Student-developed Technology Assists Honduras Businesses

Lehigh University (USA) business students have developed a pair of technologies designed to make microfinance loans more accessible to small business owners in Honduras. The Web-based tools were developed in consultation with a network of microfinance institutions headquartered in Tegucigalpa, the nation’s capital.

The technologies include a data collection system for handheld devices and a database management system customized for Honduran microfinance institutions. Working with Honduran technology specialists, the students designed a system that consolidates the loan approval process from three days to about 15 minutes.

It is estimated that more than 10,000 organizations around the world offer microfinance programs to nearly 100 million workers. Redmicroh, Lehigh’s partner in the project, is a network of 25 microfinance institutions serving nearly 160,000 clients in Honduras, 80 percent of whom are women.

“As rapidly as it is growing, the microfinance industry is already at a crossroads,” says Todd Watkins, associate professor of economics at Lehigh’s College of Business and Economics. “Technology will play a critical role in helping commercial microfinance institutions meet the growing global demand ... New, adaptive technology is especially important for the industry’s long-term growth and sustainability.”

Microfinance loans are relatively small, usually ranging from US$50 to US$500. Typically, Honduran loan recipients are small-business owners or household entrepreneurs―some living on less than one dollar per day―who seek to start or expand a business.

In Honduras, most of the loan processing and transactions are still done by hand. This results in high per-loan transaction costs and makes it more complicated to reach sparsely populated areas where microfinance services are needed the most.  

Lehigh’s collaboration with microfinance institutions began last summer with a 10-day trip to Honduras. While there, student majors in economics, computer science,  and business met with entrepreneurs and microfinance officials in Tegucigalpa, as well as the small rural communities of La Entrada de Copan and Pueblo Nuevo. The university’s Martindale Center for the Study of Private Enterprise, a member of the Microcredit Summit Campaign, participated in the Global Microcredit Summit 2006, which took place last month in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Fairfield University Business Student Wins Global Currency Trading Competition

Each morning this fall, Alexander Dean set his alarm for 3 a.m.—just to make sure he didn’t lose his shirt.

An entrant in the Texas A&M Inter-University Forex currency trading competition, the Dolan School of Business graduate student rose early to keep up with his foreign money exchange trades. In the high-flying world of finance—where mere seconds can mean the loss or gain of big money—it also meant that he needed to monitor news, analyze trends, and study charts.

Enduring sleepless nights paid off, however, when he was named the winner of the competition, amassing the most money in a mock trading account. Student traders—both undergrad and graduate students—utilized live, price-streaming software to manage accounts seeded with a mythical $50,000. Dean beat out 89 other competitors from 13 universities, capturing $1,328 in prize money and access for six months to a $10,000 Global Forex Trading account.  

Dean, who earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the Dolan School in 2005, believes he won the competition because he ignored self-doubt and went with his gut, saying his biggest losses occurred when he was timid and pulled his money out of the market. “Like my father says: ‘You’ve got to go big or go home,’” said Dean. “You can’t be afraid; you just have to stick it out.”

Dean hopes to get a job as a trader after completing his master’s degree in finance next month. In the meantime, he has some advice for next year’s competitors.

“You can have all the charts and numbers to prove you’re right, but the market tells you something else,” he said. “I would say to anyone—look at your charts when trading, but don’t be afraid of the big moves in the market.”  

The competition, hosted by the Mays School of Business at Texas A&M, helped students develop skills in fundamental trading, technical trading, and foreign exchange rates.

For the Environmental Gourmet: ESSEC Grad Opens Eco-Friendly Chocolate Boutique

A 2006 MBA graduate of the ESSEC Business School in Paris has just cut the ribbon on Puerto Cacao, the first “chocolate house” in Paris to offer custom-made, 100 percent organic chocolate delicacies.

