The (Almost) Recession, Pursuit of Knowledge, and More – Los Angeles News
It’s Friday, ya’ll! Let’s dig into some positive Los Angeles news from the previous week. And for those that can, please donate to those who are being affected by the California wildfires.
The Housing Slump is Not (Yet) a Recession – Market Watch
UCLA Anderson School of Management Economist Ed Leamer, one of the largest voices in the housing market to share his concerns leading up to the 2008 recessions, was recently interview by Howard Gold at Market Watch, regarding a distinct slowdown in housing prices and the number of new homeowners.
“Of the 11 recessions since World War II, nine have been preceded by ‘substantial problems in housing and consumer durables,’ Leamer wrote in his 2007 research paper “Housing IS the Business Cycle.”
““If you look back to 1994 or so, you’ll see a period of time where it was pretty flat around 1.4 million units, up and down a little bit, but it was sustained for a long period of time at that level,” he continued. “If it got over 1.4 [million annually] you’ve got to start worrying about it” because it would be a sign of too much froth.”
Leamer continues, saying, “There’s no question in my mind that the housing sector’s going to be difficult over the next couple of years. The price appreciation is going to be a thing of the past. The higher interest rates are going to be a problem, and the change in the tax codes that affects several states is yet another source of problems.”
You can read more from Gold’s interview with Learner here.
Pursue Knowledge, Not Happiness, Advises Mihaylo Professor – Mihaylo News
Cal State Fullerton’s Mihaylo College of Business Marketing Professor Chiranjeev Kohli announced a forthcoming book that will address many of the pressing issues young MBAs face as they fully embrace adulthood—from the practical to the more elevated, such as harnessing willpower and discipline, and how to handle difficult relationships in the workplace.
Some of the guidelines Kohli sets forth are Investing: How to Attain Reasonable Success; Warranties: A Needed Security or a Wasteful Expense?; and Do Unto Others … Only if Others Treat You With Respect.
Chiranjeev Kohli (second from left) / Photo via business.fullerton.edu
In his recent talk at the Pollak Library, Kohli poses the question, “What is the most important thing that we are trying to pursue in this life? If you say it is happiness, I disagree. The ultimate frontier is the search for truth or true knowledge … If you live by this, happiness will follow. But if you seek happiness, you may never find it.”
You can read more about Kohli’s book and more here.
LMU LA Professor Receives Innovation Award for Entertainment Finance – LMU LA News
David Offenberg, Associate Professor of Finance at LMU LA, received national recognition with the Financial Management Association’s (FMA) Innovation in Teaching Award.
The Association recognized Offenberg for his work in entertainment finance. His methodology, which combines the hard skills of modeling and the soft ‘people’ skills of communication, impressed the awards committee.
“The real gift of this award is that it allows me to show my peers a more effective way to teach financial modeling … It’s so exciting to know that courses will change and student outcomes will improve as faculty adopt my way of teaching,” says Offenberg.
First launched in 2014, the Entertainment Finance course made available to business students concepts that had been heretofore only available to film majors. Tom Sheppard, a former student of Offenberg’s, attests to the value of his guidance.
“I had virtually no connections in the film and television industry going into the course as a senior … [but] by the end of the semester, I had a job lined up at Lionsgate Entertainment—even before graduating. In my opinion, it’s the most valuable class [at] LMU’s business school.”
You can read more about Offenberg’s recognition here.
LAPD Celebrates Latest Executive Programs Grads – Los Angeles News
We’ve rounded up the latest news coming out of business schools in the Los Angeles metro this week.
LAPD Chief Salutes Latest Officers to Finish Innovative Executive Program – Claremont Graduate University Newsroom
New LAPD Police Chief Michel Moore celebrated this year’s graduates of the Police Chiefs Executive Leadership Institute at Claremont Graduate University’s Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management recently. Now in its second year, the partnership between the Drucker School of Management and the California Police Chiefs Association invites police officers to the CGU campus for two intensive weeks in the study of management. Through training with Drucker faculty, the officers learn about management techniques, who they are as leaders, and where to make improvements in the way they lead. Thirty-four officers graduated from the program this year.
“The LAPD has been a partner with this school for a long time,” comments Police Chief Moore at CGU during graduation. “This is a progressive school defined by an ethos and values of how to give back to our communities, how to live our best lives, which is what I think we all want for ourselves.”
You can read more about CGU and the California Police Chiefs Executive Leadership Institute here.
UCI Paul Merage School of Business Center for Real Estate Receives Gift to Support Creation of Bill Halford Family and Bixby Land Company Student Award Endowed Fund – UCI Paul Merage Newsroom
A new gift from the Bixby Land Company will create a new endowed fund at the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine’s Center for Real Estate. The gift will benefit merit-based graduate and undergraduate students interested in studying real estate and becoming an active member of the center.
The award is given in recognition of Bill Halford, the chief executive of commercial real estate developer Bixby Land Co, based in Newport Beach, who passed away earlier this year. Serving as chairman for Merage’s Center for Real Estate Advisory Board since 2006, Halford was a staunch supporter of higher education who encouraged the university to place focus on their graduate-level real estate program. He also served as a guest lecturer and often helped moderate education symposiums at the center.
(Left to right) Nakamura Brown, Merage School Dean Eric Spangenberg, Bixby Land Company President Aaron Hill, Cindy Halford, Center for Real Estate Faculty Director Ed Coulson, Center for Real Estate Advisory Board Co-Chair Watty WatsonNakamura Brown, Merage School Dean Eric Spangenberg, Bixby Land Company President Aaron Hill, Cindy Halford, and Watty Watson / Photo via merage.uci.edu
Read more about the Bill Halford Family and Bixby Land Company Student Award and Merage’s Center for Real Estate here.
Employees Actually Work Harder If They Think Their Boss Gets a Big Fat Paycheck – MarketWatch
New research from Ricardo Perez-Truglia, Assistant Professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, looks at the impact that knowing your coworker’s or boss’ salary may have on work ethic.
Circulated by the National Bureau of Economic Research, Perez-Truglia worked alongside Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Zoë Cullen to complete the study, which surveyed 2,060 employees at a large commercial break. According to the research, companies that try to prevent you from finding out the salaries of your coworkers may have good reason; employees who believed their coworkers’ made a higher salary than they did typically worked fewer hours and were more likely to leave the company. Conversely, employees who perceived their manager to have a higher salary than they do were likely to work more hours.
The perception of this makes sense from the rationale of the employer. Not only does the research support this methodology, but keeping salary details under wraps is a common union-busting tactic at larger companies. Union activity tends to correlate with larger salaries for lower and mid-level employees. It is illegal in the United States to prevent employees from discussing wages with one-another. However, several large companies, such as T-Mobile, tend to skirt the rules anyway.
You can read more about Perez-Truglia’s research here.
