Ross Featured In the News - Week of Dec. 15
Week Ending Dec. 15
Dec. 14 - CNBC - Communication Playbook: Speak Up or Stay Silent (Marcus Collins)
Businesses have become increasingly vocal when it comes to speaking out on hot-button political and social issues. But with that comes the risk of scrutiny and backlash from stakeholders. We examine risk vs reward, and how to develop a framework to determine when to speak out, and how.
Dec. 14 - Greater Good Magazine - The Top 10 Insights from the “Science of a Meaningful Life” in 2023 (Julia Lee Cunningham)
In a 2023 study published in Psychological Science, researchers Izzy Ginsburg and Julia Lee Cunningham of the University of Michigan found that if we think about compassion a little differently, we might be able to alleviate our exhaustion.
They found that people who learned that compassion was expansive felt more compassionate and showed less compassion fatigue when viewing distressing images, like illness and war or animals suffering—in some ways akin to what we might see in the news.
This study isn’t meant to suggest that compassion fatigue isn’t real, or that it’s our fault because of our own misguided thinking. Instead, it suggests a possible practice that we can all try when we feel weighed down by the hardship around us. As the authors write, “People’s beliefs about the nature of emotions affect how emotions are experienced.”
Dec. 13 - Harvard Business Review - You Need More Than Data to Understand Your Customers (Marcus Collins)
Establishing intimacy with consumers requires more than just observing them and talking with them. You must see the world through their lens. This requires setting aside our biases and ethnocentrisms, if only for a moment. We all have a set of beliefs and behaviors that might seem displeasing to some but feel just right to us. For you, the idea of combining multiple sandwiches into one might be unappealing, but to other people, it makes complete sense. Approaching the research with this level of cultural empathy for our consumers helps us see them as people and better understand them as the social actors that we all are.
When I observe people participating in their cultural practices, as in the McDonald’s research project, I ask myself three questions before drawing any conclusions about what’s happening. The first question I ask is: Why? Why are these people behaving in this manner, or why do they see things a certain way? When you ask why, the answer typically brings your biases to the surface. It’s important to get those out in the open so that you can move past them.
Dec. 13 - Bloomberg - Trump Pulls Ahead in Michigan as Union, Women Voters Sour on Biden (Sarah Miller)
Inflation appears to be costing Biden support among women. They typically do more grocery shopping than men and have seen first-hand the price of necessities rise, said Sarah Miller, associate professor of business economics and public policy at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
Dec. 13 - Bloomberg - Salesforce’s Benioff is Cashing Out at a Rate of $3 Million a Day (Nejat Seyhun)
“This is a very intelligently designed trading system, which helps Benioff sell his stock at above-average prices and avoids any danger in entangling with legal issues,” said Nejat Seyhun, a finance professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, who analyzed Benioff’s trades on InsiderSentiment.
Dec. 12 - NBC News - Shohei Ohtani: What it Means that the New Face of the MLB is Asian (Marcus Collins)
"I've thought more about baseball in the past 48 hours than I have in the past 48 months" because of Ohtani's signing, said Marcus Collins, who teaches marketing at the University of Michigan. "I mean, when is the last time people have talked about baseball to this fidelity?"
Collins said 21st-century sports consumers have shown themselves to be willing to embrace athletes who might not resemble the stars of earlier generations.
“I think sport, far more than it had been, is far more international than ever before, and we’ve seen it elevate the NBA,” Collins said.
“This is the evolution of sport,” he said. “If you want you want to be dominant offering, then you have to be international and representative of people who are not considered the archetype of said sport.”
Dec. 11 - Yahoo Finance - Macy’s Shares Surge After Buyout Bid, But Unlocking Its Real Estate Value Will Take Work (Erik Gordon)
Or Macy’s could end up a shell of its former self, as investors divest of its real estate and any other profitable assets a la Sears, University of Michigan professor Erik Gordon told Yahoo Finance over email.
"The track record of real estate players and fund managers who take over retailers is bleak ... Buying Macy’s for its real estate might work slightly better than Eddie Lampert’s real estate play at Sears. That one ended in bankruptcy."
Dec. 8 - Michigan Radio - Stellantis to Lay Off Workers in Michigan and Ohio (Erik Gordon)
Gordon cited rising costs due to the recent contract agreement between Stellantis and the United Auto Workers union agreement as a factor behind the layoffs. The UAW strike lasted six weeks.
“They just agreed to a record-setting wage hike with the UAW that's going to have more effect on their costs than California regulators,” he said.
Gordon also said a slump in consumer spending and low confidence in the economy could help explain the expected layoffs. "If you're worried about the economy, you're much less likely to go out and spend $30-, $40- or $60,000 on a new car or Jeep or truck.”
Dec. 5 - The Detroit News - These GM Salaried Workers Will Have Set In-Office Days Each Week (Cindy Schipani)
The change comes as companies across industries wrestle with how to get employees back in the office after the COVID-19 pandemic sent many workers home in 2020.
"Many executives believe that being back in the office is integral for establishing a workplace culture for innovation and collaboration," said Cynthia Schipani, a professor of business administration and business law at the University of Michigan, in a statement.
Dec. 2 - Fox Business - Taylor Swift Passes Billionaire Status in Music Industry Era of Artists Losing Millions (Marcus Collins)
Swift's fandom and her music have allowed her to reach billionaire status, Dr. Marcus Collins, author of "For the Culture," told FOX Business.
"When a musical artist ascends to billionaire status, it’s typically because of their portfolio diversity, endorsements and other branded products," Dr. Collins said.
"But Taylor has amassed the lion’s share of this wealth by the strength of her community and the power of their network effects," the marketing professor at the University of Michigan added. "Taylor has spent her career nourishing her community. Even when she had big hits, she would invest in doing small, intimate shows for her people — the Swifties. Her pouring into this community is now paying dividends — potentially, billion-dollar dividends to boot."
