Beedie-hosted CaseIT competition draws global class
February 9th, 2012
by Joanne Leung
Some of the world’s most prestigious business schools met in Vancouver for CaseIT 2012, an annual international undergraduate case competition with a strong MIS focus designed to find the best and brightest in strategic IT case analysis.
Hosted annually by Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business, CaseIT is an entirely student-organized event in [...]
SFU announces MSc Finance designation for graduate finance degree
February 6th, 2012
The Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University is pleased to announce that its graduate finance degree has a new designation: MSc Finance.
The change reflects the evolution of Simon Fraser University’s popular graduate finance program, which attracts students from around the world. Two years ago, faculty members and industry professionals redesigned what was then the Master of Financial Risk Management program – expanding the offering of core quantitative courses. In addition, the new MSc designation better reflects the two fields of specialization, risk management and investment management.
BBA Curtis Jones applies human resources to search and rescue
Curtis Jones, who is in his final year at the Beedie School of Business, is also a longtime member of North Shore Search and Rescue, a volunteer-run search and rescue team operating in Vancouver and surrounding areas.
Family firms offer valuable lessons for businesses: Beedie research
February 5th, 2012
New research from the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University is shedding light on how businesses generally can learn more about themselves through observing family firms. Defined by Entrepreneur Magazine as business entities “that are owned or managed by more than one member of the same family”, family businesses significantly represent roughly half of all private Canadian businesses.
Published in the Journal of Management, the article is entitled The Adolescence of Family Firm Research: Taking Stock and Planning for the Future. The research was authored by Beedie strategy professor Eric Gedajlovic, along with colleagues Michael Carney (Concordia University), James J. Chrisman (Mississippi State University and University of Alberta School of Business) and Franz W. Kellermanns (University of Tennessee and Otto Beisheim School of Management).
Remembering SFU supporter Ross McLeod, 1952-2011
February 1st, 2012
Last September, the Simon Fraser University and BC business communities were saddened to learn of the passing of Ross McLeod, a longtime SFU supporter.
McLeod was chairman and chief executive officer of Richmond-based Great Canadian Gaming Corp., operators of River Rock Casino, Boulevard Casino, Hastings Park and about 20 other casino and hospitality venues in Canada and Washington state. The company is the largestgaming and entertainment operator in Western Canada.
Under McLeaod’s leadership in 2005, Great Canadian Gaming Corporation donated $1 million to support the creation of Simon Fraser University’s Segal Graduate School of Business.
Prof. Dianne Cyr’s human-computer interaction work nets coveted AIS Technology Award
Dianne Cyr, a professor of management information systems at the Beedie School of Business, along with Southern Utah University information systems prof. Dezhi Wu, have been recognized by the Association for Information Systems (AIS) for their leadership role in garnering a globally coveted technology awards.
Cyr and Wu played prominent roles in helping the AIS special interest group on human-computer interaction (SIG HCI) earn the coveted AIS Technology Challenge award at the recent International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) in Shanghai.
Beedie students to lead the charge at upcoming SFU entrepreneurship showdown
by Joanne Leung
Both students and alumni from SFU’s Beedie School of Business have been selected to compete on February 11 for $5000 in cash prizes at the upcoming Coast Capital Savings Venture Prize Competition, which will take place at the Segal Graduate School of Business in downtown Vancouver.
The start-up competition is organized by SFU Venture [...]
Prof. Ed Bukszar explains challenges, opportunities ahead for Eastman Kodak
January 27th, 2012
The following was originally published in the Burnaby Now newspaper on January 27, 2012.
BY JANAYA FULLER-EVANS, BURNABY NOW
The Eastman Kodak company filed for Chapter 11 reorganization last week, but the company says the Burnaby division will not be affected.
“The Chapter 11 filing directly impacted only our U.S. operations and subsidiaries,” Christopher Veronda, Kodak’s manager of [...]
Pro athletes bolster star status through team selection, teammates and career evolution: Study
January 17th, 2012
So what makes a star shine even brighter in the world of pro sports? It’s a combination of not only personal performances and team records, but also includes the markets that athletes play in and the star calibre of the athletes they compete with.
