Stanford GSB News

November 2009

Compensation

Eliminating Sales Quotas May Stimulate Profits

Company profits rise when sales force quotas are abandoned, says Professor Harikesh Nair. In one case, the new sales compensation plan without quotas resulted in a 9% improvement in overall revenues, which translates to about $1 million of incremental revenues per month.

Government Policy

Don’t Tax Efficiency in Health Care

Practically all taxes distort economic incentives to some extent, opines Stanford Business School healthcare expert Alain Enthoven. But taxes on health care currently under consideration by the Senate Finance Committee are particularly perverse. Instead of promoting prepayment and integrated care with the right incentives — the best long-term strategy for keeping coverage affordable — this policy moves us in the wrong direction.

Business of Health Care

Who is responsible and what can be done to lower costs of health care? Stanford Business School's Jackson Library has compiled a collection of recent articles exploring the issue.

Ice Cream and the Econometric Model for Mergers

A warning from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that the merger of Dreyer's and Nestle could reduce competition and hurt customer choices, prompted Stanford Graduate School of Business Professor Michaela Draganska and others to study the super premium ice cream market. The result is the beginning of a new econometric model that would allow the FTC to forecast changes and its impact on consumers.

 

Behavior

Prejudice Fuels Opposition to Obama’s Plans

Individuals who demonstrated implicit racial prejudices were reluctant to vote for President Barack Obama in the 2008 election and demonstrate opposition to his health care reform plan, according to a study coauthored by Stanford Graduate School of Business Professor Brian Lowery. They were more likely to support a health care reform proposal attributed to former President Bill Clinton than the same proposal from Obama.

The High Cost of Depression

Depression is the world's fourth leading cause of disability and is on track to be second only to obesity-related disorders by 2025. "Depression is like the worst disease you can get," said Stanford biologist Robert Sapolsky. (video) 

Putting the Brain on Trial

Will advances in neuroscience make the justice system more accurate or could brain-based testing wrongly condemn some and trample the civil liberties of others? The new field of neurolaw is explored in a recent issue of Stanford Lawyer magazine. (PDF)

Entrepreneurship

Best Practices for Raising Search Funds

Search fund entrepreneurs and investors discuss how to conduct a search to maximize the probability of finding and closing an attractive acquisition. (video)

Speakers

Networking Is More Than Lots of Names, Says Heidi Roizen

She has been a Silicon Valley CEO, a venture capitalist, and a corporate board member but “the homework never ends,” Heidi Roizen, MBA '83, told students. Networking requires more than invitations to A-list parties.

Don’t Invest in Russia Today, Warns Bill Browder

Hermitage Capital Management went from $25 million to $4 billion by investing in undervalued Russian companies. Today, its founder, Bill Browder, MBA '89, says anyone investing in Russia long term "is out of their mind." (video)

The Failure Mechanics of Dealer Banks

Prof. Darrel Duffie offers lessons from the financial crisis, and how banks that are major dealers in securities and derivatives can quickly unravel as their counterparts and customers rush for the exits. (Video)

The Debate over Economic Recovery

Optimists say Silicon Valley-style innovation, new technologies, and entrepreneurship are the solutions to regaining economic momentum. Others see change as economic vitality shifts to places like China and India as the world’s economic superpowers of the future. A panel of business, government, and academic leaders explored the road back from the recession. (video)

Is U.S. Immigration Policy Ruining Us Economically?

Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Stanford President John Hennessy blasted the U.S. immigration policy that forces foreign students to return to their home country after being educated in the United States.

  

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