Quinlan Faculty Members Discuss Amazon, Humor, and More
Loyola University Chicago Quinlan School of Business faculty and staff were recently quoted in several publications on critical issues in business, ranging from humor to Amazon. Here are some excerpts from those pieces: Continue reading…
San Diego Enters Amazon HQ2 Bidding War
Amazon is in the market for a second home, and the city of San Diego wants in.
The tech giant, which has built its base through digital sales, is looking to expand beyond its Seattle headquarters. Other cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York have also expressed interest in having the company build its new headquarters in their cities. Amazon is looking at cities with populations higher than one million, an already-set tech workforce, and a business-friendly work environment, the San Diego Tribune reports.
“We expect HQ2 to be a full equal to our Seattle headquarters,” Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos told the Tribune. “Amazon HQ2 will bring billions of dollars in up-front and ongoing investments, and tens of thousands of high-paying jobs. We’re excited to find a second home.”
This new headquarters will potentially employ 50,000 people and provide a major economic boost to any city it joins. San Diego city officials confirmed earlier this month that they’d submit a proposal by the Oct. 19 deadline for Amazon’s $5 billion headquarters. San Diego might just be a perfect place for the company to create a nest. It’s already home to a number of qualified employees, especially its MBA graduates.
READ MORE: The New Amazon Headquarters Bidding Race Begins
“San Diego has the geographic proximity to international markets, unparalleled quality of life, and workforce talent that companies like Amazon are looking for, so Mayor (Kevin) Faulconer’s office has directed the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. to coordinate a regional response,” said Matt Awbrey, Faulconer’s Deputy Chief of Staff, in a statement, to the Tribune.
The city has property available downtown and is hopeful that Amazon will decide to make this city is next stop. However, it remains to be seen if the company wants to extend beyond its already-existent West Coast presence. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
DePaul Business Professor Explains How to Help in Hurricane Relief Efforts
In recent weeks, two massive storms devastated parts of the U.S. and Central America. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma killed more than 70 people and displaced thousands. According to CNN, Moody’s Analytics expects that the total amount of damage will exceed $150 billion, which is on par with the cost of the much deadlier Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Continue reading…
New Amazon Headquarters Bidding Race Begins, with 50,000 New Jobs on the Line
By October 19, bids for the newest Amazon headquarters (dubbed HQ2) will close. For the eCommerce giant, it’s another benchmark for an already historic year.
Following its outward commitment to more hiring and the landmark purchase of grocery store chain Whole Foods earlier this summer, Amazon just announced it will be establishing a new non-satellite headquarters outside of Seattle for the first time, which is expected to bring 50,000 jobs to a select city that bids for hosting duties. With the announcement, Amazon notes, “We are looking for a location with strong local and regional talent—particularly in software development and related fields—as well as a stable and business-friendly environment to continue hiring and innovating on behalf of our customers.”
In the six-page Request for Proposal form, which can be read here, Amazon notes a preference for North American cities that have the following:
- “Metropolitan areas with more than one million people.”
- “A stable and business-friendly environment.”
- “Urban or suburban locations with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent.”
- “Communities that think big and creatively when considering locations and real estate options.”
Assuming Amazon does elect to build in a city with those population restrictions, there are only nine possible U.S. locations: New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Dallas. Three Canadian cities—Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver—also hit the qualifying population figure.
In Philadelphia, Mayor Jim Kenney quickly announced the city’s intent to enter the bidding war. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel also seems to be close to the effort. However, there may be reason to believe that Texas will be the eventually landing spot for HQ2, where 53-year old CEO Jeff Bezos spent much of his youth.
In a statement, Bezos said, “We expect HQ2 to be a full equal to our Seattle headquarters. Amazon HQ2 will bring billions of dollars in upfront and ongoing investments, and tens of thousands of high-paying jobs. We’re excited to find a second home.”
Local Economic Growth
Amazon notes that the host city will receive a boon beyond more lucrative job opportunities. In its announcement, the company, which employs nearly 400,000 people worldwide (not including short-term seasonal employees), detailed its financial impact in Seattle, which “resulted in an additional $38 billion to the city’s economy–every dollar invested by Amazon in Seattle generated an additional $1.40 for the city’s economy overall.”
As well, the company created more than 40,000 direct jobs in the Emerald City, and 53,000 additional jobs “as a result of Amazon’s direct investments,” according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the Request for Proposal form, the company promises it “will hire as many as fifty thousand (50,000) new full-time employees with an average annual total compensation exceeding one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) over the next ten to fifteen years, following commencement of operations.”
According to Wall Street firm Needham & Co., Amazon is expected to control 50 percent of all U.S. online sales by 2021. The ever-increasing market dominance has earned Amazon a fairly negative reputation, but has done little to deter growth.
Via Fortune
Seattle has also been witness to years of skyrocketing housing costs due to the immense economic growth. The Seattle Times notes “the median price hit $730,000, up nearly 17 percent from a year ago” for houses. Amazon and the rest of the Seattle corporate community may not be the only players responsible for the unusually high prices, but it is an inescapable part of the equation.
In a recent interview, Columbia Business School professor Rita McGrath said that Amazon may be looking for a location with less staggering housing costs.
“It’s hard to attract people if they can’t afford the housing available locally,” she said.
The Amazon MBA Impact
Last year, we highlighted Amazon’s massive effect on the MBA job market. The company creates a direct pipeline from its MBA internship program to full-time employment, which should rapidly increase with the creation of HQ2. In a previous interview with the Financial Times, Miriam Park, the Amazon Director of University Programs, highlighted the company’s recruitment strategy:
“The Amazon recruitment process is designed to ensure we hire top candidates with high-growth potential whatever their background may be. As part of this we recruit current MBA students and MBA alumni for permanent and internship opportunities worldwide and see MBAs as an important part of our leadership development. We value people who can balance long-term strategic thinking with tactical execution, and who have the ability to make data-driven decisions.”
The internship programs open opportunities for MBAs to join the company as senior product managers, operations analysts, and more. Throughout the Request for Proposal form, Amazon frequently reiterates its desire to build in a location that has a strong academic culture, writing, “a highly educated labor pool is critical and a strong university system is required.”
Amazon will formally announce where it will build HQ2 next year.
Quinlan Dean Kevin Stevens Honored by Crain’s Chicago Business
Quinlan School of Business Dean Kevin Stevens has officially been named to the 2017 Who’s Who in Chicago Business list. Continue reading…
How to Deal with a Bad GMAT Score
You’ve been studying for months, possibly losing sleep as you go over the practice questions in your head and, as a result, getting some oh-so-enjoyable stress dreams. If any of this sounds familiar, you probably have had to—or currently are—preparing to take that Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).
