Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Winter 2009 - CBPA Newsletter

Winter 2009 Newsletter
College of Business & Public Administration

2009 may be one of the snowiest winters on record before we see spring! With all the snow, fog, and other weather wonders, we are definitely in the midst of the winter months of the year. Clearly 2008 was a “year of extremes,” let’s hope 2009 will approach spring like a “lamb.”

Business Accreditation
Dean Rex Fuller announced recently that the AACSB Board of Directors has confirmed the unanimous recommendation of the review panel that our accreditation be extended for the full five year period. This decision means that we are on the normal review cycle for the next accreditation review and that we are not subject to a sixth year review as recommended by the peer-review team. The remand panel supported the team’s report that the business programs were to be commended on the strengths and effective practices by having strong advisory board support and a faculty dedicated to continuous improvement; locating programs to better serve our students in Bellevue and Spokane; and our effective MBA program. Additionally, areas that the college needs to show continuous improvement were to continue monitoring the adequacy of faculty qualifications, especially in accounting, and refine its assurance of learning plan (assessment).

Upcoming Events for Winter Quarter
Simulation Exercises in the Classroom – January 23, 12-1:30, SCLS room 225. Bruce Teague will present information to faculty at a Brown Bag Forum. This talk is particularly focused on the providing information to those faculty who teach in the MBA program. The MBA Committee has been focusing on the MBA 590 capstone course. Bruce was asked to present information related to the use of organizational simulations as it might relate to the MBA capstone course. The focus of his discussion will provide an overview of the simulation he is currently using with students in Management 490. He will share some of the challenges and solutions he’s discovered along the way. To this end, any faculty member who is curious about potentially using competitive simulations in the classroom might find something of interest. His focus will be on providing an overview of the tool in such a manner as to facilitate evaluation on the part of the graduate faculty as to whether or not this would useful to the MBA capstone. He will also offer some comparisons between simulations and the case method having taught both styles.

Creating Equal Access in the University Workplace – January 29, 12 – 1:30, Riverpoint Phase 1 Auditorium. Presenters, Mary Ann Keogh Hoss (Health Services Administration, Wendy Holmes (Occupational Therapy), Kimberlee Davis (Academic Personnel, and Robert Campbell (Associate Dean for Student Life) will describe equal access and reasonable accommodations for the workplace as defined and mandated by the ADA. The practical application of these strategies for faculty and staff within the university environment will be discussed along with the process for requesting assistance from EWU Department of Human Resources. Presenters will also provide examples of adaptive technologies and workplace modifications for individuals who are facing challenges in their work role due to disability or changes with aging. For more information on this program, contact Susan Lopez at slopez@ewu.edu or call her at 358-2234.

Grant Writing Brown Bag – January 30, 11:00 – 1:30, Phase 1, room 225. Dr. Zinke will be presenting a workshop on effective grant-writing practices. It is designed to assist faculty with grants that may support their on-going research interests. The workshop will emphasize the need to develop ‘fundable’ projects, and it will focus on the basic elements of grant applications. Pizza orders are now being taken by contacting Sharlene Bozanich at 358-2242 or e-mail sbozanich@ewu.edu. (waiting for Bob Zinke to give me more detail on the session)

Third Annual Women in Healthcare Management Conference– February 6, Phase 1 Building at EWU Spokane. Keynote speaker for this conference is Beth O’Brian, the Senior Vice President of Operations and Group Executive Officer for Catholic Health Initiatives, located in Denver, Colorado. Other topics to be covered in this one-day seminar are: “Thought Reframing for Stress Management; Long-Term Care: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren; Rural Health Career Opportunities; and Health Informatics among others. For more information on the conference, contact Mary Ann Keogh Hoss. Other details are available from Rose Morgan, 358-2230 or rmorgan@ewu.edu.

Westside Advisory Council and Alumni Gathering– February 19/20
On 2/19, there will be a “Welcome” to all Eastern alumni, especially those affiliated with the College of Business & Public Administration. This after-hours function will provide attendees an opportunity to hear Dean Rex Fuller provide a “State of the College Address.” Alumni will also have the opportunity to meet Dean Fuller and socialize with fellow CBPA alumni throughout the evening. This event will take place in the Soundview Room of the Hilton Downtown Seattle Hotel. Dean Fuller will be establishing a west-side advisory board. If you have contacts (alums, community or business leaders) for consideration, please e-mail that information to Dave LejaMeyer. Once established, we hope to meet 2-3 times per year to explore ways to more effectively connect the College to the west side of Washington. The first meeting is scheduled for Feb. 20. For more information on either event, please contact Dave LejaMeyer at 844-5916 or e-mail him at dlejameyer@ewu.edu.

Federal Reserve Spotlight on the Economy– February 24, 7:30 – 9:00 a.m., Red Lion Hotel at the Park, Cost - $35
Gary Zimmerman, Senior Economist with the San Francisco Federal Bank, will speak about the “Federal Reserve Spotlight on the Economy.” The event is co-sponsored by the CBPA and Greater Spokane Incorporated. Reserve your seat by registering at http://www.greaterspokane.org/ and clicking on the “Events” tab or calling 509-624-1393.

College Updates

Co-authors Arsen Djatej, Duanning Zhou, Bill McGonigle, and Robert Sarikas, have been informed that their article, “Impact of In-depth Exposure of Database Knowledge to Accounting Students: an Empirical Study,” has been accepted for publication in the Global Education Journal in the March 2009 edition.

Patrick Jones has been notified that his grant request for nearly $30,000 has been funded by Avista to conduct a Low Income Household Heating Analysis.

The Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis, directed by Patrick Jones recently launched a new indicator website for the communities of Chelan and Douglas Counties: http://www.chelandouglastrends.org/. Its goal is to provide citizens, local governments, businesses and non-profit agencies alike with easy access to meaningful, unbiased data and information that is relevant to the local area. This is the third site of its kind from the IPPEA, following in the footsteps of the Spokane Community Indicators Initiative (http://www.communityindicators.ewu.edu/) and Walla Walla Trends (http://www.wallawallatrends.com/). It won’t be the last one either; the IPPEA is currently speaking with several other counties about creating similar sites for their communities.

The Tribal Transportation Assistance Program led by Richard Rolland and Dick Winchell are awaiting word on federal funding that will keep the program funded for an additional five years. The grant is in the budget office for last minute adjustments before being finalized.

“The Influence of Program Context Intensity: an Examination of Television Advertising During War News,” co-authored by Damon Aiken and Kevin Malkewitz, has been accepted for publication in the Fall 2010 issue of the Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising.

Damon has also been informed that his co-authored manuscript, “Technologies Across our Curriculum: A Study of Technology Integration in the Classroom,” has been accepted for future publication in the Journal of Education for Business.

“Do Offshore Outsourcing Firms in the USA Use their Investments on Corporate Social Responsibility to Alleviate Negative Attitudes Toward Offshore Outsourcing,” co-authored by Goitom Tsegay and Nancy Birch was published in the Social Responsibility Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4, 2008.

Goitom and Nancy also had their article, “Determinants of Sales Persons Ethical Decision Behavior: The Case of Real Estate Agents,” presented and published in the proceedings of the First International Business Conference, Detroit, August. In addition, their article, “Do They Buy for Their Dogs the Way They Buy for Themselves,” was accepted for publication at Psychology & Marketing.

Goitom’s article, “Determinants of Export Marketing Channel design to Developed and Developing Countries: Exploratory Study,” was published at Journal of International Food and Agribusiness Marketing, 20(4), 91-112. His article co-authored with Z. Dawit, “Agents’ Quest for Reputation and Referalls From Past and Present Customers as the Agents’ Source of Business,” has been accepted at International Journal of Services, Economics and Management.

The American Review of Canadian Studies has notified Dick Winchell that his contributions on “Canadian Urban Planning in Canadian Studies,” has been accepted as part of the submission, “Reflections of American Academics Following a Foray into Western Canada: What was Learned as a Result of Attending the International Canadian Studies Institute.” The American Review of Canadian Studies is a refereed, multidisciplinary, quarterly journal. Published by the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States, the ARCS examines Canada and The Canadian point of view from an American perspective. Its articles – both interdisciplinary and disciplinary – explore Canada’s arts, cultures, economics, politics, history, and society, recognizing Canada’s distinctive position in the world.

In October, Sandra Christensen presented her paper, “Antitrust and Ethics: Monopolists from Rockefeller to Gates,” at the International Business and Economics Research Conference in Las Vegas.

The EWU Research and Scholarship Committee has awarded $5,000 to Marty Johnston, for her grant-proposal to study the Nurse Assistant Work Index (NAWI) and Nursing Home Resident Quality Outcomes during Summer 2009.

“What Level of Budgetary Goal Difficulty Elicits Maximum Effort?” was reviewed and accepted for presentation and conference proceedings at the American Institute of Higher Education Conference in Atlantic City this past September. The article was co-authored by Joe Dowd and Bill McGonigle. They are awaiting word for acceptance of publication in the American Journal of Business Research.

Joe and Bill have also co-authored, “The Optimal Level of Budgetary Goal Difficulty: An Experimental Study,” and it is being reviewed at the American Journal of Business Research.

The Fall 2008 issue of The Journal of Financial Education published Brian Grinder’s article, “Automated Online Homework Managers: Filling the Gaps with Flashä.

“MIRR vs. IRR: Exploring the Logic of the Incremental Reinvestment Assumption,” co-authored by David Eagle, Dean Kiefer, and Brian Grinder was published in Volume 8, Number 4, 2008, of the Journal of International Finance and Economics.

“The Force of Moral Intuition when Asking: Is this Right?” was presented and accepted for publication at the Academy of Management, and authored by Bruce Teague.

Bruce’s article, “A Narrative Analysis of Idea Initiation in the Republic of Tea,” has been accepted for publication in an upcoming issue of Visible Hand.

Faculty/Student Projects

Students in Robert McGinty’s MGMT 490 fall 2008 class developed a feasibility study for a biofuel operation in the Cheney area complete with strategic goals, implementation plans, detailed business plan, and on-line marketing with logos. Their project was titled, “Greenfuel Alternative Energy.”

During Fall quarter 2008, Damon Aiken’s MKTG 417 class continued working with the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (the MAC). This time, in an effort to understand non-patrons and then create more effective promotions, students surveyed the general Spokane County market. Damon will again make a presentation to the Mac’s board and report their findings.

Additionally, Jeff Buxton’s students in MKTG 413, did a promotional plan for the CBPA during Fall term.

Book Buybacks
Faculty are once again reminded that “Higher Education faculty may not sell for personal gain textbooks that they received from publishers because the textbooks are related to the performance of official duties. While this opinion prohibits selling textbooks for personal gain, several options for disposing of textbooks exist in lieu of selling them. The faculty may retain publications for official use. . . higher education faculty can dispose of publications by either giving them t o the institution or to charity, or dispose of them in accordance with agency adopted surplus property procedures.” Excerpt from http://ethics.wa.gov/ADVISORIES/opinions/03-04.htm.