Haas NewsWire
September 26, 2000


CONTENTS

Dean Tyson Responds to Business Week Ranking of Haas School 
Gertler Finds Mexico's Anti-Poverty Program Improves the Health of Poor 
Families 
Students Share the Wealth Through Students for Students 
New Staff 
Haas in the News 
Happening at Haas 
Haas Celebrations


DEAN TYSON RESPONDS TO BUSINESS WEEK RANKING OF HAAS SCHOOL
 By Laura Tyson

 The Haas School of Business is one of the world's outstanding business 
schools.? The best indicator of its quality is market competition. The very 
top business schools compete vigorously with Haas for students and faculty.? 
And Haas MBAs are regularly courted and hired by many of the world's most 
selective firms.? The recent rankings of business schools published by 
Business Week do not reflect these market assessments of the quality of the 
Haas School.? In contrast to a rank of 18 in the Business Week results, Haas 
earned a rank of 10 in US News, a rank of 9 among US schools in the Financial 
Times, and a rank of 4 in Forbes during the last year.? The discrepancy in 
these results suggests that there are special features of the Business Week 
methodology that make it a misleading measure of quality.? Nonetheless, there 
are lessons to be learned and information to be gleaned by analyzing the 
Business Week results.

Let's start with a few bright spots.? The Haas School ranked #14 in student 
satisfaction, which accounts for about 45% of the total score.? This is a 
reasonable showing, one that has improved over time, and one that I am 
committed to improve still further in the future.? This year's ranking in 
student satisfaction is based on opinions from the Class of 2000, which 
accounted for 50% of the responses, as well as opinions from the classes of 
1998 and 1999, each of which accounted for 25% of the responses.? The two 
earlier classes did not benefit from the many enhancements in school services 
that have been realized during the last two years.? With the School's 
dedication to continuous improvement, we hope and anticipate that 
satisfaction levels among current and future students will continue to trend 
upward.

I am enormously pleased that the Career Services office and its outstanding 
professional team have revitalized this mission-critical service at the Haas 
School.? In its last survey only two years ago, Business Week ranked the Haas 
career services office at the bottom of its top 40 list.? Only two years 
later, Business Week applauded the efforts of the Career Services staff.? 
Praise for their efforts is richly deserved.? 

Probably the most troubling aspect of the Business Week survey was the 
ranking by corporate recruiters.? According to this indicator, which accounts 
for 45% of the total score, the Haas School fell from #16 two years ago to 
#22 this year.? Despite the School's disappointing ranking on this measure, 
however, the performance of Haas students on the job market-as measured by 
both the number of job offers per student and the median post-MBA salary per 
student-was as good or better than most of the other business schools that 
were ranked higher on the recruiter survey.? There are two partial 
explanations for this puzzling discrepancy. 

?First, the Business Week methodology appears to suffer from a persistent 
East Coast bias in its survey of recruiters.? No school west of the 
Mississippi made it into Business Week's top ten this year, and West coast 
schools have always done less well than Eastern and Midwestern Schools in 
Business Week rankings.? To some extent this bias reflects the fact that many 
of the "old-economy" corporate recruiters surveyed by Business Week interview 
and hire many more students from Eastern and Midwestern Schools than from 
Western Schools.? Such firms know that the odds of their attracting Haas 
graduates are low given the School's small size and the preference of many 
Haas students to remain in the Bay Area and to work for "New Economy" firms 
too small and/or too new to be included in Business Week's survey of 
corporate recruiters.? 

Second, according to a recent statistical analysis by MBA Program Director 
David Downs, smaller business schools have historically done less well on 
Business Week rankings than larger ones.? This year, as in past years, most 
of the very top schools are at least twice as large as Haas as measured by 
the size of their MBA class.? Darden won the best showing for small schools 
this year, earning a rank of 9 while Tuck, the smallest business school, fell 
to #16.? Size and rank may be related in the Business Week methodology simply 
because large corporate recruiters are less likely to be well informed about 
the quality of programs at smaller schools and more likely to come away 
empty-handed if they try to recruit at such schools.? 

Another troubling and perplexing conclusion of the Business Week methodology 
was the poor performance of the Haas School on a new indicator called 
"intellectual capital."? This indicator, which accounts for 10% of the total 
score, purports to assess the quality and influence of faculty research. Haas 
ranked 38th out of 40 on this measure-a result that starkly contrasts with 
the #1 ranking Haas earned for the quality of its faculty research from the 
Financial Times in January of this year.? We are concerned about the 
methodology adopted by Business Week.? For example, the magazine states that 
its survey measured intellectual capital based on both the number of faculty 
publications in selected journals and the length of such articles.? The 
latter measure is surely a peculiar indicator of research excellence.? We 
hope to work with Business Week to learn more about its methodology in this 
area and to suggest ways it could be improved to provide more meaningful 
results. 

