Michigan Tech College of Business Newsblog

Category: Faculty Research

New Supply Chain and Operations Management Professor

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Join us in welcoming our newest faculty member to the School of Business and Economics, Dr. Ulrich Schmelzle. Shmelzle earned his Ph.D. in Business Administration with a concentration in Supply Chain Management from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He also holds an MBA from Arizona State University and a bachelor degree (equiv.) in Industrial Engineering and Management from the University of Hamburg, Germany.

Prior to returning to academia, he held different managerial positions in supply management, manufacturing, and logistics planning. With more than 18 years of industry experience, he has worked as a consultant, entrepreneur, and senior manager primarily in the semiconductor and aerospace industries. Schmelzle’s research focuses on managerial decision-making promoting efficiency and innovativeness. He is particularly interested in how operations and supply chain management can enhance the innovation performance of the organization.

Ulrich regularly presents new research at national conferences from organizations such as the Decision Sciences Institute (DSI) or the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) and has published in peer-reviewed academic journals and conference proceedings.

Schmelzle

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Brown Bag Lunch Seminar

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The School of Business and Economics will host its third brown bag lunch research seminar of the semester on Thursday, November 10 at 12:00pm in Academic Office Building 101.  Dr. Mark Rudnicki and Dr. Terry Sharik of the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science will present their recent study.  Pizza and soda will be provided.

Title: Forest Bioeconomy and the Circular Bioeconomy

The forest bioeconomy refers to economic activities that use renewable bio-based resources from forest ecosystems, land or water, for production of services, products or energy. For the bio-economy to be efficient and effective and to remain viable, it must foster reuse, recycling and safe re-entry of by-products into the environment. This life cycle approach is referred to as a “(bio-based) circular economy” and is a foundation for sustainable development. Our challenge will be to help communities and industry design and develop a bio-based product portfolio consistent with their existing strengths and future possibilities by supporting education, research and business-based partnerships.

The bioeconomy presents significant benefits to all business and community stakeholders in the value chain. Central to a bioeconomy are resource protocols that, a) ensure sustainable management, b) optimize use of forest and mill residuals, c) capitalize on waste to use principles, d) engage community and business leaders in planning and development, e) create cross sector business relationships that stimulate investment, and f) advocate for policy that enables communities and accommodates business. The forest bioeconomy has the potential to dramatically advance and improve the social and economic well being of all those engaged, from land owners and operators to product distributors. You are part of the resource needed to realize that potential.

By implementing a circular bioeconomy, the forest industry can be more competitive by creating strong and expanding markets for wood fiber.   Equally important is the opportunity to improve social license and increase opportunities to demonstrate the responsible and sustainable nature of the forestry sector.

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Brown Bag Lunch Seminar

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The School of Business and Economics will host its second brown bag lunch research seminar of the semester on Friday, October 14 at 12:00pm in Academic Office Building 101.  Dr. Emanuel Oliveira will present his recent study.

Title: Union density and entrepreneurship: A motivational approach

Abstract: Prior economics literature has examined the role of union density on rates of
entrepreneurial entry and found a negative relationship. Reasoning that strong unions increase
costs and risks for entrepreneurs, researchers found that raw counts of new entries declined with
increasing union density. By differentiating between necessity and opportunity entrepreneurship,
and looking to motivation theories, our study challenges at least part of these earlier findings.
The results of our multilevel modeling analyses deployed on a large cross-country sample of
entrepreneurs suggest that: (1) union density is positively associated with opportunity-based
entrepreneurship; and (2) union density is negatively associated with necessity-based
entrepreneurship. The entrepreneurship literature suggests that only opportunity entrepreneurship
is positively associated with economic development. Thus, our findings may transform the
understanding of the role of union density and lead to alternative policy recommendations.

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Brown Bag Lunch Seminar

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The School of Business and Economics will host its first brown bag lunch research seminar of the semester on Thursday, September 15 at 12:00pm in Academic Office Building 101.  Dr. Tom Merz and Professor Russ Louks will present their exciting new study.

Title: Scorecasting: A Laboratory Experiment of the Framing Effect on Risky and Safe Choices in a Strictly Competitive, Repeatedly Played 2X2 Game.

The experiment consists of two players (subjects) playing repeated rounds of a “simple” game involving binary choices for each player.  The game is one of pure conflict – constant sum, with each round having only one winner.  Players choose simultaneously – without knowledge of the choice of his or her opponent.  The stage game has a unique Nash equilibrium in mixed strategy (the minimax solution).  With two players each making one of two choices, each round has four possible choice combinations.  Once each player makes a choice, the winner of a round is determined by a random draw, with the odds of winning being dependent on the choice combination.

 

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Dr. Dana Johnson Receives ASQ’s 2016 Gryna Award

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Dr. Dana Johnson was honored for her contributions in Quality this spring by the American Society for Quality.  She received ASQ’s 2016 Gryna Award for co-authoring the paper, “SEM of Service Quality to Predict Overall Patient Satisfaction in Medical CLinics: A Case Study,” published in 2015 in Quality Management Journal, Vol. 22,  No. 4 pp. 18-36.  The ASQ Gryna Award is for the largest single contribution to the extension of understanding and knowledge of the philosophy, principles, or methods of quality management.  Dr. Johnson’s co-author, Dr. Roberta S. Russel, is a Professor of Business Information Technology at Virginia Tech.  Both authors thank Elizabeth MacInnes, V.P. Quality, UP Health Systems Portage and James Bogan, UP Health Systems Market President for providing access to the data necessary to complete this research.

About ASQ

ASQ is a global community of people dedicated to quality who share the ideas and tools that make our world work better. With millions of individual and organizational members of the community in 150 countries, ASQ has the reputation and reach to bring together the diverse quality champions who are transforming the world’s corporations, organizations and communities to meet tomorrow’s critical challenges. Celebrating 70 years in 2016, ASQ, with its world headquarters in Milwaukee, Wis., USA, operates regional centers in the U.S. and Canada, North Asia, South Asia, Latin America and Middle East and Africa. Learn more about ASQ’s members, mission, technologies and training by visiting the ASQ webpage.

 

Dana Johnson 05232016007

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