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SOMAA to hold forum
The School of Management Alumni Association will sponsor a forum, “Global Opportunities for Western New York Businesses,” on April 3 in the Center for Tomorrow on the North Campus.
The forum will begin with a breakfast buffet at 7:30 a.m., followed by a panel discussion from 8-9 a.m.
The forum will be moderated by Gerry Murak of Murak & Associates, LLC.
Panelists will be Mark Romoff, Canadian consul general in Buffalo; Holly Sinnott, executive director of the World Trade Center Buffalo Niagara; John M. Thomas, associate dean for international programs in the School of Management, and Patrick Whalen, division manager for Fulfillment System International, a division of UPS Full Service Brokerage Inc.
The cost for the event is $25. Pre-registration is required. For more information about the forum and to register, contact the School of Management Alumni Association at 645-3224.
Study uncovers peculiar online-bidding behavior
Consumers bidding for items on eBay or other online auction sites exhibit a peculiar shopping behavior that actually hinders their ability to get a good deal on a desired item, according to a study of digital consumer behavior by a School of Management researcher.
Paul Dholakia, assistant professor of marketing, analyzed bids placed for thousands of items in different product categories on eBay over a three-week period. He found that consumers tended to gravitate toward items that have one or more existing bids, while ignoring comparable or even superior “unbid-for” items from the same product categories.
Dholakia attributes the phenomenon to a “herd-behavior bias,” which simply means that bidders often succumb to a form of online peer pressure when choosing items to bid on. The behavior occurs, Dholakia explains, because online bidders are unable to thoroughly evaluate an item as they would at an off-line auction or retail environment; nor are they able to assess the trustworthiness of a seller face-to-face.
So, lacking key informational cues about an item, online bidders are more prone to be influenced by the behavior of other bidders: They perceive existing bids to be evidence of an item’s quality, making it worthy of their own bid, Dholakia contends.
In doing so, bidders often overlook items that are essentially identical to, or more attractive than, the item they bid on—even though the unbid-for item could be purchased at a lower auction price.
“The study illustrates the important role trust plays in the digital marketplace,” Dholakia says. “When sellers are individuals without recognizable affiliation, a product’s name brand, features and price are less important, and the seller’s trustworthiness is a more important consideration.”
Dholakia believes that cluttered design of online auction sites also contributes to the herd behavior. “Most online auctions overwhelm bidders with hundreds of choices in a relatively unorganized setting,” he says, “so consumers use existing bids as a criterion for screening items and navigating an auction site.”
The results of the study, to be published in a forthcoming issue of Marketing Letters, point out the difficulty of building brand equity in the digital marketplace, especially for start-up Internet companies engaged primarily in e-commerce selling, says Dholakia.
PSS to present “The Cyber UB”
“The Cyber UB,” a two-part breakfast series detailing the “who, what, where and why of distance learning” at the university, will be held from 8:30-11:30 a.m. March 29 and May 2 in the Holiday Inn Amherst, 1881 Niagara Falls Blvd.
The series will be presented by the Professional Staff Senate.
Leading the workshops will be Thomas Slomka, instructional designer for Millard Fillmore College, the unit that oversees distance-learning efforts at UB.
At the March 29 meeting, Slomka will talk about the MFC approach to distance learning; discuss the facts and fiction about distance learning; comment on the future of distance-learning technology, and demonstrate courses offered on UBlearns, the online course-management service that allows instructors and students to access course materials, work on projects, do research, take exams and participate in group discussions.
The second meeting on May 2 will feature a panel of staff specialists who will present examples of distance-learning programs, online resources for staff and professional training available on campus or through self-paced learning.
Seating for the breakfast series is limited. Those interested in participating must register by Tuesday with the PSS Office, 543 Capen Hall. The cost of the series is $13 for each session or $25 for both sessions and includes a full breakfast buffet. Checks should be made payable to UBF-Professional Staff Senate.
SOM to offer MIS degree
The School of Management will offer a master’s degree program in management information systems (MIS), beginning in the fall. The 30-credit-hour program is open to qualified students who have completed an undergraduate degree in business or a related field.
