Issue 1

Dear MSR Reader,A bridge brings together two pieces, which normally would not connect. Without the connecting link, those two sections would be separate. For example, a bridge between two landmasses gives travelers access to new locations, new vistas, and possibly even new opportunities. Bridging the gap can also be perilous if the bridge is not safe and secure. The connection needs to be maintained and inspected regularly for cracks, fissures, or signs of wear that should be fixed immediately. Read Full Story

In the rush of the human stampede that occurs between class periods, a fellow business school student brushes past me in a suit jacket carrying a briefcase. I glance down at my current socks-and-sandals medley and wonder what one would possibly carry inside a briefcase in the twenty-first century. One thing has been clear during my tenure as a business student: there’s me and then there’s them. Read Full Story

1. BlockchainA way of storing data that provides users with a decentralized, anonymous, reliable transaction ledger. This enables users to have a public record of the ownership of resources such as Bitcoin such that others cannot falsify or hide previous transactions. Other applications may include collaborative legal documents that stay up to date and identity verification methods. Read Full Story

“Econ 388? I loved 388.” Jesse immediately turned the conversation away from himself. He expressed genuine interest in my semester course load, and even recommended classes. The first five minutes of my conversation with Jesse Barnes, Managing Partner and Portfolio Manager at HighVista Strategies, were all about me. Read Full Story

Starting a business. Read Full Story

IntroductionFor much of 2016 and 2017, the finance and technology communities were abuzz with the potential of blockchain. Now as the public catches up and blockchain gains the attention of the mainstream media, leaders must quickly grasp the fundamentals of this technology to understand its implications for their businesses. Read Full Story

Building blocks called “data structures” compose every kind of database. Data structures establish the rules for creating, storing, modifying, and managing digital information in the systems that utilize them. Thus, implementing a database with one variety of structure will yield different functionalities than a database constructed with another. In the same way that computers have operating systems like Windows, macOS, and Linux to perform similar tasks but with distinct features, databases have data structures, including arrays, vectors, stacks, queues, deques, maps, and trees. Each provides unique approaches to storing and accessing data. Descriptions of how the resulting databases behave can more generally be referred to as “database models” or simply “data models.” Read Full Story

Opening a restaurant may be the product of a lifetime of education and work. A chef may devote himself to his practice and be able to produce outstanding food. The result of this dedication may be remarkable, but all of these factors may be in vain if the restaurant is not built on good business practices. Through comparing different studies researchers have found that the failure rate of restaurants in the first four years was consistently 67%1 (see Figure 1). In order to ensure the success of their business, restaurant owners must take into account three key business attributes: 1) profitability, 2) liquidity, and 3) solvency.2 Read Full Story

In her recent article with The Society for Human Resource Management, editor Kathy Gurchiek urged employers to prepare for religious and LGBTQ issues in the workplace. Social developments in recent decades have ushered in an era of wide discrepancy in the needs and values of employees. This exerts greater pressure on employers to not only be aware of these differences, but adapt to them and their implications on efficiently engaging in business operations. Challenges associated with accommodating increasingly varied religious preferences of employees, as well as growing social acceptance and protections for LGBTQ individuals create a complex playing field — with the need for an updated playbook in order to successfully navigate all of the potential consequences. No longer is this a question of “if” these sensitive topics will reach your desk but a question of “when,” and the wise HR leader will prepare his or her answers early. Although issues of religion and sexual orientation in the workplace are often viewed as negative challenges, they can be transformed into areas of opportunity for managers (who know the laws) to develop a culture of inclusion which eventually translates into long-term wins of employee and consumer loyalty. Read Full Story

In the fast-paced, demanding, and money-centric business world, nonprofit organizations may seem like the youngest child: always there, but sometimes forgotten. The dichotomy between the for-profit and nonprofit siblings are extreme. Nonprofits are expected to solve huge societal problems and help alleviate suffering through service, yet they are oftentimes handicapped in the resources they are allotted, and discriminated against when they invest in self-sustaining expenses. Read Full Story

“But it’ll look great on your resume,” is one of the most common phrases heard on a college campus and is one that justifies engaging in just about any extracurricular activity. College students across the nation are motivated to participate in clubs, hold internships, and be involved in whatever activity they can find on campus in order to place another bullet point on their resume. Simply put, a resume is a document that an individual will spend hours revising and editing so that a recruiter can spend an average of six seconds scanning it to look for past experiences that determine whether or not the applicant is qualified for the job. However, some applicants’ resumes won’t ever be seen. Instead, their resumes will go through an ATS (applicant tracking system) and be filtered out by preset criteria and required keywords. Read Full Story

Minimum wage policies in the United States have existed on a national level since 1938. Since its introduction at the federal level, minimum wage has sparked discussion almost every year. Different opinions and viewpoints on the issue (from abolition of the wage to increasing it) have impacted businesses which has led to changes in policy on a corporate and political level. As shown in Figure 1, the minimum wage has varied immensely since its inception. Read Full Story

In 1978 Edward Said coined the term “Orientalism” to describe the Western world’s habit of misrepresenting and patronizing cultures in the Eastern world. For centuries, Western empires have construed the East as a mystifying world of adventure, seduction, and abundant treasure; explorers and colonizers would come back with tall tales of palace courts and jungle tribes. The East was sexy. It was also–and often still is–perceived as inferior to the West. Read Full Story

If you are looking for a heartwarming tale or an inspiring memoir, you have picked up the wrong book. Getting to Yes is full of tips, tricks, and techniques that will help you “get to yes” in all your negotiations. When people think of negotiating, they think of haggling with store owners in Thailand or Mexico to get a great price on fake Oakley sunglasses. Getting to Yes takes superficial haggling to a new level, focused on creating value for both parties in the negotiation. Read Full Story