News & Releases

The Online MBA program at Temple University’s Fox School of Business ranks No. 11 nationally in business-school website Poets & Quants’ listing of the highest-ranked business schools in the U.S. with online MBA programs.

The website compiled its listing, released May 28, by taking its ranking of full-time MBA programs and filtering out the schools that don’t offer online MBAs. “We believe the best online MBA programs are simply at the best business schools,” wrote John A. Byrne, chairman and editor-in-chief at C-Change Media Inc., the digital media company with several websites including PoetsandQuants.com. “The ultimate test for any degree is the reputation of the school that grants it.”

The Fox School’s Online MBA was ranked No. 28 this year by U.S. News & World Report, including high scores in peer reputation (No. 8) and student services and technology (No. 7). In 2012, the first year in which U.S. News evaluated online programs, Fox was one of 14 honor roll recipients among graduate business programs. This year, U.S. News replaced honor roll designations with overall rankings.

U.S. News also ranked the Fox Online MBA fourth nationally in its inaugural ranking of Best Online Graduate Business Programs for Veterans, released May 7.

“Our Online MBA features the same world-class faculty and curriculum as our traditional MBA, and we work to ensure that all our students – whether they’re in physical classrooms or at points across the world – have every opportunity to succeed,” Dean M. Moshe Porat said. “The continued national recognition for our online programs is a testament to the investment and expertise we have in this dynamic area of teaching and learning.”

In the Fox Online MBA program, students can earn their degree in as little as 20 months; engage in course activities in a 24/7, on-demand, mobile-friendly format; and collaborate with faculty and peers through WebEx web-conferencing technology.

The program begins with a weeklong residency on Main Campus that includes a leadership course, networking, team building, professional development and events. Each course is delivered over four weeks, and the program has multiple start dates.

Merit scholarships are available, as is a scholarship incentive program for Temple alumni and for corporate partners that have two or more employees enrolled in the program at one time. Financial aid counseling is offered to all students, and the Fox School and Temple support the Yellow Ribbon Program for military personnel and veterans.

For more information on the Poets & Quants 2013 ranking of the top business schools in the U.S. with online MBA programs, visit http://poetsandquants.com/2013/05/28/americas-top-online-mba-programs/.

A new study of 365 sell-side financial analysts shows that private phone calls with managers remain an essential source of analysts’ earnings forecasts and stock recommendations – even in light of regulations limiting businesses’ selective disclosure of financial information.

More than half of the analysts surveyed by a team of accounting researchers said they make direct contact with executives of companies they cover five or more times per year. The direct contact with management is so important that one analyst said his company hired an FBI profiler to train analysts “to read management teams, to tell when they’re lying, to tell when they were uncomfortable with a question. That’s how serious this whole issue has become.”

“Everyone who reads our paper comes away with something, but one key takeaway is the importance of private conversations between analysts and managers even in a post-Regulation Fair Disclosure (FD) world,” said Lawrence D. Brown, the Seymour Wolfbein Distinguished Professor of Accounting at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, who conducted the study with professors at Arizona State University, University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M.

The survey also finds that accurate earnings forecasts and profitable stock recommendations have relatively little direct impact on analysts’ compensation. These findings are derived from a study titled Inside the Black Box of Sell Side Financial Analysts, which presents results of a 23-question survey focused on analysts’ incentives, as well as 18 detailed follow-up interviews.

The study offers insights into an area that is understudied by researchers of the financial industry. While hundreds of articles have sought to predict financial analysts’ choices using models and statistics, few have peered into the “black box” of the organizational contexts and personal psychologies that drive analysts’ decision-making.

The study’s findings also serve as a potential commentary on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD), launched in 2000 to limit selective disclosure of market-moving information to analysts or other key stakeholders prior to the general public.

