MBS Media coverage

Pay Check

BRW, pg 36, 26 March 2009
As the Great Recession heralds unemployment for many, the huge remuneration packages of the few are under intense scrutiny. One problem discussed in the article is that of short-term incentives such as cash bonuses. Professorial fellow in strategy at Melbourne Business School Paul Kerin says, “companies should get rid of short-term incentives altogether, but many boards have been unwilling to wean themselves off these instruments and in doing so have exacerbated the overly short-term approach of many executives.”

Family Business

The Wall Street Journal, 26 March 2009
Do children respond to incentives? Sometimes… The Wall Street Journal reviews MBS Professor Joshua Gans’ book - Parentonomics.

Babcock and Brown vote

ABC Radio National PM, 25 March 2009
Babcock and Brown was placed in voluntary administration earlier this month and the company's creditors met for the first time this morning. MBS Professor Paul Kerin comments on the NZ vote and how shareholders get the upside if the company does well and take the risk.

Debt repayment

ABC 666 PM, 25 March 2009
Administrators for failed investment group Babcock and Brown say it is likely to be several months before the company's creditors will know if they will get any return on their money. MBS Professor Paul Kerin explains why subordinated noteholders rank low on the list, in terms of debt repayment.

Dismal science faces dilemma

The Australian, pg 34, 25 March 2009
Economics students are in short supply, with debate raging over what is causing an exodus from the discipline. Productivity Commission chief Gary Banks says there are not enough people "skilled in quantitative methods" in the public sector. "We have seen a shrinkage of the recruitment pool of economics graduates in recent years and I wonder whether the study of economics may be turning into a niche discipline in our universities," Banks said in a January speech. As Joshua Gans, a professor from the citadel of academic economics, the Melbourne Business School, puts it, "everybody wants policy-based research, but nobody does the work".

More going broke

The Daily Telegraph, pg 11, 25 March 2009
NSW has had a significant increase in bankruptcies compared with other states. There was a 49 per cent increase in the proportion of bankruptcies in NSW between 1997 and 2008, according to Melbourne Business School analysis which was released yesterday.

Alumni programs drive business growth

HR Daily, 24 March 2009
Maintaining a good relationship with departing employees not only ensures a supply of part-time and temporary labor, but also drives business and employee referrals, says global expert on alumni programs, MBS Professor Ian Williamson.

Green now the colour of protectionism

Gary Sampson, The Australian Financial Review, pg 63, 24 March 2009
Penalising imports will not level the playing field for carbon emitters writes Melbourne Business School's Gary Sampson. Read the full article.

Special help for companies?

ABC2 News Breakfast , 20 March 2009
Australian companies are finding it hard to get finance due to the Global Financial Crisis. Melbourne Business School’s Paul Kerin says that many companies are asking for special help.

Don’t believe it

BRW, pg 44, 19 March 2009
This article discusses several fallacies associated with business. One fallacy is that customers know what they want. Melbourne Business Schools philosopher-in-residence John Armstrong suggests that if they did, they would not be punishing United States vehicle makers General Motors and Ford today for giving them what they wanted just two years ago: petrol-quaffing four-wheel drives.

Financing Companies

ABC1 Lateline, 19 March 2009
Melbourne Business School’s Paul Kerin chats to compere Leigh Sales about subsidising companies. Prof. Kerin says that the Productivity Commission estimated that we give away $15.7bn a year to industry.

HR can earn its stripes in tough times

Human Resources Leader, pg 6, 17 March 2009
The current economic climate presents more opportunity for HR managers to earn their stripes than ever before, according to Melbourne Business School. For many HR managers, this is their first experience of managing in a financial crisis, said Helen Ormond, program director for Mt Eliza Executive Education, part of Melbourne Business School.

Get out of your comfort zone, says entrepreneur

Adelaide Advertiser , pg 42, 17 March 2009
South Australian entrepreneurs are being urged not to "get lost in the Adelaide market" and to use technology to expand the reach of their businesses. Venture capitalist and Melbourne Business School lecturer Martin Hosking says while the defence presence in SA is useful for technology companies, it is important to get out of the comfort zone.

Rudd has made it too easy for GM

Paul Kerin, The Australian , pg 21, 17 March 2009
If they ask for more we should refuse. Other nations leave us for dead in the due diligence conducted and commitments extracted prior to giving automotive companies support. Read the full article.

Financial Review

ABC2 News Breakfast , 16 March 2009
Melbourne Business School’s Dr. Sam Wylie speaks to Virginia Trioli about financial matters.

Let's make the figures line up and move on

The Age - Business News, pg 8, 13 March 2009
Recession is more than negative growth, write Melbourne Business School associate professor Mark Crosby and University of Queensland associate professor Philip Bodman. Read the full article.

Expensive water

ABC1 Stateline , 13 March 2009
The two shortlisted bidders need to find $3b to finance the Vic Government's planned desalination plant at Wonthaggi by the end of this month. Doubts have been raised over whether the bidders will be able to find the money for the biggest capital works project in Vic - crucial to the Vic Government's water plan. Paul Kerin from Melbourne Business School believes AquaSure and BassWater are so big they will find the money, but the Vic Government may have to bear some of the costs of the power-hungry project, including the carbon tax on emissions.

Armed force

B, pg 36, 12 March 2009
This BRW article outlines how an executive MBA from Melbourne Business School gave a former soldier the firepower to thrive in the business world.

Economy Watch

Paul Kerin, BRW, pg 21, 12 March 2009
Melbourne Business School Professor Paul Kerin delivers his verdict on the first stimulus package. He writes that it is clear that it was not all spent and that it was not all saved, he writes suggesting that an estimate of 80 percent (saved) is reasonably consistent with the historical evidence.

Survival of the finest

BRW, pg 34, 12 March 2009
The days of the stand-alone business school appear to be numbered as the market demands more than just MBA and executive education programs, writes BRW’s Leo D’Angelo Fisher. A spokesman from MBS comments on the School’s position.