Message from Dean HassabElnaby

Happy New Year to you and yours!  I always find the beginning of each new semester to be exciting and full of promises. This spring semester is no exception, as all of us in the College of Business and Innovation bring our positive, energetic attitude to this new adventure.    I trust you have some meaningful items on your own agenda for 2018, and that you are already taking the steps you need to re-energize yourself for a remarkable year.

COBI is heading in an extremely exciting direction, and everyone here is totally focused on student success. I am continually inspired by our students who are not only committed to building amazing futures, but also proactively serving our community and others, such as through their leadership efforts in the Feed My Starving Children Mobile Pack, which you can read about in this issue.

Furthermore, I appreciate and applaud the immense support we receive from the business community. We welcome your continued visits to our classrooms, your participation in our job fairs (the next one is February 9), your sponsorship of our events and everything else you do to guide, inspire and help our students.   We can never thank you enough.

Speaking of thanks, our appreciation is endless for our devoted alumni, thousands of people across Northwest Ohio, the United States and, yes, around the world. Your professional lives vividly tell the story of what a COBI business degree can help produce. Your interest in our activities (mark your calendar now for the Celebrity Wait Night on May 21, 2018 at Ciao) and support of our students is remarkable. Know that you are always welcomed here!

Make it a great semester and a fantastic year! May you personally encounter success and happiness in 2018!

Inspire. Transform. Empower. Achieve

Go Rockets!

Hassan R. HassabElnaby, PhD
Interim Dean

New book addresses Needy People: Working Successfully with Control Freaks and Approval-holics

In his latest book, Needy People: Working Successfully with Control Freaks and Approval-holics, University of Toledo Professor of Management, Dr. Dale Dwyer, immediately identifies a work situation everyone encounters:

“We all know them… the Control Freaks and Approval-holics of our organizations and our lives.  These are the people who drive us crazy at work.”  Dwyer suggests that their annoying behaviors have their roots in high needs for control, approval, or both.

Dr. Dale Dwyer

“We’ll call the person who most drives you crazy at work ‘Chuck.’  Everybody has a Chuck, and everybody’s Chuck is different,” Dr. Dwyer acknowledges.

Dwyer notes that we all have a need for control and a need for approval, but it is the extreme cases that cause frustration for leaders, direct reports, and co-workers who have to deal with them every day.

Through his consultations with leaders, both new and experienced, Dwyer identified six key challenges for people high in needs for control and approval:
1. Lack of Emotional Control (i.e., Impatience, Anger Management, Bullying)
2. Inability or Unwillingness to Delegate  
3. Lack of Communication Skills (i.e., Interpersonal and Fear of Public Speaking)
4. Inability or Unwillingness to Deal with Conflict
5. Tendency Toward Perfectionism
6. Difficulty in Making Decisions  

Throughout the book, Dr. Dwyer takes readers through an extensive self-analysis process so they can improve on their own ability to better deal with the Chucks in their lives.

Needy People offers self-assessment techniques, explores how control and approval needs influence key challenges, discusses the “myth of perfection,” and looks at the ramifications of these challenges on trustworthiness within work relationships, suggesting some ways to address them—including what to do about them if they arise with your “Chuck.”

Dr. Dwyer hopes that “readers of the book will learn how to spot the triggers for control and approval so that we can all improve our ability to work with and lead the Control Freaks and Approval-holics of our organizations and our communities.”

Needy People: Working Successfully with Control Freaks and Approval-holics is available in print and Kindle versions on Amazon.com, and through Amazon in 12 countries, as well as through Audible and iTunes.

Dr. Dale J. Dwyer joined The University of Toledo faculty in 1989 and is Professor of Management and former Chair of the Department of Management.  Dr. Dwyer received the “University Outstanding Teaching Award,” a distinction conferred only once upon a faculty member, as well as the first UT “Student Impact Award” in 2011.  He is the author of the top-selling SHRM-published book, “Got a Minute? The 9 Lessons Every HR Professional Must Learn” (2010), as well as “Got A Solution? HR Approaches to 5 Common and Persistent Business Problems” (2014), both with co-author Dr. Sheri A. Caldwell.

Volunteers, donations needed for UT’s Feed My Starving Children 2018 Mobile Pack January 26 & 27

On January 26 and 27, more than 800 volunteers will gather in the UT Health Education Building to again assemble thousands of meals through the Feed My Starving Children program. You can help by joining the Mobile Pack, donating money for food and by spreading the word.