But respondents noted that companies’ public conference calls discussing quarterly earnings are often followed by one-on-one conversations between analysts and chief financial officers. According to one analyst: “We’re almost back to where we were pre-Reg FD, but not quite because that backroom chatter is shut down. It’s just now it’s not in the backroom; it’s everywhere.”

More insights from the survey include:

• Approximately one quarter of analysts feel pressured by supervisors to lower their earnings forecasts, presumably because outperforming forecasts pleases investors.
• Approximately one quarter of analysts feel pressured by supervisors to raise their recommendations, presumably because it is easier to get their clients to buy rather than to sell the stocks they recommend.
• While only 35 percent of analysts said the profitability of their stock recommendations were a very important determinant of their compensation, 67 percent cited “standing in analyst rankings or broker votes” as central to their compensation.
• Only half of analysts considered primary research “very useful” in forecasting earnings or recommending stocks.

The study was conducted by Lawrence D. Brown, Seymour Wolfbein Distinguished Professor of Accounting at Temple University’s Fox School of Business; Andrew C. Call, Assistant Professor at Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business; Michael B. Clement, Professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business; and Nathan Y. Sharp, Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School. The full text is available on Social Science Research Network at http://ssrn.com/abstract=2228373.

In San Francisco, health-inspection scores for the city’s restaurants are posted on Yelp to improve public health. Similarly, the Foodborne Chicago app allows residents to report food poisoning while the city proactively scans Twitter for potential incidents (think tweets using all possible synonyms for “vomit”).

Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, welcomed attendees on May 23 and also participated in panel discussions. Photo Credit: Jim Roese

And in Boston – where a third of city service requests come from the web and mobile apps – the Citizens Connect app allows residents to easily file and track requests or join with one another in solving them.

“When I call City Hall, I feel like I’m complaining,” Boston Chief Information Officer Bill Oates said is describing typical feedback from residents. “When I use this application, I feel like I’m helping.”

These were a few of the many technology initiatives shared at the Mayors’ Innovation Summit, hosted by the City of Philadelphia, Temple University’s Fox School of Business and the U.S. Conference of Mayors from May 22-24 at the Westin Philadelphia hotel with receptions at the Comcast Center and Urban Outfitters. This year’s summit was the seventh in a series organized by Temple’s Center for Competitive Government.

MIS Professor Youngjin Yoo (center), director of the Temple Center for Design+Innovation and principal investigator for Urban Apps and Maps Studios, speaks on a panel with, from left, Mayor Nutter, Code for America Executive Director Jennifer Pahlka and Knight Foundation journalism and media innovation Vice President Michael Maness, among others. Photo Credit: Jim Roese

More than 30 mayors and dozens of other top elected officials gathered to share ideas on how civic innovation can increase citizen engagement, promote open government and improve services.

The city representatives also heard from executives from Google, Comcast, IBM, Knight Foundation and others, as well as academics and entrepreneurs, on how innovative public-private partnerships are solving local challenges. Government officials noted that collaboration should also be public-public.

“There’s a lot of us who should be shaking hands and working together – real fast,” said San Francisco Chief Information Officer Marc Touitou, a Fox Executive MBA graduate, calling cities’ No. 1 competitor their own failure to collaborate.

Clear themes emerged: Bridging the digital divide – both in expanding access to technology and in encouraging more people, particularly minorities, to create it – was a focal point. “Don’t just play the game,” said Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter, the current U.S. Conference of Mayors president. “Create the game.”

Officials and executives also emphasized the shift in government culture and citizens’ expectations toward opening data sets and involving the public in determining how that

Bill Finch, mayor of Bridgeport, Conn., tries on Google Glass. Photo Credit: Jim Roese

data can best be analyzed and visualized.

In the panel Setting up Shop: Catalyzing Local Innovation, Michelle Lee, CEO of Textizen, asked the crowd to compare expectations that citizens place on government with the demands consumers have of technology, such as smartphones.

“Why can’t we have that level of transaction, that level of depth, that level of beauty with how we interact with our government?” she said.

