Stanford GSB News

July 2009

Organizational Behavior

Time to Detox the Work Environment
Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer wants companies to pay attention to policies and working conditions that he argues create a toxic workplace environment which can raise rates of disease and mortality among workers.

Public Policy

Research Underpins SEC Scrutiny of Scheduled Insider Trades
In the wake of alleged misconduct by executives at Countrywide Savings, Novatel, and Qwest, research by Stanford accounting professor Alan Jagolinzer may be prompting the Securities and Exchange Commission to rethink rules that permit scheduled trading by insiders.

Communication

The Way We Talk Can Stifle Innovation and Reward the Wrong People
The best baseball players don't always get elected All-Stars. Researchers say people try to find a common ground when talking to others, which can mean the wrong people become famous or the most innovative ideas don't get discussed.

Marketing

Specializing Can Mean Bigger Sales
Customers like to feel they're buying goods and services from businesses that are leaders in a specific category or two. Being a jack-of-all-trades in too many categories may reduce profits say researchers. 

The Hidden Costs of Cause Marketing
From pink ribbons to Product Red, cause marketing is designed to earn profits for corporations while raising funds for charities. Yet the short-term benefits may belie long-term benefits. Consumption philanthropy may be unsuited to create real social change. From Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Supply Chains

Supply Chains Are Getting Kinder and Greener
Healthcare materials were not being delivered in parts of Africa because motorcycles had broken down, sometimes because of a mere $3 oil filter. Solving problems like these were the topic of the Advancing Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains Conference at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. 

Social Networks

The World Is A-twitter
Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have changed the way individuals communicate in their personal life and increasingly in their business life. The Business School's Jackson Library has collected articles, books, and other resources discussing the evolving effects of the social networking phenomenon on the business world. 

Science

Fertilizer. Does It Feed the World or Pollute It?
The use of synthetic fertilizers helped create massive dead zones--in coastal areas and the formation of greenhouse gas. But an international team of ecologists and agricultural experts warns that a call to reduce fertilizer use worldwide could cause deadly drops in global food production.  

Exotic New Material Could Revolutionize Electronics
Physicists at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have confirmed the existence of a type of material that could one day provide dramatically faster, more efficient computer chips. 

First-person

Peter Henry's Obama Adventure
Stanford Business School economist Peter Henry spent 10 intense months in the maelstrom of national politics, leading the Barack 0bama campaign's group on Economics, Globalization, and Trade Policy. He collected position papers and tracked down surrogates who could knowledgeably speak for the campaign on economic issues. He even found himself in front of the microphones. 

How Can U.S. Courts Solve the Patent Crisis?
Some argue that patent law in the United States is facing a crisis that hampers the growth of technology and other creative industries with a bogged down, stodgy system. Stanford law professor Mark Lemley looks at the state of patents today and offers some observations on what lies ahead. [Video]

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