The Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University seeks to hire a resident academic fellow to begin in September or October 2016 for a 12-month or one-academic-year term, with the possibility of renewal for a second year. The fellow will pursue his or her own independent research, as well as work closely with Stanford Law School faculty on a range of projects related to corporate governance, securities regulation, vehicles for public and private investment, and financial market reform. The ideal candidate has excellent academic credentials and experience in relevant fields of practice. The position is particularly well suited to a practicing attorney, with either a litigation or transactional background, seeking a transition to academia, or a post-doctoral economics or finance student with interests in corporate governance. More information can be found at https://stanfordcareers.stanford.edu/job-search?jobId=70496.
Roots of Scholarly Productivity (Take II)
Last month, I published a post that promised subsequent posts on productive scholarly activity. Specifically, that initial post focused on joy as a driver of scholarly productivity. I noted there that the colleague who prompted me to start this series–my muse of sorts–thought readers might be interested in knowing about how I organize my research materials, among other things. I pick up that idea here.
There is no single or simple answer to this question. I am in a constant evolution in this part of my work, and the matter is complicated by the fact that research materials can be electronic, hard-copy, or orally conveyed. I do now have some routines, however, and I have come to a few broadly applicable realizations along the way. Most are likely obvious. Nevertheless, I share them here today.
At the outset, it is critical to note that my work habits include mobility as a core value. I work from wherever I am. So, I have learned that my important research materials need to be captured in some way on my computer when possible.
Bruckner on Bankrupting Higher Education
Matthew Bruckner (Howard) recently posted an interesting article on bankruptcy reorganization and universities. Given the challenges facing many schools, his article should be one that attracts attention. The article can be downloaded here and the abstract is below.
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Many colleges and universities are in financial distress but lack an essential tool for responding to financial distress used by for-profit businesses: bankruptcy reorganization. This Article makes two primary contributions to the nascent literature on college bankruptcies by, first, unpacking the differences among the three primary governance structures of institutions of higher education, and, second, by considering the implications of those differences for determining whether and under what circumstances institutions of higher education should be allowed to reorganize in bankruptcy. This Article concludes that bankruptcy reorganization is the most necessary for for-profit colleges and least necessary for public colleges, but ultimately concludes that all colleges be allowed to reorganize in chapter 11.
University of Cincinnati College of Law │ The 29th Annual Corporate Law Center Symposium │Corporate Social Responsibility and the Modern Enterprise │ Cincinnati, OH │ March 18, 2016
I am looking forward to presenting at this conference next month. Looks like a great group of academics and practitioners.
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University of Cincinnati College of Law
The 29th Annual Corporate Law Center Symposium – Corporate Social Responsibility and the Modern Enterprise
March 18, 2016
8:45 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Hilton Netherland Plaza
Pavilion Ballroom
This event is free. CLE: 5.0 hours, pending approval.
Presented by the University of Cincinnati College of Law’s Corporate Law Center and Law Review.
Symposium materials will be available on March 14 at: law.uc.edu/corporate-law-center/2016-symposium
Please register by contacting Lori Strait: email Lori.Stait@uc.edu; fax 513-556-1236; or phone 513-556-0117
Introduction, 8:45 a.m.
Keynote, 9:00 a.m.
Clare Iery, The Procter & Gamble Company
Social Enterprises and Changing Legal Forms, 9:30 a.m.
Mark Loewenstein, University of Colorado Law School
William H. Clark, Jr., Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Haskell Murray, Belmont University College of Business
Russell Menyhart, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
Sourcing Dilemmas in a Globalized World, 11:00 a.m.
Steve Slezak, University of Cincinnati College of Business
Marsha A. Dickson, University of Delaware Department of Fashion & Apparel Studies
Tianlong Hu, Renmin University of China Law School
Anita Ramasastry, University of Washington School of Law
CSR
REMINDER: National Business Law Scholars Conference – Call for Papers
Just a quick note to remind everyone that (as previously announced) the submission deadline for the 2016 National Business Law Scholars Conference is this Friday, February 19:
The National Business Law Scholars Conference (NBLSC) will be held on Thursday and Friday, June 23-24, 2016, at The University of Chicago Law School.
