Stephen M. Ross School of Business :: University of Michigan

analysis

A Wake-Up Call for Manufacturing
MAY 7, 2012

Optimists hope a recent uptick in U.S. manufacturing means better days are ahead for the sector. There is momentum, but it'll take the right policy decisions by elected officials and business leaders in the coming years to keep U.S. manufacturing thriving, say Michigan Ross professors Wally Hopp and Roman Kapuscinski. They're co-authors of the Booz & Co. study Manufacturing's Wake-Up Call, which estimates 40 percent of the U.S. manufacturing sector still hangs on the edge. The wrong decisions could lead to permanent manufacturing job loss, while a series of smart steps could make the country a manufacturing powerhouse again.
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case study

Cost Center to Profit Center
MAY 10, 2012

Most companies view a customer call center as a cost, something to be handled as quickly and cheaply as possible. But American Express took a different view and turned its call center into an engagement center. A case study by professor M.S. Krishnan details how the credit card company changed its hiring, training, IT systems, and employee relations to turn a cost center into a profit center. In this Q&A, Krishnan explains how Executive Vice President Jim Bush handled all the moving pieces to make it happen. As a result, customer satisfaction and card member spending went up and handling time went down.
Read Q&A // Customer Service at American Express: A Relationship, Not a Transaction (Click "Inspection Copy" for Free Case) // More Case Studies

research focus

Why we Struggle with Food Choices
APRIL 9, 2012

What should I eat and how much? Despite more nutrition information than ever, consumers still ask those questions, while rising obesity rates underscore their importance. Two Michigan Ross marketing professors are at the forefront of this rich area of research. Works from Aradhna Krishna and Brent McFerran were featured in a recent special report on food choices in the Journal of Consumer Research. Krishna's research on "guiltless gluttony" examines how misleading labels can lead to overeating. McFerran's work looks at how people select food portions based on how much the people around them select, and whether those people are heavy or thin.
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executive focus

Negotiating for Positive Results :: Video
MARCH 7, 2012

Negotiation. The word evokes images of adversaries at a table scheming to outwit one another. Delete those images, say management and organizations professors Shirli Kopelman and Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks. Their research illuminates several techniques that can lead to victory and sustainable relationships. Kopelman and Sanchez-Burks share those methods in the Michigan Ross Executive Education program Negotiating for Positive Results. In the following Q&A and video, these experts reveal an array of human biases and shatter popular myths along the way. Oh, and that negotiating table? Don't expect to find one.
Read Q&A // View Video // More Executive Education

your turn

If you have a question or topic you'd like to see addressed in the next issue of Ross Thought in Action, email us at rossthought@umich.edu.