In the News: Faculty Talk Workplace, Tariffs, and Education

Associate Professor of Management Wendy Murphy and students
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From local television stations to national newspapers, Babson professors and leaders shared their expertise in workplace structure and tariffs on goods. 

Three Workplace Lessons from the USWNT

Associate Professor of Management Wendy Murphy shared three relationship lessons organizations can learn from the U.S. women’s national team in a story on HighQConnections.com. Murphy wrote of the benefits of lifting others up, and exemplified how the team took time to meet with youth fans and sign autographs. She also explained how the team’s inclusive support and exuberant celebrations led to its success.

Making Entrepreneurship Education More Accessible and Appealing to Women

In an interview on Entrepreneur and Innovation Exchange, Vice Provost Candida Brush discussed how higher education institutions can make entrepreneurship education more accessible and appealing to women. To attract more women, Brush said, institutions must approach entrepreneurship from a broader perspective and stress that it is not entirely about starting a business. She also advised institutions to leverage entrepreneurial course offerings in atypical fields of study, and to teach entrepreneurship values through clubs and organizations outside of the classroom.

The Value of ‘Quiet’ Employees

Associate Professor of Global Leadership Rob Cross weighed in in a Wall Street Journal article on the quiet yet important employees of an organization. Reporter Chip Cutter writes that some companies are rewarding employees for helping others on a project or through complex issues. Cutter also says companies are using new data to determine how women navigate their work differently than men do, and Cross said women are more likely to take on collaborative demands, which can negatively impact productivity.

Weighing in on Tariffs

Economics Professor Kent Jones shared insight in a Boston 25 news investigation into the possible use of stickers to avoid paying tariffs on the regional and national sale of Chinese-made surge protectors. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has since launched an investigation into the surge protectors, which could present safety risks. Jones said tariff dodging is common, and a 25 percent tariff, which the type of surge protectors became subject to earlier this year, would eliminate almost all of the profit most companies would receive.

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