Panelists stressed the importance of embracing failure and innovating constantly, even if those innovations are incremental.

“In the world we live in, if you don’t innovate, the competition is just a click away,” said Milo Medin, Google’s vice president of access services.

Whether from industry or government, presenters pointed out that innovation and access should be inseparable.

“There’s never been as many sparks of connection,” said Jennifer Pahlka, founder and executive director of Code for America, which works with web professionals and cities to promote public service and improve government. “Innovation isn’t the specialist’s job. It’s everyone’s job.”

Building on recent efforts toward funding and commercializing entrepreneurial ideas, Temple University’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute (IEI), based at the Fox School of Business, recently held its first-ever TechConnect Idea to Invoice Workshop to help develop new Temple technologies and increase their likelihood of commercial success.

Temple’s Office of Technology Development and Commercialization (OTDC) and the IEI hosted the first TechConnect on April 26 at Alter Hall. Twenty-four graduate students and faculty from the Fox School, as well as from medicine, engineering, science and law, gathered to discuss seven promising technologies developed by participants, with a view to helping four move past the ideation stage and getting a step closer to achieving market success.

“Most technology developers, including those I have met at Temple, don’t understand the commercialization process and how market considerations should influence the technology development itself,” said entrepreneurship Assistant Professor Andrew Maxwell, who holds a joint appointment with Temple’s College of Engineering. “We perpetuate the myth that the innovation process is linear, that inventors come up with an idea and develop a solution that OTDC can easily commercialize. In reality, most of the successful projects I’ve been involved with took years of development, with market feedback significantly influencing the final technology development.”

Maxwell estimated that most technologies take three to five years of development before they’re ready for market, and he said that inventors should be working that whole time with business aspects in mind.

“You have to be able to look at business issues from the beginning,” he said. “Otherwise you end up with a solution that may be technologically superior but not optimized for market acceptance. This can have a significant impact on commercial success.”

TechConnect was designed to help scientific, medical and engineering participants understand the commercialization process and build the business case for their technology, which is required not only when seeking external equity funding (for example from business angels), but also as part of the application process for various translational research grants from organizations such as National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program.

Prior to and during the workshop, participants formed teams that included both technical and business personnel. These teams chose four technologies to assess their value proposition, identify their market potential, consider their business-model options and develop a go-to-market strategy.

The program’s goal is three-pronged: to produce several dozen successful translational research grants, such as NSF’s I-Teams grants ($50,000 for six months) and SBIR’s Phase-I grants ($150,000 for six months); to facilitate collaboration and team development across campus and with other academic institutions; and to increase both the number of Temple technologies commercialized and their success rates.

Some of the ideas identified as having high potential during TechConnect have moved into a mentored independent-study process where government grant applications, feasibility studies or business plans will be completed. Maxwell said there are plans for another TechConnect event for the last week of August.

TechConnect is one of several initiatives at Temple designed to further entrepreneurship. Temple is sharing in a $3 million Blackstone LaunchPad grant from the Blackstone Charitable Foundation to promote entrepreneurship across campus as a viable career option. The school also hosts an annual Innovative Idea Competition and renowned Be Your Own Boss Bowl©,which is among the most lucrative and comprehensive business plan competitions in the nation, with finalists competing for more than $200,000 in cash, prizes and professional services.

In addition, Temple operates Mid-Atlantic Diamond Ventures, a science and high-technology business cultivator that is the only year-round venture forum program in Greater Philadelphia.

For more information on the various programs the IEI leads in technology commercialization and innovation management, visit http://www.fox.temple.edu/cms_research/institutes-and-centers/innovation-entrepreneurship-institute/technology-commercialization/overview/.

The Department of Risk, Insurance and Healthcare Management (RIHM) at Temple University’s Fox School of Business has received a $50,000 grant from the Spencer Educational Foundation via a donation from property insurer FM Global.

