Smith Business Close-Up

Smith Business Close-Up is co-produced by the Robert H. Smith School of Business and Maryland Public Television.

The television segment focuses on the latest thinking in business management, and features in-depth interviews with Smith School faculty and other members of the school’s community of business leaders.

December 2009
Curbing Unplanned Purchases
Making your list and checking it twice could help you avoid picking up the extra unplanned purchases this year and curb your spending while shopping.
Technology Transfer
Washington, D.C. and Baltimore were both recently named among the top 10 best cities to launch a business (No. 6 and No. 10, respectively) by Fortune Small Business magazine and the Kauffman Foundation. With the Baltimore-Washington region so ripe for startups, it’s no wonder the state of Maryland is supporting technology transfer initiatives to get commercialize research innovations discovered at universities and federal laboratories.
November 2009
Developing Managers with Stretch Assignments
On-the-job experience can be a powerfully transformative tool for professional growth—in fact, research indicates it may be the primary vehicle for learning critical leadership skills. Many companies use job assignments to groom high-potential managers, but what kinds of experiences are really valuable for developing manager potential?

Financial System Reforms – Executive Pay
In the wake of the financial crisis of last fall, the Obama Administration appointed “pay czar” Kenneth Feinberg to work with the Department of the Treasury to sort out the way top executives at firms are compensated and what reforms should be made. Just last week, Feinberg came out with a plan to drastically slash compensation at seven companies bailed out by the federal government. But is focusing on reforming executive compensation barking up the wrong tree?

October 2009
Starting a business service Web marketplace in a down economy
In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Reed Alexander Atkin, a recent MBA graduate, talks about how, despite the recession, he launched an online service business with the help of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship.
Setting CEO Pay – Executive Compensation
In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Michael Faulkender, assistant professor of finance, shares his findings from research into executive compensation practices and how firms decide what to pay their CEOs.
September 2009
Creating Social Value through Innovation
In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Melissa Carrier, executive director of the Center for Social Value Creation, discusses how creating social value is an important business strategy.
Taking Ethics Into Account
In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Shreevardhan Lele, Tyser Distinguished Teaching Fellow of Decision Sciences, discusses why ethical analysis is an important part of any business decision.
August 2009
The Housing Market– What’s the Prognosis?
In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Clifford Rossi, managing director of the new Center for Financial Policy, shares his insight and prognosis for the real estate market.
Reforming Health Care
In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Kislaya Prasad discusses the controversies of health care reform and how to approach cost cutting.
July 2009
Starting a venture? Who you know can help!
In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Benjamin Hallen, assistant professor of strategy, talks about his research that explores how entrepreneurs tap into their networks to get investments in their new ventures.
Sustainability in Practice
In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Rachelle Sampson, assistant professor in logistics, business and public policy, talks about how sustainability can be economical.
June 2009
How Friends’ Success Can Help You Get a Job
In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Cynthia Kay Stevens, associate professor in management and organization, talks about her research that finds peers’ success predicts success in job searches.
Decision-making Made Easier
In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Rebecca Ratner, associate professor of marketing, talks about her how people can make better decisions and the ways in which they can be persuaded toward a particular decision.
May 2009
Consolidation in the Music Industry
In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Dr. Curt Grimm talks about consolidation and the impact on the music industry and consumers.
Consumer spending habits
In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, P.K. Kannan, associate professor of marketing and director for the Center of Excellence in Service, talks about the survey findings, which show that consumers are postponing purchases of big ticket items more than they are cutting back on or discontinuing services. Of those surveyed, 78 percent personally know someone who has lost a job in the last year, and 27 percent are convinced the economy is in a depression.
April 2009
Diving into the Job Search: Casting a Wide Net in a Big Pool
In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Kevin Fallon, who heads up the Office of Career Management, provides tips for job seekers. He encourages those in the market for a job to follow through on leads, take advantage of networking opportunities, and leverage social networks.
Keep Your Cash as Big Bills
In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Joydeep Srivastava, associate professor of marketing, talks about his new research that finds people are more likely to think twice about making a purchase when they carry one large denomination of cash rather than many smaller denominations equal to the same amount of money.
Surviving the Downturn
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are more than 27 million small businesses in the United States, employing more than 40 million people. With the economy struggling in recession, for most small businesses the name of game is survival.
March 2009
Hospitals Waste Billions Due to Poor Communication
Researchers from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business put a price tag on the cost of poor communication in U.S. hospitals at $25 billion per year – wasting nearly as much money as they make every year. 
Getting China and India Right
As the world’s economic center shifts from developed to emerging economies, most business leaders realize the importance of China and India. But just being present in these rapidly growing economies is not the same as getting China and India right.
February 2009
Creating Social Value
More and more organizations are focusing on injecting ideals of social entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability into their operations. This good global citizenship intersecting with successful business practices is the core of social value creation.
Perfect the Business, Not the Business Plan
Big news for entrepreneurs: Don’t waste your time on a business plan. In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up, Dr. Brent Goldfarb talks about his new research that finds the way a business plan is written has no bearing on whether a company receives funding.
January 2009
Ukrainian Orphanage Project
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a group of University of Maryland students is hoping it will be worth big money, too. The undergraduate students started a project call Shutters 4 Scholars that is showcasing photos of children in orphanages in Ukraine to help drive donations to support the orphans’ education.
Easing Airport Congestion
The Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation were poised to auction landing and take-off time slots at New York’s major airports on January 12 before a last-minute court-ordered stay halted the action. Airport slots have never been auctioned, anywhere in the world, and a group of professors from the University of Maryland was instrumental in designing the process. The auction plan will now become a proposal under the Obama administration, where it may die.