The study, “Investigating the evolution of star status in professional team sports,” describes the rise and fall of celebrated athletes using data from the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1987 to 2008. Published in the International Journal of Research in Marketing, it was authored by professors Yupin Yang of the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver and Mengze Shi from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
Ken Spencer, BCIC and SFU partner to create more high-tech companies
January 12th, 2012
Surrey, B.C. (January 12, 2012) – Simon Fraser University is launching entrepreneurship@SFU, a new high-tech entrepreneurship initiative, thanks to a $210,000 donation from Dr. Ken Spencer and a matching contribution of $210,000 from the Province of British Columbia through the B.C. Innovation Council (BCIC).
The new Ken Spencer Entrepreneur Incubator, a component of the entrepreneurship@SFU initiative [...]
The Economist: Samba management and Beedie
January 6th, 2012
WILL Brazil become a new source of inspiration for Western business schools? For the past fifteen years, they have mainly looked east. New business schools grew up in such fast-growing countries as China and Singapore, leading to a stream of student and faculty exchanges between Western and Eastern campuses.
But a growing number of business schools are now looking south, with Brazil attracting most interest. The University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business recently introduced a Brazilian residency as part of its Global Executive MBA (GEMBA). Students will go to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro where they will spend two weeks attending classes, visiting local firms and learning about the region’s business environment. And Canada’s Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University has joined forces with São Paulo’s FIA Business School, Mexico City’s ITAM and Nashville’s Vanderbilt University to develop what officials call an “Executive MBA programme for the Americas”.
Beedie prof. selected to prestigious Twitter “must follow” list
January 5th, 2012
Ian McCarthy, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Technology & Operations Management at SFU’s Beedie School of Business, has been selected to the “50 Business Professors You Should Follow on Twitter” list recently assembled by OnlineMBA, a media outlet focused on business education in North America and internationally.
The Twitter list acknowledges business academics who have [...]
Beedie looks back at extraordinary year in Surrey
December 19th, 2011
It has been an extraordinary year for the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University – and the accomplishments of the school at SFU Surrey have helped to drive that success. As 2011 draws to a close, Beedie is celebrating such student accomplishments as SFU Student of the Year, the Surrey Green City Award, and selection to one of Canada’s most prestigious leadership programs for entrepreneurs.
MBAs tackle digital marketing for social good
December 15th, 2011
Students in SFU’s Full-Time MBA program at the Beedie School of Business have garnered real-world marketing lessons that have taken them from social agencies in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside to a hospice society in Pitt Meadows to a seniors wellness centre in North Vancouver. In the process of helping these groups raise awareness or operating funds, they have enjoyed early-stage support from the likes of celebrated author Margaret Atwood and Vancouver hockey star Roberto Luongo.
The community interactions are part of the marketing class Business 702, taught by SFU marketing professor Leyland Pitt. Within the class, students are challenged to strategically design a social media marketing program for not-for-profit organizations in Metro Vancouver.
By working outside of the classroom with social agencies and community groups, the students have been able to broaden their perspective around business and society – and further integrate social entrepreneurship and sustainability into their marketing coursework.
Beedie alumni win big in BIV’s Forty Under 40 list
December 13th, 2011
Alumni from the Beedie School of Business at SFU have made a big impact on the recently-published Business in Vancouver Forty under 40 list for 2011. According to the British Columbia business publication, the winners represent a wide array of businesses, “but they all have one focus: an unstoppable desire to be the best in their field.”
Beedie graduates who made this year’s prestigious list include Robin Dhir (BBA), Benjamin Sparrow (Management of Technology MBA), Diane Stirling (BBA), and Joshua Zoshi (Management of Technology MBA).
Beedie research: Tourism entrepreneurship can backfire on some Brazilian communities depending on approach
With its booming economy, investment in national infrastructure and hosting of future global events like the Summer Olympics and World Cup, Brazil is poised to enjoy healthy growth in tourism in the years ahead.
Tourism boosters in that country and other emerging economies are likely to view associated entrepreneurship as a means to promoting inclusive economic growth, especially in underdeveloped regions. However, a new study from the Beedie School of Business shows that associated growth doesn’t always result in across-the-board gains for tourist destinations. In some cases, the commercial activity associated with tourism could actually backfire on some communities.
Slated for publication in the Journal of Management Studies, the research is entitled “Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Base of the Pyramid: A Recipe for Inclusive Growth or Social Exclusion?” The article was authored by profs. Jeremy Hall and Stelvia Matos from SFU’s Beedie School, along with Lorn Sheehan (Dalhousie University) and Bruno Silvestre (University of Winnipeg).
Young entrepreneur and BBA Jessica Fan joins The Next 36
December 9th, 2011
Simon Fraser University student Jessica Fan is in elite company as a member of “The Next 36.” The prestigious entrepreneurial leadership program seeks out the country’s most promising undergraduate top young entrepreneurs and challenges them to create their own ventures.