Michael McCloskey

The $50,000 Loss Prevention Education Grant will be used to develop course materials to help Temple students understand how engineering plays a role in loss prevention for property and safety risks, said Michael McCloskey, an instructor in the RIHM Department.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with FM Global and Spencer,” said McCloskey, who will develop five modules and video materials that will be included in undergraduate and graduate curricula.

“The foundation’s mission is to fund the education of tomorrow’s industry leaders,” said Peggy Accordino, chairwoman of the Spencer Educational Foundation. “Through this grant and the generosity of FM Global, we are funding the body of knowledge and resources that are available to tomorrow’s leaders.”

FM Global, a Johnston, R.I.-based insurer, in 2008 contributed $525,000 to the Spencer Educational Foundation. The funding aimed to assist universities in developing loss prevention-related courses and to provide scholarships for students pursuing degrees in risk management or insurance.

“We are pleased to fund this grant which will enhance the education of risk management and insurance students regarding loss prevention and safety issues,” said Brion Callori, FM Global’s senior vice president of engineering and research. “By educating students on the value of engineering and how losses are preventable, not inevitable, they can help the organizations they will work for become more resilient.”

At the May 16, 2013, joint commencement ceremony of Temple University’s Fox School of Business and School of Tourism and Hospitality Management (STHM), nearly 725 Fox School undergraduates and 175 graduate students are scheduled to receive their degrees.

The students represent at least 11 countries, as well as 14 states and the District of Columbia.

The Fox School of Business will celebrate its most recent class of impressive graduates at 4 p.m. at the Liacouras Center in a joint commencement ceremony with STHM.

The event will feature Dean M. Moshe Porat’s address, remarks from keynote speaker Pallam Raju M. Mallipudi, MBA ’86, and Jasmine Narcisse, an undergraduate student who will make her speech before the degrees are awarded to each student.

The degrees to be conferred are: Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Master of Science, Executive Master of Business Administration, Master of Business Administration, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Business Administration. A posthumous degree will be awarded to the family of Stephen Johnson, a Fox School of Business undergraduate student who died Jan. 1.

Representatives from some of the Fox School’s international partner schools – CEFAM and ENPC, both in France – are planning to attend the ceremony, as are high-ranking Temple administrators and Temple Board of Trustees members.

Keynote speaker Pallam Raju M. Mallipudi currently serves as cabinet minister for education and human resource development of the Government of India, and as such, he oversees the national Department of School Education and Literacy and the Department of Higher Education. At Temple’s university-wide commencement at 10 a.m. May 16, he will be one of three recipients of an honorary doctorate of humane letters.

Narcisse, an international business administration major, will graduate with a position at BREE & Associates, a Durham, N.C.-based engineering and construction-management consulting firm expanding into Philadelphia. As a student, Narcisse served as an international trade associate with the U.S. Department of Commerce, interned at the U.S. Department of Transportation and worked in Temple’s Bursar’s Office.

Geoff Kalish, partner of global private-equity firm Aquiline Capital Partners, entertained the pitch with caution.

James W. Hutchin, an insurance-industry veteran who landed a faculty position at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, was proposing that Aquiline sign on to an experiential learning program, the Enterprise Management Consulting (EMC) Practice, in which MBAs consult for paying clients.

“We pride ourselves on being a specialist investment manager, and we think that the domain knowledge we have is part of the appeal to our limited partners,” Kalish said recently at firm headquarters on Madison Avenue in New York. “The notion of utilizing MBA talent, who may or may not have any background in financial services, to do something useful for us? I was a little skeptical.”

Geoff Kalish, partner of global private-equity firm Aquiline Capital Partners, at firm headquarters on Madison Avenue in New York. Photo by Ryan S. Brandenberg/Temple University Photography

That was 2008 – and five projects ago.

Aquiline, a $2 billion fund, now ranks among EMC’s strongest clients, one that offers a wide variety of projects for students.