UT’s participation in this Mobile Pack event is sponsored by the College of Business and Innovation (COBI) Klar Leadership Academy, which was founded in 2015 with the support of Steven Klar, a 1971 COBI alumnus and a New York City builder and real estate developer. Mr. Klar will be attending this event to work a production shift with his wife Kathy and son Ashton, who are coming in from New York. 

Additionally, longtime UT benefactor and COBI alumnus Ed Kinsey is a primary sponsor of this year’s event through the Kinsey Family Foundation and will also be in attendance working a shift with his family.  

"Members of the College of Business and Innovation's Klar Leadership Academy have set a goal to build 160,000 meals for Caribbean hurricane relief and are taking the lead to recruit 850 volunteers and raise nearly $40,000  for this year's event,” said Dr. Clint Longenecker, Distinguished University Professor and director of the Center for Leadership and Organizational Excellence in the College of Business and Innovation.

“At the University of Toledo we are all about developing student leaders who can fulfill the University's mission of ‘improving the human condition,’”  Dr. Longenecker continued. “This event is a perfect example of our students developing leadership, servant-leadership, planning, and team building skills while serving a greater purpose - to help create solutions to the problem of world hunger."

"We are all very excited about this big campus-wide event and are working very hard to make it a big success,” noted COBI student Nick Johnston. “It's something bigger than ourselves. It's a win-win:  we are learning invaluable leadership skills while at the same time helping address global issues like world hunger." 

“I had the amazing experience of volunteering last year to make these nutritious packs for children in Haiti,” said COBI student and Klar Leadership Academy member Natalie Zerucha.  “I participated in the last shift possible last year and we created a total of 34,776 meals which feeds 95 kids for an entire year! My heart was so full to pray over the last shipment before it got on the truck. I learned a lot about myself that day and I challenge you to do the same. Here is your chance to give back to kids who need nutrition in their lives.”

While members of the Klar Leadership Academy are taking the lead in organizing the event, hundreds of volunteers and at least $36,000 are needed to help obtain the goal of assembling 160,000 meals over the two day mobile pack.

There will be three shifts on Friday, January 26 following the noon setup: noon to 2 p.m. 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.  There will also be three shifts on Saturday, January 27: 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.; noon to 2 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

To donate or register to help at the event, go to https://give.fmsc.org/Toledo.

COBI sponsors eighth annual business innovation competition for UT community

University of Toledo students, faculty and staff who have a great business idea may win up to $10,000 to help make their idea a reality in the eighth annual business innovation competition sponsored by the UT College of Business and Innovation (COBI). Entries are due February 26, 2018.

“The first seven years of the business competition were a remarkable success as COBI received dozens of entries from across UT campuses,” said Dr. Sonny Ariss, Chair of the COBI management department.  “We are expecting another tremendous array of entries this year and trust the contest will continue to advance a creative culture of growth in all areas of the University.” 

COBI Interim Dean Hassan HassabElnaby said, “This annual business plan competition truly reflects our emphasis on supporting innovation, fostering creative thinking and nurturing the entrepreneurial environment so essential for the economic growth of this region.”

Dr. Ariss explained, “Entrepreneurship is not only for people who want to start a business. Corporate America also looks for innovative thinking from their employees, so intrapreneurship within the corporate business structure remains important. This is demonstrated by the fact that the college continues to have corporate partners - - Owens-Illinois, PNC Bank and Chuck & Ann Hodge - - who contribute prize money for the winners of this competition.”

Dr. Ariss said competition entries must be submitted using Lean Launch Pad concepts which enables people to develop their business model upon nine basic building blocks: customer segments, value propositions, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partnerships and cost structure.

“As we have every year, COBI is again ready to offer guidance to help these teams effectively implement their plans, emerge beyond the University, create jobs and enhance area economic growth,” Dr. Ariss added.

There is no cost to enter the competition. Registration must be completed online. Winners must prove that they have formed an LLC or S Corp in order to receive a financial award.

