Critical Thinking
Dear Students: When It’s Okay to be “All About Me”
By Dr. Michele Simms—-In Daniel Pink’s book DRIVE: The Surprising Truth of What Motivates Us (2009), he includes Peter Drucker as one of seven business thinkers who get it. Drucker, the most influential management thinker of the 20th century, is cited for creating a revolution in human affairs: managing oneself. Best known for his ideas on…
Read MoreThe Knowledge Economy and the Globalization of Higher Education
By Dr. Beverly Barrett— Nearly two decades into the new millennium, the pace of technological change behind globalization continues to advance exponentially. This rapid technological progress has, in turn, necessitated the internationalization of higher education with emphasis on the development of high quality skills needed in the global knowledge economy. In my recent book Globalization…
Read MoreLiberal Arts in a Business Curriculum: “Humbug!” or “Hmmm . . .”?
By Dr. Samuel B. Condic—While there is a general acknowledgment that the liberal arts can contribute to the practice of business, the contribution is typically seen exclusively in terms of utility. For example, my business school colleagues observe that undergraduates from our own institution perform well in the MBA program in large part because they…
Read MoreEthical Character: Is a Standardized Assessment Possible?
“In order to good deeds, it matters not only what a man does, but also how he does it; to wit, that he do it from right choice and not merely from impulse or passion.” —St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I-II.q57.a5 By Dr. Samuel B. Condic —In the Cameron School of Business at the…
Read MoreAdvocacy and Business: Gaining the Tools I Need
By Kate Folladori–Two primary conditions have defined my life since I was fourteen: epilepsy and chronic depression. They have impacted the way I interact with people, the way I think about my future, the way I see myself and my potential, and my day-to-day health and mobility. But recently, as with any other obstacle in…
Read MoreStudent Vision and Values: Hope in Our Future Leaders
By Dr. Anne S. Davis—I teach a Principles of Management to undergraduates in Business at the University of St. Thomas. In the course of my class, I focus on developing in my students the desire to be successful in whatever they choose. I prepare assignments to have them look inward and recognize their own personalities,…
Read MoreCognitive Biases and Rational Behavior
By Dr. Hassan Shirvani—As you might have heard, the 2017 Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Richard Thaler for his pioneering work in the field of behavioral economics, a school of thought dedicated to the application of psychology to economics. The main point of this school is that humans are subject to too many…
Read MoreCanadian Crude Oil Blends
By Ali Oktay—Canadian crude oil blends are trading at steep discounts due to pipeline constraints. Let’s start with basics. In the chart below, you can see the different benchmark crudes lined up according to their API gravities. Canada is a major heavy oil producer, and WCS pricing has been recently hit by the pipeline constraints.…
Read MoreHow To Be Human At Work
By Dr. Michele Simms—In 1995, Daniel Goleman, an internationally known psychologist, authored the book Emotional Intelligence developing the argument that non-cognitive skills, not only IQ, can influence a person’s ability to succeed in the workplace. This seminal work has sold more than 5 million copies worldwide and is cited as one of the 25 “Most…
Read MoreProfiting from Harvey
By: Gavin Brown & Sajjad Meghani–Houston recently suffered from the onslaught of Harvey, a once-in-a-thousand-years flood which devastated large parts of the city. Given the dire situation in Houston and seeing an opportunity for profiteering, some individuals were quick to make money by taking advantage of those who had been adversely affected by this horrific…
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