The MIS program is being added in response to the growing need for qualified managers in the information-technology field, says Ram Ramesh, professor of management science and systems in the School of Management. The program will provide students with a solid grounding in both hardware- and software-development concepts, including how those concepts can be applied to e-business.
“The systems analyst of the future needs to be able to identify how technology can be used to solve problems and achieve business goals,” Ramesh says. “This new graduate program will give students the broad perspective they need to advance in their managerial careers.”
Students pursuing the MIS degree also may participate in the school’s highly regarded internship program, which will offer opportunities in a variety of corporate settings.
The application deadline is July 1.
Anderson Gallery mounts exhibits
A photographic record of the ever-changing New York City landscape will be on display tomorrow through May 5 in the Main Gallery of UB’s Anderson Gallery, Martha Jackson Place, Buffalo.
The photographs by Manhattan freelance photographer and UB alumnus Douglas Levere, “Changing New York, 2001,” recreate shots of New York taken more than 60 years ago by photographer Berenice Abbott.
Levere presents 30x40-inch black-and-white photographs side by side with images made by Abbott in 1939. He has spent much of the past four years researching, planning and scouting Abbott photographs. With meticulous attention to detail, he has duplicated the composition and techniques, and even used Abbott’s own large-format camera. Each shot was taken at the same time of year and the same time of day as Abbott’s—even to the point of waiting for the hands on an outdoor clock to move to the same minute before releasing the shutter.
The Anderson Gallery also is displaying in its atrium work by Austrian artist Peter Baldinger. The exhibit, “Peter Baldinger: Facing Away,” will be on display through May 5. It is the second exhibition of Baldinger’s work in the United States, following “Unidentified” in Washington, D.C., in 1999.
Since 1998, Baldinger has worked on a series of portraits that are an interim result of his ongoing investigation of the portrait as influenced by mass media—between anonymity and representative icon. He depicts his subjects in a realistic way, using the stylistic devices of reduction and a monochrome blue-and-gray coloration in traditional techniques, such as watercolor on paper and acrylic on canvass. In doing so, he gives his work the character of a documentation, an almost archival sensibility.
Both exhibitions will open with a champagne reception for the artists from 5:30-8:30 p.m. tomorrow.
Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday.
For further information, contact the Anderson Gallery at 834-2579.
Flower sale under way
The UB Women’s Club annual flower sale is under way, with geraniums, ivy geraniums, pansies and impatiens available for sale.
The proceeds from the sale will benefit the Grace Capen Academic Award Fund.
The deadline for orders is April 19; pickup is scheduled from noon to 5 p.m. May 16 at the Center for Tomorrow on the North Campus.
For additional information, or to place an order, contact Carla Goldberg at 877-3241.
Actor, alum donates $100,000 to Theatre and Dance
Actor and teacher Steig O. Olson has made a $100,000 bequest to UB for the Department of Theatre and Dance in the College of Arts and Sciences so that others might follow their stage dreams as he did.
The 1948 UB graduate is using his gift to establish the Steig O. Olson Endowment Fund, a scholarship fund for students enrolled in UB’s theater program.
“I have loved the theater ever since I saw Katharine Hepburn on tour in Buffalo in the mid- ’40s,” said Olson. “Now I want to support others who share my passion.”
The dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, along with the chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance, will award the annual scholarship to a student in the theater program who intends to pursue a career in theater arts. The scholarship recipient must have “demonstrated a commitment and ability to succeed in a theatrical profession.” Preference will be given to candidates who can show financial need.
Kerry S. Grant, vice provost for academic affairs, dean of the Graduate School and former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, praised Olson, noting that “his gift is wonderful and we appreciate his commitment to support theater students at UB. It’s all the more meaningful coming from an alumnus who has spent his life ‘on the boards.’
“The arts often are overlooked when donors are providing scholarship funds, and this gift elevates the presence of our theater department by recognizing that these students, too, need financial support,” Grant added.
