Welcome Home to Ann Arbor and the Ross School of Business

The Women’s Initiative and the Michigan Business Women would like to welcome you back for fall 2008. You will find a host of programs and events that are sure to expand your intangible skills, keep you intrigued and multiply your network of incredible people.

Additionally, when you come to this web site to learn about and register for the programs/events - please take note of the SmartBrief. SmartBrief is updated bi-monthly with the latest information published for and about women in business in newspapers and magazines across the nation. It allows you to update at a glance what else is going on in business.  If you find the synopsis of the article interesting, click through to read the full article.   We are always looking for new ways to assist you and save you time.

Enjoy the fall and get involved with the Michigan Business Women and Women’s Initiative.

-Mary

Women's Initiative Smart Brief News
                    

Women in the News

10 fun facts about Fortune's Most Powerful Women list
As an addendum to Fortune magazine's Most Powerful Women package, here is a list of 10 interesting facts that didn't quite fit anywhere else in the coverage. Included in the piece: Marissa Mayer, 33, vice president of Search and User Experience at Google, is the youngest woman ever to appear on the list. And the biggest leap at the top was by Ellen Kullman, president and CEO designate at DuPont, who jumped from No. 25 to No. 15.

CNNmoney.com/Fortune (9/30) Full Article

Seeing beyond the woman: An interview with a pioneering academic and board member
Sandra Dawson addresses the changing role of women in business over the last 40 years.

The McKinsey Quarterly (9/1) Full Article

Management and Leadership

Female exec excels where men typically dominate
In an interview, Mireille Gingras, president and CEO of HUYA Bioscience International describes how she excelled in a field dominated by men. Gingras says part of the secret of her success is a lifelong commitment to building her career and focusing on the things that she is passionate about.
 
WomenEntrepreneur.com (9/24) Full Article

Marketplace

Women take long view of stock market turbulence
Women seem to be willing to watch how the financial crisis plays out in the long run rather than jumping in to move their investment money around. "They are longer-term, buy-and-hold investors, which should work in their favor given today's realities," says Lauren Coulston of Oppenheimer Funds in Denver.

The Christian Science Monitor (9/22) Full Article

Women losing jobs at faster clip
The rise in the unemployment rate for women from July to August may indicate women are being affected more severely by the economy than they have been for seven years. Black women and single mothers are among those hardest hit.

The Hartford Courant (Conn.) (9/22) Full Article

Best Practices

Compensation, incentives, quotas motivate sales staff
Compensation, incentives and reasonable quotas are critical to getting sales agents to bring in more revenue. Experts talk about how they address these issues to motivate their staffs.
 
CEPro.com (9/30) Full Article

Women need to speak up at work like they do at home
While one research study shows women make twice as many decisions at home as men do in four areas -- planning weekend activities, household finances, major home purchases and TV watching -- other research indicates in the workplace, women take second place to men, who are preferred in many professions and generally make more money for the same work. Perhaps women should speak up at work as frequently as they do at home, says this editorial in the Independent Mail in Anderson, S.C.

Independent Mail (Anderson, S.C.) (9/29) Full Article

B-School Basics

5 warning signs of an at-risk business
As the economy has weakened, experts say many entrepreneurs have had difficulty knowing when to walk away from their dreams without losing everything they have. Hagop Bedoyan, a business law expert in Fresno, Calif., points to five warning signs that a business is at risk: sleep disorder, threat of lawsuit over failing to meet obligations, liens, chronic cash flow problems and inability to meet payroll.

MSNBC (9/26) Full Article

Entrepreneurship

Skilled working mothers get balance in self-employment
Women, who own 40% of all U.S. businesses, have put their skills to work by starting their own companies that allow them to balance work and family life. "This is a way for them to utilize their passion, their motivation, experience, and their commitment to their families," said Hedy Ratner, co-president of the Women's Business Development Center in Chicago.

WLS-TV ABC7 (Chicago) (9/28) Full Article
 
Entrepreneurs increasingly network through Facebook
Facebook's core users tend to be high-school and college students, but the social-networking site's ability to connect people is attracting a new group of business owners. Entrepreneurs can use Facebook to get ideas, find solutions to problems and market their products and services.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (9/30) Full Article