Visitors to Guillaume Hermitte’s eclectic boutique in the space of five minutes may create their own custom-flavored chocolate. While they wait, they can sample delectable pastries, enjoy a chocolate drink, browse the eco-commerce book collection, and view the current photographic exhibit.

Founded in the “spirit of free trade,” the boutique’s parent company, Choc Ethic, has agreed to purchase cocoa beans from Venezuelan growers for five years. It is part of Hermitte’s plan to ensure that his business engages in ethical fair trade practices at every stage of the supply chain. 

“I always envisioned setting up a company that was both socially and environmentally responsible, so I am glad to have studied at a school which teaches these important values,” Hermitte said.

ESSEC Business School’s Chair of Social Entrepreneurship helped the young graduate define the social aspect of his project as well as secure financial backers. In addition, the school’s seed fund program, created in June 2006, enabled him to invest up to 8 percent of the company’s shares in Choc Ethic.

University of Arizona Study: Employment Discrimination Suits Not Limited to One Group

A study from the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona concludes that all racial groups—including whites—are filing antidiscrimination charges in roughly equal numbers, dispelling, the study says, a widely-held perception that the majority of antidiscrimination charges against employers are filed by blacks.

The purpose of the study was to integrate and evaluate research on discrimination in the workplace. It is co-authored by Barry A. Goldman, associate professor; Barbara A. Gutek, professor; Kyle Lewis, The University of Texas at Austin assistant professor; and Jordan H. Stein, PhD student.  

Since the Civil Rights Act of 1991, a “litigation explosion” has increased by 600% the monetary award settlements of antidiscrimination suits, with a total of $101.3 million awarded in 2005 alone, Goldman said.

“It became apparent from the data that employment discrimination charges are about as likely to be filed by white workers as by black workers,” Goldman said. “The difference is the statutes under which charges are filed. The common perception is that these laws are in place primarily to protect blacks; but what we discovered is that all races seek protection under these statutes.”  

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), 95,115 discrimination claims were filed in 2005. Of these claims, 39 percent were filed by blacks, and 3 percent by whites. Blacks filed more lawsuits for discrimination under Title VII than did whites (48% versus 25%), but the proportions were reversed for claims made under other anti-discrimination statutes. Discrimination claims made by whites on the basis of disability, age, and equal pay outnumber claims by blacks by more than 2-1.

One particular antidiscrimination issue gaining momentum is retaliation, or the so-called “whistleblower” charges, which accounted for 24 percent of total Title VII charges in 2005. The study defines retaliation as protecting an employee who files a charge against an employer who then responds to the filing by firing, demoting, harassing, or otherwise “retaliating” against an individual.

“Retaliation charges have approximately doubled since 1991,” Goldman added. ”This is not an issue that has received a lot of attention among management researchers, but is becoming an increasing problem in the workplace.

The study will appear in The Journal of Management, December, 2006 issue. 

Boot Camp Acquaints Charleston Businessmen with Life of B-School Cadets

Business students attending The Citadel (USA) School of Business Administration in Charleston, South Carolina, have a much different approach to education than business student colleagues in other parts of the world.

Charleston businessmen learned this firsthand at a “boot camp,” sponsored by the business school’s Mentors Association. While not a typical military boot camp, this one takes local business leaders through a two-hour session where they learn about the military college and the lives of cadets while they, as business leaders, make themselves available to both undergraduate and graduate business students.

Created by Bruce Strauch, a business law professor, the Mentors Association pairs business students with area executives from a wide range of fields for guidance and advice. With 200 students and 150 mentors involved in the program, it has become an integral part of the business program at The Citadel.

“You get some time with these youngsters and it makes you feel a little younger," said Mentors Association Chairman Ray Johnson, an alumnus of The Citadel who retired as vice president of manufacturing for DuPont.

The Citadel School of Business Administration holds its Boot Camp three times a semester. For more information, visit: The Citadel School of Business Mentors Program

University of Maryland’s Online Videos, Audios Support Chinese-speaking Executives  

The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School has launched “Smith Business Intelligence in China,” a free, Web site that includes videos, audio downloads, and research articles that deliver business management knowledge and best practices in English, Mandarin, and simplified Chinese.