This is the seventh annual meeting of the NBLSC, a conference that annually draws legal scholars from across the United States and around the world. We welcome all scholarly submissions relating to business law. Junior scholars and those considering entering the legal academy are especially encouraged to participate.
To submit a presentation, email Professor Eric C. Chaffee at eric.chaffee@utoledo.edu with an abstract or paper by February 19, 2016. Please title the email “NBLSC Submission – {Your Name}.” If you would like to attend, but not present, email Professor Chaffee with an email entitled “NBLSC Attendance.” Please specify in your email whether you are willing to serve as a moderator. We will respond to submissions with notifications of acceptance shortly after the deadline. We anticipate the conference schedule will be circulated in May.
The full call for papers can be found here.
Roots of Scholarly Productivity (Take I)
A colleague recently encouraged me to undertake to write a blog post series. The essence of his idea? Reveal how those who regularly turn out quality research and writing over a period of time do it. He suggested it might be valuable for readers to know how one might organize the applicable research, deal with research assistants, write, etc. He indicated his belief that I am qualified to undertake this task (which was/is both flattering and daunting at the same time). He concluded with the following observation: “I’m sure that you work harder than many people, but my guess is there’s more to it than that.”
I recognized immediately the value of his suggestion. Many of us struggle with keeping the scholarship leg of the three-legged academic stool for law faculty roughly as long as the teaching and service legs. But what enables law faculty not only to survive this struggle, but also to consistently produce worthy scholarship? And am I really qualified to speak on this?
Because I do think the topic is meritorious and because I respect the colleague who made this suggestion, I am going to give the topic a shot. This post offers my preliminary reflections. They may or may not represent reality for others. Perhaps (regardless) my thoughts will sponsor other productive ideas.
First, I do work long hours. Those who know me well know this well. My husband has said that he believes I work longer hours in law teaching than I did in private practice (and I worked long hours in private practice). I admit that, although my doctor has indicated it’s not good for my health, I do not always get eight hours of sleep. But I want to be clear that my short nights of sleep, when they happen, are largely my choice. That choice is made because of the heartfelt passion I have for my work. (The key is to not let things go to an extreme . . . .)
CSR and Small Business-Part 2
Two weeks ago I posted about whether small businesses, start ups, and entrepreneurs should consider corporate social responsibility as part of their business (outside of the benefit corporation context). Definitions of CSR vary but for the purpose of this post, I will adopt the US government’s description as:
entail[ing] conduct consistent with applicable laws and internationally recognised standards. Based on the idea that you can do well while doing no harm … a broad concept that focuses on two aspects of the business-society relationship: 1) the positive contribution businesses can make to economic, environmental, and social progress with a view to achieving sustainable development, and 2) avoiding adverse impacts and addressing them when they do occur.
During my presentation at USASBE, I admitted my cynical thoughts about some aspects of CSR, discussed the halo effect, and pointed out some statistics from various sources about consumer attitudes. For example:
- Over 66% of people say they will pay more for products from a company with “good values”
- 66% of survey respondents indicated that their perception of company’s CEO affected their perception of the company
- 90% of US consumers would switch brands to one associated with a cause, assuming comparable price
Rob Weber on Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review at the CBSB
Rob Weber posted on the Columbia Law School Blue Sky Blog an article titled The Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review and the New Contingency of Bank Dividends, highlighting his recent paper on the topic.
In both the post, and in greater detail in the paper, Rob highlights three aspects of the CCAR program:
[(1)] the significant practical implications of the CCAR for large U.S.-domiciled banks….[(2)] its reliance on discretionary judgments by regulators concerning a hypothetical, uncertain future… [and (3) the CCAR as a] “risk regulation” regime – a designation developed in the environmental, health, and safety (“EHS”) regulatory context that has been underappreciated, underutilized, and undertheorized in the financial regulatory context.
