College Park, Md. – October 14, 2009 — The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business today announced the recipients of the first Gordon Prize in Managing Cybersecurity Resources, an essay contest that had competitors offering innovative solutions for how to allocate resources to protect personal and sensitive data on computers and online.

The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business launched its new Center for Social Value Creation on Sept. 25 with a one-day event in Washington, D.C., that explored how leaders create, lead and sustain organizations for social impact while meeting business goals. More than 250 attendees from the public, private and nonprofit sectors packed the auditorium at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, also home to the Smith School’s Washington, D.C., campus.

Developing Managerial Talent through Stretch Assignmentsv Those with a strong learning orientation benefit most from stretch assignments. How Peer Groups Comparisons Affect Executive Compensation When benchmarking executive pay, compensation committees choose peer companies whose CEOs receive bigger compensation packages. IT and Firm Profitability Investing in IT may have more of an effect on a firm’s profitability than advertising or even R&D. Center for Financial Policy Research Highlight: Mobile Music

In 1980, the average CEO’s compensation was about 42 times what the average worker was paid, and by 2007, CEOs received about 344 times the average worker salary. There’s a debate over whether this ballooning of executive compensation is a failure of corporate governance, evidence of abuse of power, or just a reflection of market forces -- that top CEOs must be paid top dollar, or they’ll take their (presumably irreplaceable) talents to other organizations. But how do companies arrive at these astronomical sums?

College Park, Md. – September 29, 2009 — The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business will offer the Directors’ Institute, an intensive two-day program to be held annually to address critical issues facing corporate boards. Stephen Wallenstein joined the Smith School to lead the institute. The inaugural program will be held April 7-9, 2010 in Washington, D.C. and is designed for board chairs, corporate directors and senior executive officers of publicly traded companies to receive instruction and engage with each other to develop best boardroom practices.

Chicago – Sept. 21, 2009 – A new book, to be released in early 2010 by the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Sterling Commerce and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), gives supply chain managers an innovative tool set for managing risk in today’s dynamic global marketplace. The book, “X-Treme Supply Chain Management: A Guide to Mastering Business Volatility,” will preview this week at the Annual Global Conference of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals in Chicago.

“This is the problem at hand, and it does need a solution,” said Sam Germaine, an associate at ETF Venture Funds who traveled from Philadelphia to attend the Robert H. Smith School of Business ThoughtLeadership@Smith series event on Executive Compensation and Public Policy on September 18.

College Park, Md. – September 17, 2009 — The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business today announced the Center for Social Value Creation will launch Friday, September 25 with an event in Washington, D.C., to explore how leaders create, build and sustain organizations for social impact while meeting business goals.

Smart corporations are looking for ways to incorporate sustainable operations and have a positive impact on society while carrying out their operations. This paradigm shift has some corporations re-evaluating how they do business – and is giving a competitive edge to others. 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.

“This is the problem at hand, and it does need a solution,” said Sam Germaine, an associate at ETF Venture Funds who traveled from Philadelphia to attend the Robert H. Smith School of BusinessThoughtLeadership@Smith series event on Executive Compensation and Public Policy on September 18.