Business professionals can access the information at www.rhsmith-umd.cn/sbi, where they also may sign up to receive Smith’s quarterly e-newsletter, Leading the Digital Economy. Users can download five-minute video and audio clips to digital devices, such as iPods and MP3 players, or experience the segments online.

“Smith Business Intelligence illustrates our commitment to sharing our knowledge in China and with Chinese-speaking audiences all over the world,” said Howard Frank, dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business. The Smith School is partnered with the University of International Business and Economics to deliver its China programs. For more information about the Smith School’s China programs, visit:  www.rhsmith-umd.cn  

Tuck’s Keller Named Elected President of Association for Consumer Research

Punam Anand Keller, professor of management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, has been named president elect of the Association for Consumer Research. The 1,700-member, Minnesota-based association, connects researchers in the areas of psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, linguistics, critical theory, statistics, and consumer behavior.

As president, Keller will liaise between consumer researchers and corporations, as well as help encourage firms to fund cutting-edge consumer research.

Since joining the Tuck faculty as professor of marketing in 1998, she has been involved in research on consumer information processing and choice behavior. She also teaches in the school’s executive programs for minorities and women, and participates in custom programs on health and financial planning. Her research has inspired a new second-year elective at Tuck―Transformative Marketing: Health, Wealth, and the Arts―which will cover marketing challenges in areas of financial health, obesity, exercise, nutrition, and diet.

AICPA Offers New Membership Category for Non-CPA Faculty Members

The AICPA has announced plans to create a new membership category for college and university faculty members who teach accounting but are not CPAs. The new membership category entitles participants to most of the benefits of general AICPA membership, except for voting privileges. Benefits include tools, techniques and resources to help in the classroom, a free, one-year subscription to AICPA’s Core Library, access to the AICPA’s hotlines, a discount on AICPA products, complimentary subscriptions to the Journal of Accountancy and CPA Letter, and access to AICPA insurance and retirement programs.

Barry C. Melancon, AICPA president said: “Better informed faculty members equal better educated accounting students. Accounting faculty members need easy and direct access to the latest information to help ensure that their accounting students are learning about real-time events.” 

For more information on the program visit: www.aicpa.org/aec

Dublin’s UCD Smurfit School of Business Launches International MBA Scholarships

The University College Dublin’s Michael Smurfit School of Business, in order to attract top MBA candidates to Ireland, has announced new scholarships for the 2007/8 academic year. A total of 11 scholarships are offered to candidates applying for the full-time MBA program, with an application deadline of March 16, 2007.

One “creativity” scholarship will go to the candidate who best exemplifies creativity in business. The school also will offer six regional “merit”scholarships for students from Central and Eastern Europe, Western Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia/Australia, and North/Central America. Four additional scholarships will be awarded to students scoring above 700 on the GMAT.

The scholarships, which cover half of the full-time MBA tuition fees, will be awarded on combination of merit and financial need, with each financial award approximately €15,000 (US$20,000). For more information visit: UCD MBA Scholarships

International Educators Recognize University of Richmond’s Faculty Abroad Program

The Association of International Educators has recognized University of Richmond’s Faculty Seminar Abroad as an exemplary program for increasing international perspective among college students.

The NAFSA report “Internationalizing the Campus 2006” spotlights the university’s biennial summer program that sends groups of professors to countries infrequently visited by Americans. The faculty members spend several weeks touring, visiting counterparts at campuses, as well as meeting with artists, government officials, and business leaders.

Funded by the university, the program has been in operation since 1989. Since, then, more than a third of Richmond’s faculty has visited 26 countries on six continents. Founded in 1948 as the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors, NAFSA helps promotes international educational exchanges and provides opportunities for global workforce development.

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