Paul Merage School of Business Remembers Pamela Adams, MBA ’98
The Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine said goodbye to a beloved family member when Pamela Adams, MBA ’98, lost her battle with cancer earlier this fall. As an investment manager and certified financial planner, Adams built a successful career. However, it was her numerous contributions to her alma mater that makes her passing especially hard on UCI.
After graduating with an MBA from the Merage School in the late ’90s, Adams helped found the Dean’s Leadership Circle (DLC) in 2005 with then dean Andy Policano. The DCL is a business network for alumni and executives to help build stronger ties in the business community. Adams served on the DLC Advisory Board as a “Visionary” member until recently.
“Certainly, she will be missed,” dean Eric Spangenberg said. “Most definitely, she will be remembered. Always, Pam Adams will be cherished in the hearts of the Merage School family.”
Adams helped launch the school’s Center for Investment and Wealth Management (CIWM), chaired the CIWM Community Programs and served on its Advisory Board. Beginning in 2008, Adams served as a member of the Merage School Dean’s Advisory Board, and, just this past year, endowed scholarships for young students to attend the LifeVest financial literacy program hosted by the CIWM. In 2005 Adams was recognized as a UCI Lauds & Laurels Distinguished Alumni Award as one of the Merage School’s most outstanding alumni.
“Pam was a natural leader in every aspect of her life,” said Policano, who is currently the faculty director of the CIWM. “She was an iconic role model for our students and we are indeed fortunate to have been the beneficiaries of her guidance, generosity and friendship. Because of Pam, we have improved the community around us and enabled others who are less fortunate to have the opportunity to succeed.”
Paul Merage alum, member Pamela Adams.
Adams also dedicated much of her time to mentoring young people and supporting women in need. She was a founding member of the Girls Inc. Guild of Orange County, a nonprofit serving girls in need, and an active member of the National Association of Women Business Owners of Orange County who named her “Member of the Year” in 2007.
“We owe a great debt of gratitude to Pam,” added Sandra Findly, Executive Director of Development in the Office of External Relations at the Merage School. “She has set the bar high and we are forever thankful for her dedication and commitment to making a difference in the lives our students and alumni, the people in our community, and in the lives of every single one of us who had the good fortune to know her.”
Paul Merage Study Stresses Importance of Corporate Transparency
A new study from co-authors Jone L. Pearce and Kenji Klein of the Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine explores the relationship between long-tenured employees and the organizations they serve. Unlike interpersonal relationships, which have been shown generally to yield greater trust in both parties over time, the study finds that employees are more likely to mistrust their organization the longer they work there.
The study delves into the co-authors’ theory that a lack of transparency about company policy may be a driving force in eroding employee trust. To support the idea behind their hypothesis, Pearce and Klein cite the reason for public court proceedings:
“Openness more effectively holds decision makers and claimants accountable for truthfulness and unbiased decisions, demonstrates that the rich or powerful have not bought off the weak, supports adaptation to changing norms, and enhances the legitimacy of state authority.”
Pearce and Klein suspect this truth translates to the workplace, and that organizations that shroud their policies and decisions in secrecy are apt to lose the trust of their staff.
A BenefitsPro article that featured the study raised the point that it is essential to examine what builds workers’ trust, as mistrust of an organization can infiltrate mentor/trainee relationships and leave new talent with a biased view of the company. Additionally, organizational secrecy leaves employees to speculate whether policies are being enforced consistently, and can lead to office gossip.
This possible consequence is particularly troubling, since and HRDIVE study found the, in the US, 79 percent of employees use their peers as their main source for company news.
In the conclusion, the authors express their hope that the study will lead to more exploration of the harmful effects of bureaucratic secrecy with regard to company policies. The study speculates that a lack of transparency in addressing policy violations stems from organizations’ risk of embarrassment.
The researchers denounce the validity of this attitude, writing, “As the Renaissance kings discovered, avoiding embarrassment comes at a price, and that price is a loss of trust in the authorities and their policies.”
Paul Merage Professor Elected Vice President of the American Finance Association
David Hirshleifer, Finance Professor at UCI’s Paul Merage School of Business, was recently elected as Vice President of the American Finance Association (AFA). He was also assigned to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). As AFA Vice President, Hirshleifer will serve a one-year term on a six-person executive committee, in charge of coordinating nominations for prospective members of the board of directors, managing yearly meetings, guiding the content of The Journal of Finance as well as a range of other responsibilities. It is fitting that Hirshleifer should help handle the content for the journal, as he has held an editorial position with the publication, as well as others, in the past.
Metro News & Notes: Return on Investment, Firing CEOs and More
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Here are a few stories you may have missed from the week that was …
Merage Starts Annual Financial Literacy Program
The Paul Merage School of Business has launched its fourth annual Financial Literacy Summer Residential Program, hosted by the Center for Investment and Wealth Management (CIWM) on Sunday, August 10, 2014. The event is being held for 30 eighth and ninth grade boys. The weeklong program, held on the UCI campus, will run through August 16, 2014.
“The primary purpose of our Financial Literacy program is to provide a foundation of financial knowledge, while creating an enjoyable environment and summer experience for underprivileged students from the surrounding area,” said Lee Anne Maki, associate director for the CIWM. “Our ultimate goal is to endow the Financial Literacy Summer Residential so that we may concentrate on increasing the number of students we can positively affect each year.”