A fourth-year student majoring jointly in business and interactive arts and technology at SFU Surrey, Fan will [...]
Beedie researchers help tackle forest pests with genomics
December 6th, 2011
Jeremy Hall, a Simon Fraser University Beedie School of Business professor, is leading the social science research component in a new project dedicated to significantly reducing forest pests in Canada, and ultimately globally.
Hall leads one of several research teams involved in Genomics-Based Forest Health Diagnostics and Monitoring, a new $4.2 million project funded by Genome British Columbia [...]
SFU launches Canada’s largest undergrad investment fund
November 30th, 2011
Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business has launched the Beedie Endowment Asset Management (BEAM) fund. With a value of $5 million, it’s the largest undergraduate-student managed investment fund in Canada.
The BEAM fund is second in size overall after SFU’s $10.8 million Student Investment Advisory Service, which is managed by SFU graduate business students.
Students participating [...]
Project Management Career Speaker event engages high school students
November 29th, 2011
On November 22, 2011, Wideman Education Foundation (WEF) hosted their third annual Project Management Career Speaker Event to high school students at Simon Fraser University’s Surrey campus.
Among the speakers was Rich Brodowski, Project Manager with the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. He described his PM experience that involved providing governance to Bell Canada’s Olympic Program, ONE that [...]
Beedie students spread United Way cheer at SFU Surrey
November 28th, 2011
Beedie School of Business BusOne students at Simon Fraser University’s Surrey campus will spread some Christmas cheer for the United Way on Friday, Dec. 2.
The students, all in their first year of study, are putting their business creativity to the test to raise money, doing everything from photos with Santa to a “Rent-a-Biz-Kid” opportunity, during the [...]
Social ventures from Beedie win kudos, investment from top entrepreneurs
November 24th, 2011
5 projects by SFU students—all social ventures aimed at creating positive change—were chosen from 10 finalists to win Ashoka Canada’s Be a Changemaker Challenge Nov. 23. In October, SFU, UBC and Ashoka also ran a boot camp to train students how to build and fund sustainable ventures.
The contestants were eligible for up to $1,000 each in seed funding to launch their social ventures, in addition to incubation support through Ashoka Canada and Ashoka’s Youth Venture. Most of the entrants were from SFU Beedie School of Business lecturer Shawn Smith’s BUS 492 class in social entrepreneurship and innovation, which teaches the fundamentals of creating socially impactful ventures while coaching students through the process. “More than just community engagement I think it is entirely critical to instill a sense of responsibility, and possibility, in our emerging leaders,” says Smith.
Vancouver Canucks give MBA social media project warm reception
Last week, when Cervenko was invited by a friend to a private “Cocktails with the Canucks” function in downtown Vancouver, she hastily grabbed her playoff towel on her way out the door not knowing what to expect of the event.
In the back of her mind, she had big plans for the white space on the towel. A Simon Fraser University MBA student, Cervenko needed some star power for a social media project.
The assignment: partner with a local non-profit and create a social media strategy with the objective of raising financial support or awareness for this organization. Cervenko and her group chose The Dugout — a drop-in centre on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside that hosts one of the longest-running Alcoholics Anonymous programs in Vancouver.
“The reason I thought about The Dugout was because in the 1970s and ’80s it would stay open late so that their clients could have a warm and safe place to watch the Canucks games,” says Cervenko. “But because of a lack of funding they don’t have the resources to stay open late anymore.”
Beedie hosts Candid Conversation with Walmart Canada about Sustainability
SFU’s Beedie School of Business hosted “A Candid Conversation with Walmart Canada about Sustainability” on Monday, November 21 at the Segal Graduate School of Business in downtown Vancouver. The event was co-sponsored by SFU Beedie’s CMA Centre for Strategic Change and Performance Measurement and SFU Beedie’s NetImpact Chapter.
A diverse and engaged audience — consisting of SFU MBAs and BBAs, [...]
Beedie undergrad is SFU’s Student Entrepreneur of the Year
The founder of a burgeoning online instant gift card company is Simon Fraser University’s newest Student Entrepreneur of the Year.
Matias Marquez, an undergraduate student in the Beedie School of Business, took the honour at the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) annual competition held on Nov. 19. His company, Buyatab.com, Canada’s leading digital gift card processor is a “software-as-a-service” digital [...]