has changed in China since the film "Golden Path" debuted during the Cultural Revolution. Back then, a character in the movie who argued that rich people are good was portrayed as an arch-villain. That's no surprise, since the reigning Communists considered the pursuit of wealth to be utter heresy. Only after the late 1970s, when Deng Xiaoping launched the first of China's free market reforms, did that notion begin to change. Now many Chinese -- especially the younger generation -- are avidly seeking to get rich. However, the nation should resist the temptation to rush headlong into the pursuit of wealth and instead begin to consider more sustainable growth strategies, in order to maintain the health of the environment and the well-being of its people.

Prescott: Free Trade Is Key to China's Economic Potential

KnowWPCarey — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 10:42:35 EST

China's economy has made huge strides since Deng Xiaoping commenced market reforms in 1979. Edward C. Prescott, the 2004 Nobel Prize laureate in economics and professor at the W. P. Carey School of Business, estimates that China's standard of living now stands at about one-seventh the level of the world's leaders. Beijing authorities are eager to narrow the gap further between China and advanced industrialized countries. Prescott believes the answer is not to be found in conventional economic theories on trade volumes or comparative advantage. He argues that China needs to cast off constraints on supply -- and that promoting free trade will play an essential role in the process.

European Central Bank Fraught with Turbulence in Early Years

KnowWPCarey — Fri, 06 May 2005 10:42:35 EST

The European Union has faced some formidable hurdles since its debut in January 1999. Two economics professors examine the volatile history of the euro, and discuss its next critical test: France's voters head for the polls later this month to vote on the European Union's constitution, which aims to harmonize and streamline decision-making in the expanded 25-member EU.

Know

Grounded in the Business: Good IT Leaders Think about More than Just Tech

Shell Executive Curtis R. Frasier: The World Energy System

Tribute: Remembering Wm. Polk Carey

An Analytical Look at Border-Crossing Delays

From Facebook to Freedom: Does Technology Spur Democracy?

European Debt Crisis Puts Pressure on the Continent's Currency

Tom McCabe: Asia Positioned for Post-Recovery Strength

Grappling with a Global Confidence Crisis

Standards Deviations: U.S. Financial Accounting Heads for Change

It's Not About You: Navigating Cultures in the Global Market

The Dollar: Down but Not Out

Video: The Crooked Line About Illegal Immigration

Creating fair practices for Chinese investors

Straight and narrow: Steering an ethical course through international waters

Podcast: The tangled web of illegal immigration -- what do we really know?

Trust me: Building strategic partnerships in a global marketplace

CANAMEX Corridor Opens New Options for Trade with Asia

The Importance of the Test Drive: Explaining Worker Turnover Differences Between the U.S. and Europe

Cat and Maoist: Chinese Officials Debate China's Economic Development with a Nobel Laureate

Central, Eastern European Economies Benefit from 'Boomerang Investing'

China's Potential Hinges on Smart, Sustainable Growth

Prescott: Free Trade Is Key to China's Economic Potential

European Central Bank Fraught with Turbulence in Early Years

Tribute:
Remembering Wm. Polk Carey