The College of Business and Innovation at The University of Toledo is providing the following prize money:

• First place: $10,000 (sponsored by O-I)

• Second place: $5,000 (sponsored by Chuck and Ann Hodge Business Plan Competition Fund)

• Third place: $2,000 (sponsored by PNC Bank)

The timeline for the 2018 competition is:

•         Those planning to enter the competition are invited to attend a question and answer session on Monday, February 5, 2018 from noon to 1 p.m. in the PNC Entrepreneurship Lab, Room 3100, Savage & Associates Business Complex

•         Entries must be submitted by Monday, February 26, 2018

•         Finalists will be announced on Friday, March 23, 2018

•         Finalists will make an oral presentation about their business using the business model canvas on April 12, 2018 between noon and 5:30 p.m. in the PNC Entrepreneurship Lab, Room 3100, Savage & Associates Business Complex

•         Winners will be announced April 19, 2018

The competition is open to all UT students, faculty and staff, while alumni can participate as a member of a team involving current students, faculty or staff.  To register or for more information, go to utoledo.edu/business.

Owens-Illinois thanked for sponsoring COBI O-I Corporate Finance Scholars Tutoring program & new Engineering Conference Room

The University of Toledo dedicated on January 10 the new Owens-Illinois Conference Room in the College of Engineering to celebrate the new meeting space made possible by a gift from the glass manufacturing company to support the University’s engineering and business programs.

Left to right, Dr. Marc Simpson, Chair of the COBI Department of Finance; COBI Interim Dean Hassan HassabElnaby; Ludovic Valette, global vice president of research and development at Owens-Illinois Inc.;Adam Hafer, manager of the Innovation Center, Global Technologies EH&S, and Perrysburg Properties at Owens-Illinois; and Andrew T. Hsu, Ph.D., Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, The University of Toledo.  

The new Owens-Illinois Finance Tutoring Lab opened last year in Stranahan Hall.

“O-I has been a tremendous friend to the College of Business and Innovation in many ways, such as through their support of our annual student Pacemaker awards and by providing the first place prize for the COBI Business Plan Competition,” said Dr. Hassan HassabElnaby, interim dean of the College of Business and Innovation. “We were pleased and honored to welcome the O-I executive team so that they could see and touch some of these things and so that we could thank them in person.”

The conference room is located in 4020 Nitschke Hall and is part of the Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Department. The new conference room is supported by a $250,000 commitment O-I made in 2015 to support the College of Engineering and the College of Business and Innovation.

In addition to the facilities improvements, the gift from O-I provides financial support for key initiatives including the Engineering Innovation Fund, O-I National Society of Black Engineers Scholarship Fund and O-I Society for Women Engineers Scholarship Fund in the College of Engineering and the O-I Corporate Finance Scholars Tutoring program in the College of Business and Innovation.

“The support of our corporate partners makes it possible for the College of Engineering to provide a first-rate experience to our students,” said Dr. Mike Toole, dean of the College of Engineering. “O-I has been a long-term partner with the College of Engineering, and their leadership support has impacted many of our students throughout the years.”

Dr. Abdel-Rahim’s article published in top three accounting journal

Dr. Heba Abdel-Rahim’s paper titled “Information system precision and honesty in managerial reporting: A re-examination of information asymmetry effects,” co-authored with Douglas E. Stevens, has been accepted for publication at the Accounting, Organizations & Society.

Accounting, Organizations & Society is a major international journal concerned with all aspects of the relationship between accounting and human behaviour,organizational structures and processes, and the changing social and political environment of the enterprise. The Accounting, Organizations and Society is ranked # 3 in the Financial Times list (A+ journal for COBI):
https://www.ft.com/content/3405a512-5cbb-11e1-8f1f-00144feabdc0

Dr. Abdel-Rahim joined the COBI Accounting Department in Fall 2016. She earned her Ph.D. degree in Accounting from Georgia State University.

“Words really fail to express my joy at this wonderful achievement.  Her patience, great work ethics, and determination has paid off,” said COBI Interim Dean Hassan HassabElnaby.  “Once again, I congratulate Heba and the Accounting Department on this remarkable achievement. Please go out of your way and congratulate Heba on this extraordinary accomplishment. This great news and other incredible publications that took place in the last few years at COBI are testimonies of what our faculty are capable of achieving.”

If you are interested in reading the paper, it is now available online on the following link:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361368217301307?_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_origin=gateway&_docanchor=&md5=b8429449ccfc9c30159a5f9aeaa92ffb