.: Research examines pivotal role technology now plays in establishing work-life boundaries.
Karlene Cousins |
We all can identify with the challenge of balancing work and life boundaries, especially in today’s computer-powered and increasingly wireless world.
For Karlene Cousins, assistant professor in the Department of Decision Sciences and Information Systems in the College of Business Administration, interest in how people use technology every day evolved into academic research delving into the complexities of managing the ever-shifting boundaries between the professional and personal aspects of modern life.
“When I was living in Atlanta and riding the commuter trains there, I was fascinated by the people at work on nomadic computing devices such as cell phones, personal digital assistants, and laptops,” Cousins said. “I was curious to learn how this behavior pattern affected their personal lives and their work productivity.”
Cousins and a colleague explored this topic in depth in a research report titled “Human Agency in a Wireless World: Patterns of Technology Use in Nomadic Computing Environments” that was published recently in Information and Organization, a leading journal that publishes original scholarly articles that examine the relationships between information technologies and social organization.
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.: Alumnus Alfredo Lardizabal helps grow family business.
Alfredo Lardizabal
Have you enjoyed sweet plantain slices, fried plantains, stuffed plantains, or yucca fries lately? If so, the plantains or yucca probably originated from a company called Mercadagro International Corporation (MIC Food). College alumnus Alfredo Lardizabal (BBA ’94) is vice president of sales and marketing for his family’s business, MIC Food. Read more.
.: Real Estate Alumni Affinity Council enjoy networking event.
Real Estate Alumni Affinity Council board, from left: Denissse Recinos (BBA '05), vice president and chair of events; Andrew Demos (BBA '94), treasurer and secretary; Ana Fajardo Broker, vice president, Fortune House International Realty, and Robert Meneses (BBA '02), president-elect
Thanks to Fortune House International Realty, the Real Estate Alumni Affinity Council (REACC) enjoyed another successful Networking Happy Hour. Leading real estate professionals gathered on September 28, 2006, to socialize and to hear William G. Hardin III, associate professor in the college's Department of Finance, speak about South Florida’s commercial real estate industry. Read more.
.: South Florida CEO Speaker Series features alumnus Albert Santalo.
From left, William Plasencia, editor, SouthFlorida CEO magazine; Joyce J. Elam, executive dean, College of Business Administration; Albert Santalo (EMBA ’97), president and CEO, Avisena; Manny Mantalon (BAAC ’01), president, Business Alumni Chapter; Monique Catoggio (EMBA ’03), director, alumni and partner relations, College of Business Administration; and Michelle Joubert, marketing manager, alumni and partner relations
The Business Alumni Chapter, in conjunction with SouthFlorida CEO magazine, hosted another successful South Florida Speaker Series event on October 19, 2006, at the Biltmore Hotel. Albert Santalo (EMBA ’97), the featured CEO, shared his secrets for building his company and gave insights into lessons learned from his journey from starting up to growing up.
John Lage, who attended the event, said that Santalo’s lecture was “one of the most honest and thorough CEO lectures that he had ever heard.”
The Business Alumni Chapter looks forward to additional CEO lectures in January and March. Visit the college’s web site (http://business.fiu.edu) alumni events page to see more pictures of this event.
.: “A Night in Paradise” promises brilliant launch to holiday season.
The Business Alumni Chapter invites anyone interested in a great event to attend “A Night in Paradise” at Parrot Jungle Island on November 22, 2006, from 8:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. It promises to be the most amazing party of the year, with live music from one of the hottest local musicians, Winter Music Conference DJ’s, live performances by an international dance group, live mural paintings, premium cigar rolling, hors d’oeuvres, cocktails and more. Read more.
.: Chapman Alumni Holiday Party to take place December 7.
Executive Dean Joyce J. Elam and Chapman Dean José de la Torre extend an invitation to Chapman alumni for the annual Chapman Graduate School Alumni Holiday Party on December 7th from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the MARC Pavilion at University Park. Hor d’oeuvres and cocktails will be served. Visit the alumni events page on the college’s web site, http://business.fiu.edu/ for more details.
.: Alumni Notes
- F. Antonio Puente (BBA ’92) has joined Fairchild Partners as senior vice president for commercial sales and leasing.
- Rick Escudero (BA ’92), former Alumni Circle member, and his wife, Ale, are happy to announce the birth of their son Matthew Evan. Mattie was born Wednesday, October 4, 2006, at South Miami Hospital. He weighed 6 lbs. 13 ounces and measured 19 ½ inches. Ale and Mattie are both doing well.
- Isabel Blanco (MA ’93) has been named chief financial officer for the Miami Children’s Museum.
- Berkowitz, Dick, Pollack, & Brant CPA & Consultants has promoted Joshua P. Heberling (BA’ 99) to tax manager.
- Demian Bellumio (BA ’00), Alumni Circle chairman, was selected by BusinessWeek to share his day-to-day routine as the founder of entertainment company, Hoodiny. View his story at: businessweek.com
- Michelle "Misty" Jo-Arencivia (BBA ’00) has been named a board member to the National Society of Hispanic MBAs’ Phoenix Chapter. Jo-Arencivia will be fulfilling this role while concurrently completing her MBA at Thunderbird—The Garvin School
of International Management.
- Kristina Jordan (BBA ’01) has been promoted to vice president of the residential lending division for The International Bank of Miami.
