Knowledge at Wharton

Bill George probably best known in the business community for his former position as chairman and CEO of Medtronic is also an author. In 2003 he published a book called Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value. This month he published his second book titled True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership described by George and his co-author Peter Sims as a way to ”locate the internal compass that guides you successfully through life.” George is also a professor of management practice at Harvard Business School. He and Michael Useem director of Wharton’s Center for Leadership and Change Management recently talked with Knowledge at Wharton about authentic leadership both the book and the concept.

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Although the German government provides its citizens with a generous family-leave policy being a working mother in Germany is harder than in many other industrialized countries according to faculty members at Wharton and German business schools as well as German corporate officials. This is partly because the culture still to some degree frowns upon the idea of mothers not taking care of their small children at home. But changes are on the way led by corporations German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the women themselves.

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German corporations have long prided themselves on being above-board but scandals at some of the country’s multinational icons have seriously tarnished that reputation. The scandals allegedly involve hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes the procurement of prostitutes and misbehavior by some of the country’s most senior executives including officials at Siemens Volkswagen Deutsche Bank and other firms. The situation is so grave that it may prompt German executives to adopt Anglo-American style corporate-governance principles according to governance and business ethics experts at Wharton and in Germany.

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Talk about good timing. With Germany assuming the rotating presidencies of the European Union and the Group of Eight (G8) developed nations the country is enjoying an economic resurgence. It remains a formidable exporter of goods worldwide its unemployment rate has eased and a recent major tax increase has not dampened economic activity as much as many had feared. Still there is some question whether the recovery is sustainable and whether Germany is up to meeting such long-term challenges as an aging population and a declining birth rate according to faculty members at Wharton and German business schools as well as other experts.

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All eyes and ears were on the two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) that ended on March 21. While most observers did not expect interest rates to change the markets were keen to know what language the Fed would use about inflation in its statement on economic and monetary policy. The U.S. economy has seen mixed signals lately and concerns about recession have been replaced by worries about ”stagflation” -- or stagnation combined with inflation. Is stagflation really looming and if so what will it mean for investors? To answer these questions Knowledge at Wharton spoke with Wharton finance professor Jeremy Siegel.

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Troubles in the subprime mortgage industry seem to be spreading. The stock market is in turmoil. Alan Greenspan and others say the economy is being hurt. Consumer groups predict that up to two million Americans will lose their homes. Should the government do something? A growing list of people say it should from Democratic senators Christopher Dodd and Hillary Clinton to a string of advocates for the poor. But Wharton faculty including those who have studied the mortgage market and past government bailouts aren’t convinced.

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Climate change. Middle East instability. International terrorism. Oil price shocks. Weapons of mass destruction. The world is fast becoming a riskier place and the days of wait-and-see are no longer an option says the World Economic Forum’s recently released Global Risks 2007 report. The report published in cooperation with Wharton’s Risk Management and Decision Processes Center identifies 23 core risks -- most of which have worsened over the last year despite growing awareness of their consequences. It also underscores a growing disconnect between the power of these risks to disrupt the world and our ability to mitigate them.

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The announcement that Halliburton the Houston Tex.-based oil services company was moving its headquarters to Dubai may have surprised many Americans. But for people in Dubai it simply ratified decades of hard work. Led by the billionaire known today as ”Dubai’s CEO ” Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Dubai’s ruling family has invested heavily in the infrastructure of a modern economy. So far their efforts have been impressive although observers warn of a possible real estate bubble among other concerns.

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If everything you knew about office life came from NBC’s serial mockumentary ”The Office ” you would be forgiven for thinking romance is the main spice of workplace life. Yet the hit show confirms with satire what recent studies have demonstrated with numbers: Romances shape office life and human resource departments don’t have much to say about it. But given the potential fallout from workplace relationships companies retreat on this issue at their own risk suggest a number of experts. As one HR professional puts it: ”There is a feeling of resignation among HR people. Mostly they close their eyes and hope for the best.”

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If you go to Amazon.com and search for books about venture capital you get 14 114 responses which include many text books. Andrew Metrick a professor of finance at Wharton has just written a new book on the subject titled Venture Capital and the Finance of Innovation. Unlike the thousands of other books though this one offers a different approach especially in areas such as valuing startup companies and IPOs by bridging the gap between finance fundamentals and venture capital practice. Knowledge at Wharton spoke to Metrick about his new book and also about the increasing power and presence of hedge funds.

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