Focusing on this third aspect, Rob states that:
The risk regulation model … confronts head-on the necessity of basing regulatory intervention into otherwise private activity on a discretionary assessment of an uncertain, hypothetical, and conjectural harm. It is no objection that the harm has not yet occurred. The uncertainty of the harm is a feature, not a bug, of the system.
The post is available here, and the full paper is available here.
-Anne Tucker
Development Studies Workshop – Organized by the Banque Populaire Chair in Microfinance of the Burgundy School of Business (Dijon, France)
Development Studies Workshop
Organized by the
Banque Populaire Chair in Microfinance of the Burgundy School of Business (Dijon, France)
In collaboration with
BG Foundation (India)
With Support from
VLCC (India)
Theme: Spirituality, Organization and Development
Dates: 28th and 29th October, 2016
Venue: Gurgaon/Delhi (India)
At a time of terrorism, war, and general confusion on human values, there is increasing concern to develop the world in a more sustainable manner. Harmony with nature, ethics, morality and even spirituality is being sought at an individual level, at an organizational level and at the macro level, while continuing the focus on development and making life worth living for all our fellow human-beings. At this juncture, more and more academics and practitioners are turning towards religion to see if some spiritual lessons can be incorporated for an enhanced work-life. At the very least, understanding the spiritual culture of different persons is important to work in global corporations. It is even more important to understand large waves of immigrants and to mentally prepare for their differences in values. The theme of this workshop is therefore relevant to promote human understanding in a globalized world.
A research workshop’s primary aim is to help each other improve our papers so that we can publish in high ranked international journals and specialized books on a topic. For this, we would like to bring together a large diversity of researchers from different backgrounds to focus on a relevant and interesting theme, which is meaningful to the present moment.
Topics
While papers in any of these individual themes is welcome, papers combining two or more elements of spirituality, organization and economic development will be given preference.
Examples of possible topics combining two themes (not exclusive, not exhaustive) to spark your thoughts:
- Spiritual Development
a. Yoga in the workplace
b. Gandhism and sustainable development
c. Organizing Ayurvedic health systems - Organizational Development
a. Organization Leadership and community development
b. Corporate transformation through Islamic Finance
c. Managing Conflicts through the Art of Living - Economic Development
a. Microfinance and Hinduism
b. Confucianism and development of intellectual property rights
c. Economics of Spiritual tourism of Christian holy places
Please send abstracts by April 15, 2016 to microfinancechair@escdijon.eu.
Guidelines for Abstracts (150 to 300 words)
Title of the paper
Author Information: Names, designations and affiliations, current locations (city, country)
Research purpose
Theoretical Background
Research design/methodology/approach
Key results
Impact (on new research or on new practices, policies)
Value added/ Originality
Note
There will be no parallel sessions. A minimum of six and a maximum of fifteen working papers can be presented.
Abstracts will be selected based on conformity to the theme and diversity of origins.
A few people whose abstract is not accepted can opt for being discussants or participants, subject to place availability.
[more below the fold]
Input Matters: Clickbait and Methodology, College Town Edition
If you use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or just the internet, you are probably aware of the concept of clickbait. What is “clickbait?” Well, Merriam Webster dictionary defines it as follows:
something (such as a headline) designed to make readers want to click on a hyperlink especially when the link leads to content of dubious value or interest <It is difficult to remember a time when you could scroll through the social media outlet of your choice and not be bombarded with: You’ll never believe what happened when … This is the cutest thing ever … This is the biggest mistake you can make … Take this quiz to see which character you are on … They are all classic clickbait models. And they are irritating as hell. There’s no singular way to craft clickbait, but the essence is clear: Lure—no trick—readers to your site. — Emily Shire, Daily Beast, 14 July 2014> < … “clickbait,” those seductive Huffington Post-esque headlines that suck up your attention but don’t deliver what they promise? — Oliver Burkeman, The Guardian (London), 10 Aug. 2013> < … there’s an incentive to combine clickbait, to get people in, with strong content