- Sergio Diego, III (BBA ’01) has been promoted to assistant vice president of commercial real estate financing for The International Bank of Miami.
- Community Bank is proud to announce the appointment of Ed Redlich (BBA ’01) to its Executive Advisory Council.
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.: College's MBA programs garner increasing recognition in rankings.
For the first time, the College of Business Administration’s Executive MBA program appeared on the just-released (October 23, 2006) Financial Times rankings of the top 85 executive MBA programs around the world, coming in above that of any other business school in Florida. The college’s Executive MBA program (#78) was ranked above those at the University of Florida (#79) and the University of Miami (81), the only other Florida programs on the list. Readers can view the article at http://rankings.ft.com/rankings/emba/rankings.html.
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.: Summer interns keep good company at Burger King.
Barry Shiflett |
This summer, six students from the College of Business Administration interned in a variety of departments at Burger King’s corporate headquarters in Miami. They worked alongside students from other leading universities, such as Harvard, Duke, Wharton, and the Rochester Institute of Technology.
In fact, according to Barry Shiflett, director of Career Management Services for the college, nine of the 24 summer interns at Burger King this year came from Florida International University's graduate and undergraduate programs.
“This reflects very positively on the college and on the caliber of our students—it represents a good step going forward in our relationship with Burger King,” Shiflett said. Read more. Listen.
.: First IMBA China track students complete month-long international residency.
Shirley Lowe (IMBA ’06) at the Summer Palace, Beijing, China
“Who gets to go to China for a month, learn Chinese in China, meet Chinese people, and travel in the country?”
Shirley Lowe (IMBA ’06) posed this question and had a simple answer: “I did.”
She and Bruce Welch (BBA ’05), financial analyst, consumer products, MTV Networks Latin America, Viacomm, were the first students to travel to China as part of the China track option offered in the College of Business Administration’s International MBA (IMBA) program. Begun in 2005, the track offers students the opportunity to study Mandarin stateside and during an intensive one-month residency at a university in China. Read more. Listen.
.: Knight Ridder Center director leads briefing session for new U.S. ambassador to Bolivia.
Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg |
On the way to assuming his new U.S. embassy post in Bolivia, Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg stopped in South Florida for a briefing with locally based business people and other Latin American experts familiar with the current business climate in that country.
Held at the Omni-Colonnade Hotel in Coral Cables on September 27, 2006, the private luncheon and briefing session was organized by the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) and hosted by Ed Glab, director of the Knight Ridder Center for Excellence in Management. Senior executives from Miami-area companies in the banking, energy, and engineering industries, all of whom are doing business in Bolivia, also attended.
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.: Former president of Peru challenges audience to address poverty.
From left, Juan Pablo Trigo, managing director, Citigroup; Alejandro Toldeo; and Maria José Monti, director, Global Transaction Services, Citigroup
“I visited Peru the day that Alejandro Toledo assumed the presidency in 2001,” said Victoria Kenny (MA ’06), coordinator, USAID Farmer-to-Farmer Program for the College of Business Administration. “I remember seeing his picture on that day, dressed in indigenous clothing. It made an impression on me, as did the poverty I saw around me in the little town where I was supposed to be on vacation.”
Kenny was one of nearly 100 people to attend a Special Event Herbert A. Wertheim Lecture given by Toledo in the MARC Pavilion on October 16, 2006. Chapman School Dean José de la Torre, who knows Toledo and was able to bring him to the campus, made a detailed introduction to the assembled guests: corporate partners, students from the Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC), Executive MBA and Master of International Business (MIB) students, and many area Peruvians. Toledo, whose term as president ended this year, spoke at length on the topic, “Economic Stability and Democracy in Latin America,” and then fielded questions. Read more. Listen.
.: World Fuel Services leader proves to be a world-class speaker.
Paul Stebbins
What he said, and the way he said it, enabled Paul Stebbins, entrepreneur and now chairman and chief executive officer of World Fuel Services Corporation, to enthrall an audience of 100 people when he spoke on the topic “Ethics, Innovation, and Risk: Reflections on Building and Managing a Global Enterprise,” at the first Herbert A. Wertheim Lecture of the 2006-2007 season.
Stebbins’ professional credentials would be enough to captivate any group. Prior to joining World Fuel in 1995, he founded Trans-Tec Services, Inc., in 1985, serving as officer, shareholder, and director until World Fuel acquired his company. Headquartered in Miami, World Fuel boasts $8.7 billion in revenues, $40 million in net profits, and employs approximately 600 people in 43 offices in 23 countries. But his ability to communicate and his modesty in light of his achievements gave an additional dimension to the lecture. Read more. Listen.
.: Wall of Stars reflects bright future for new business school complex. 
Visit the College of Business Administration construction site and you’ll see floors in place, walls and ceilings coming up, and a new auditorium on its way to completion. These positive signs are concrete proof that the first part of the college’s new home is rapidly taking shape—and right on target for the planned October, 2007, completion.
The “Wall of Stars,” representing building campaign donations from the college’s own internal community, is growing at an equally impressive rate—with contributions to date from students, alumni, faculty, and staff now reaching $88,400. Read more. Listen.
.: New members join Dean's Council.
Members of the Dean’s Council—a group of business leaders who represent a cross section of industries—provide College of Business Administration Executive Dean Joyce J. Elam insights into the college’s strategic direction, new initiatives, and existing programs, among their many contributions. Recently, a number of individuals joined this group of valued advisors. Read more.
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