“Industry partners such as Aquiline are invaluable to EMC, as they provide the access, guidance and opportunity for our students to meaningfully impact business processes and strategy,” Fox School Dean M. Moshe Porat said.

In return, Aquiline and its portfolio companies receive cost-effective consultants who are enthusiastic and driven and who can leverage their student status to get results. Under the guidance of project managers, either full-time faculty or industry executives, the students work to produce professional-grade reports on issues ranging from market-entry strategies to mergers and acquisition opportunities.

“Bright. Got access to people, and in the end information, that we probably wouldn’t have on our own,” Kalish said of EMC students. “Jim’s pitch was, is and will be, I’m sure, that people talk to MBA students differently than professionals who might be gathering information from a competitive standpoint. The MBA students seem to get access to good information.”

How it began

It all started in 2008 with a Full-time MBA project, managed by Hutchin, examining the environmental insurance market and brownfield redevelopment opportunities. The four-person team presented its research findings in a comprehensive 200-page report at the end of its first semester and designed a strategy, in light of its research findings, in a 30-page scenarios report the second semester. The team also developed a 45-page business plan. The team’s project summary noted positive client feedback: “the work was commercial grade and actionable.”

Two years later, a team of International MBAs explored market-expansion opportunities for Wright Risk Management Holding Company, comprised of two subsidiaries: Wright Risk Management, a fee-service insurance agency, brokerage and consultancy arm; and WRM America Indemnity, an insurance underwriting arm.

In 2011, International MBAs consulted for Clear2Pay as it considered introducing ClearPark Payment Processing, a payment gateway service, into the U.S. market, and last year’s Aquiline-commissioned project involved identifying growth opportunities for Fidelity National Flood Insurance. The latest project, ongoing in the Spring 2013 semester, focuses on a market-entry strategy for one of Aquiline’s financial technology holdings.

Walker Tompkins, retired president and CEO of American Express Credit Corp., has more than 35 years of experience in banking, marketing, liability and money management. He oversaw both the Clear2Pay/ClearPark project and Aquiline’s current project.

Tompkins said the ClearPark assignment distinguished itself because, at the time, its focus on mobile-payment technology was brand new and ever changing.

“One week you’d decide on a strategy and the next week it basically blew you up,” he said. “Every time they reached a conclusion or thought they had a direction, they had to change again. So it was very real life. The world around you is fluid, it’s not static, and the fact that things weren’t static, it was a challenge for the students.”

Pooja Bhalla, IMBA ’11, who worked on the project, said the team had to navigate its own group dynamics while managing a relationship with a European client and ultimately deciding whether investment or a strategic closure was the best option.

“EMC is one of the most important experiences you can have at Fox because it forces you to apply everyday coursework with real clients,” said Bhalla, now a segment marketing manager at a global natural catastrophe modeling company based in Boston. “Overcoming obstacles and executing meaningful deliverables at every stage provided a sense of true achievement.”

Teammate Dominick Chillemi, IMBA ’11, saw Aquiline’s ClearPark project as his first choice because he wanted to work in private equity after graduation. He now does, and he credits his preparedness and professional success to Tompkins and Fox faculty.

“Anything that I handed in for the EMC with Walker I was much more nervous about than anything I hand in to my bosses today,” Chillemi said. “The EMC experience was harder on me than anything I do professionally. And I say that with no reservation. I literally pull out a lot of my EMC notes during projects now.”

Chillemi said EMC taught him to ask as many questions as necessary to get the information needed – and to not be afraid while doing it. “The smartest person in the room is often the one who is least concerned about looking stupid,” he said.

He also grew to appreciate the less glamorous side of consulting, describing his EMC experience through the reaction of an immigrant after reaching Ellis Island. “‘I’ve learned three things: the streets aren’t paved with gold; they aren’t paved at all; and they expect me to pave them.’ That’s exactly what it’s like being a consultant.”