Drought in February Replaced by March and April Rain of Activity
By Dean Marcia Sakai

Do you remember how the torrential rains of early February were followed by almost a month of drought?  Well, February was also a quiet month at CoBE, followed by lots of activity.

Our March presentation by Dr. Seiji Naya on Income Distribution and Poverty Alleviation among the Native Hawaiian Community was was well received by a large and diverse cross section of university and community people.  Dr. Naya is forming a study team that seeks to investigate the determinants of the continuing relative income disparities that exist between Native Hawaiian households and others.  Dr. Michael Crosby, on sabbatical at UH Hilo from the National Science Board at Chancellor Tseng’s invitation, believes there would be interest in supporting this research with grant funding.

An information session for students interested in pursuing a master’s degree in Human Resource Management or a Neighbor Island MBA at was held in March with a strong showing of interest.  The degree programs, scheduled to begin Fall 2008, are the result of collaboration between CoBE and the Office of Executive Progams at UH Manoa’s Shidler College of Business.  Deadline for completed applications is May 1, 2008.  Financial aid is available.

Dr. K. R. Balachandran, Professor of Accounting and Operations Management and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Accounting, Auditing, and Finance at the Stern School of Business, New York University spoke to faculty on "How to get Published; What are Editors Looking For?" during Spring Break.  His presentation turned out to be much more than this.  He encouraged research that would truly add value to our knowledge base and thus to the community at large.  His editorial perspective of valuing diverse approaches to the study of issues fits well with our own.

Following on a very successful leadership workshop in January, CoBE sponsors its second workshop, “Managing the Customer Experience,” on April 30, 7:30-noon, led by CoBE Prof. Tom DeWitt.  Major firms understand that their product is the ‘experience’ that transcends functional benefits and owe their success to a strategic approach in managing each encounter they have with their customers.  The program is designed to provide participants with a hands-on introduction to the principles of customer experience, design, implementation and maintenance. Registration is $95, with discounts available for group registrations, by April 25.  Call the College at 974-7400 for further information.

The premier AACSB-International Conference is scheduled for mid April in Honolulu.  Dean Sakai will be accompanied by department chairs, Hank Hennessey and David Hammes, as well as faculty Emmeline dePillis and Kim Furumo.  We plan to learn more about business accreditation best practices while we are there.  Chancellor Rose Tseng is scheduled to make a presentation on workforce development as part of the conference.

Students are very busy.  Five student teams from Emmeline dePillis’ classes recently participated in the Stanford Innovation Tournament, which drew teams from 300 universities world wide.  Students were challenged to use an everyday object-in this case, rubber bands-to create as much value as possible and to submit a short video online to present results.  These videos are accessible on YouTube.

Drew Martin's students are helping the `Imiloa Astronomy Center and learning how to plan and implement a viral marketing campaign at the same time.   Students are using digital recording devices to create short ads for posting on YouTube for global distribution.

Tom DeWitt's students are collaborating with students from the Kofi Annan School of Business at the Utrecht Business School in the Netherlands, to develop a market entry strategy for Kona coffee into the Netherlands.  The students communicate through email and a web based forum created just for the class.

Several new Business Board members are welcomed:  Kurt Alicuben, CU Hawaii; Gabriella Cabanas, County of Hawaii; Mitchell Dodo, Dodo Mortuary; Charlene Masuhara, Dept of Education; Dylan Nonaka, Governor’s Office; Kyle Kawano, Suisan.  Other Board members include:  Carol Van Camp, CBRE, chair; George Applegate, Big Island Visitors Bureau; David deLuz, Big Island Toyota; Derek Kurisu, KTA Superstores; Rhea Lee, HELCO; Mark McGuffie, HIEDB; Jon Miyata, HPM; Ross Murakami, KHM LLP. We recognize the departure of Harris Hirata, with regret.

Other CoBE events:  Annual Retreat, April 12, 8:30-2:30 at UH Hilo; Annual Awards Ceremony April 25, 4:00 pm in Campus Center 301.