Another case competition – another honor for University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. This time a team of second-year MBA students participated in the ACG Cup Case Competition and was declared winner, impressing the judges with their analysis of case study and presentation skills, in February 2011.

Risk was the hot topic at the Inaugural Smith School and IBM Business Analytics Workshop held in Van Munching Hall on Friday, March 4, 2011. Co-sponsored by the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and IBM, the day-long workshop consisted of topics ranging from Department of Homeland Security risk, to aviation safety, to fraud.

Professor Mark Wellman writes about the January 2011 winter study trip to Australia. Americans frequently assume that doing business in Australia is no different from doing business in the US. However, as we have learned on our trip, as well as our visit to the Australian embassy, the two cultures contrast greatly, despite a shared language. Even some common and business terminologies have very different meanings.

MBA students at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business have the opportunity to participate in a unique improv course taught by acclaimed Broadway actor, Marc Kudisch, a three-time Tony Award nominee and 2007 Helen Hayes Award winner. (Kudisch was nominated for his roles in Sycamore Trees and Golden Age for the 2011 Helen Hayes Awards.)

Five successful University of Maryland alumni joined on February 24, 2011 at the Robert H. Smith School of Business to impart secrets of success to aspiring student entrepreneurs at an event co-sponsored by the school’s Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship and Office of Career Services. The panelists included:

As one of the most well-documented and studied battles in American history, the Battle of Gettysburg offers a rich set of characters, personalities, and examples of leadership decision-making that resonate in many organizations even today. In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Greg Hanifee, talks about the Smith School’s new leadership program in partnership with the Gettysburg Foundation.

More than 175 people gathered in Frank Auditorium in the Robert H. Smith School of Business’ Van Munching Hall on Feb. 22, 2011 to attend a CEO @ Smith session with Pradman Kaul, president and CEO of Hughes Communications, Inc.

Students, faculty and staff crammed into Van Munching Hall’s Frank Auditorium on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2011 with one goal in mind: Listening to Ted Leonsis speak about what it is like to own several Washington-based sports teams, including the Washington Capitals and the Washington Wizards.

Word of warning to employers: Don’t make the mistake of thinking the economy and job market have left people captive in their current jobs. Employee satisfaction is key to whether people stay with an organization, and whether they are fully engaged at work. However, it’s not just how satisfied employees are that matters – it is also whether satisfaction is on the rise or trending down that offers clues to whether employees are planning to stay at or leave a firm.

A team of undergraduate students from Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland participated in the 21st Wake Forest Marketing Summit - Undergraduate Case Challenge, sponsored by VF Corporation. The competition was held at Wake Forest University on February 3, 2011 and the other schools participating were Emory University, Northeastern University, Brigham Young University, and University of Pennsylvania. The case focused on developing strategies to use the digital ecosystem to drive sales and build loyalty for the VF Corporation's Nautica® brand.