Business

Man as a Marionette

What If... Capitalism Did Not Involve Exploitation

Recently, I have been reading about race relations in the USA.  Caste by Isabel Wilkerson and The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee approach the topic from different angles, but both point out the fact that African Americans have suffered, in large part, as a result of our economic system.  History, indeed, provides an egregious example of how US society has treated certain groups of people; but it is still seen in the putative mistreatment of workers in today’s economy, through the concepts of Striketober and…
BCS1

UNI Entrepreneurs Club Attends CEO in Tampa, Florida

Early in the morning on October 28, a group of nine representatives from the UNI entrepreneurs club (UNI-E) headed to Tampa, Florida to attend the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization Global Conference. This is an annual event that brings together students and key members from a variety of national and international institutes for a three-day event. The location of the conference varies every year and this was the first year that UNI took a large group to attend the Florida event. UNI-E co-advisor, Maddie…
BCS Building

Sav's Syrups Advances to Nationals

On Tuesday, October 19, the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center hosted the annual pitch competition for student ventures at the University of Northern Iowa. Among participants was Savannah Warren (sophomore) with her company, Sav's Syrups. 
MBA students deliver capstone presentation

UNI Business’ MBA program provides real-world experiences

There’s no substitute for hands-on learn in the real world. UNI’s College of Business  takes that seriously, and the MBA program is no exception. Students are encouraged to finish their master’s degree with a capstone project working with real Iowa businesses, one of just a handful of programs across the U.S. that involves students as consultants for existing businesses as a condition of their graduation.
Could We Promote Epiphanies

What If…We Could Promote Epiphanies?

I have long wondered if businesses could somehow promote epiphanies among their employees—those sudden, seemingly unbidden flashes of insight that allow us see an issue from a different perspective or to solve a previously recalcitrant problem.  That may seem like an unlikely preoccupation for a college professor, who is thought to gain knowledge through accretion—hard work, study, and persistence.  Although we all hope for those “light bulb” moments, when we finally “get it” (and they do occur, albeit m
Themis with scale

What if…We Examine Individuals’ Rights and Responsibilities?

Fall semester, 2021.  First day of teaching.  Three classes.  Eighty-eight students.  Seven masks.  And one of them is mine.  I am officially an “old guy,” more susceptible to the COVID virus than my decades-younger students.  I have been vaccinated.  I wear a mask when around other people.  I have a one-year-old grandson who I am desperate to see as often as I can, even though he lives in North Carolina.