As I stated at the outset, there are things to be learned from the Business 
Week rankings.? For example, students expressed some reservations about the 
quality of the curriculum.? I take these reservations very seriously and plan 
to initiate a full-scale discussion among faculty and students to determine 
what changes should be made in the curriculum.? Over the coming year, I look 
forward to your comments, observations, and suggestions about how Haas can 
continue to improve in this and other areas.? At the same time, I want to 
emphasize my belief that the Business Week rankings fail to reflect the 
world-class attributes of the Haas School, attributes that make it a very 
special place to get a business education. 

GERTLER FINDS MEXICO'S ANTI-POVERTY PROGRAM IMPROVES THE HEALTH OF POOR 
FAMILIES
 The Mexican anti-poverty program PROGRESA has succeeded in reducing 
childhood illness by 12 percent and has significantly increased the health of 
babies and pregnant mothers among program participants, according to a recent 
study by Paul Gertler, professor at Haas and faculty director of the Graduate 
Program in Health Management.

"One of the greatest tragedies of extreme poverty is its intergenerational 
transmission," says Gertler. "Few children of extremely poor parents are able 
to escape poverty."

Gertler evaluated the impact of PROGRESA on the health of young children and 
adults and on the economic productivity of the households participating in 
the program. Gertler was one of six researchers from Mexico and the US 
evaluating the success of different aspects (health, nutrition, education, 
etc.) of PROGRESA.

PROGRESA was adopted in 1997 to promote education, improve health care and 
health maintenance, and better nutrition among Mexico's rural families living 
in extreme poverty. The program provides education grants, nutritional 
supplements, education on hygiene and nutrition, and cash transfers for food 
directly to mothers in participating villages. This unique approach has been 
found to increase the chances that the benefits will be used for the purposes 
for which they were designed. 

PROGRESA emphasizes helping children under six, pregnant women, and lactating 
women. By the end of 1999, the program had reached approximately 2.3 million 
families in almost 50,000 localities in 31 states. Its budget was $777 
million or 0.2% of the Mexican GDP.

In his evaluation of PROGRESA's health care effects, Gertler found that 
participating villages showed a quicker increase in visits to the available 
health clinics than in non-participating villages. The study also found that 
PROGRESA resulted in 8% more pregnant women visiting health clinics during 
their first, instead of their second or third trimesters, thus increasing 
their own health and that of their babies. 

As PROGRESA participants increasingly took advantage of the available health 
care --such as visits to monitor nutrition, prenatal care, and immunization 
-- the number of severe illnesses declined, reducing the number of 
hospitalizations by 23%.

Due to the success of the program, the PROGRESA model is already being 
adopted by other poverty-stricken countries, such as Argentina, Columbia, 
Honduras, and Nicaragua.

STUDENTS SHARE THE WEALTH THROUGH STUDENTS FOR STUDENTS
 Last year, as part of an effort to support their fellow MBA students in 
pursuing less financially rewarding summer jobs at nonprofit and public 
organizations, students from the MBA class of 01 promised a day of their 
summer salaries to the Students for Students fund. The pledges to the fund 
for summer 2000 totaled almost $28,000.

Sanjay Wagle, MBA 01, and Whitney Hischier, MBA 01, were two of the four 
students who took advantage of the program. They both worked at The Endeavor 
Initiative www.endeavor.org), a nonprofit based in New York that promotes 
entrepreneurial role models in developing countries.?? 

Sanjay was in The Endeavor Initiative's eMBA program that sends MBA students 
from top US schools to work with Endeavor entrepreneurs in Argentina and 
Chile.? He worked in Santiago, Chile, for a company called Micsa.

Whitney, who managed Endeavor's educational programs in the New York office, 
said "I had a fantastic summer and was thrilled to be part of such a 
passionate and dynamic group of people who are impacting job creation and 
community role models in Latin America."

NEW STAFF
 Kristina Vera joined Haas Computing Services as a programmer analyst and HCS 
lab coordinator in July. She manages lab operations; provides software and 
hardware support and troubleshooting for HCS Lab customers; and trains and 
supervises student consultants. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in 
American Studies. In her spare time, she is a DJ at the official radio 
station for UC Berkeley, KALX 90.7 FM.

Kristina can be reached at 2-5357 or via e-mail at kvera@haas.berkeley.edu. 
Her office is located in S300B. 

HAAS IN THE NEWS
 Jennifer Chatman, associate professor and chair of the Organizational 
Behavior and Industrial Relations Group and the Harold Furst Professor of 
Management Philosophy and Values, was quoted in the October issue of Working 
Mother magazine in an article on the unequal access to benefits in some 
organizations. 

Russell Winer, the J. Gary Shansby Professor of Marketing Strategy and the 
chair of the Marketing Group, was quoted in the South China Morning Post on 
September 24 in "Schools Take a Global View of Asian Executives' Growing 
Demand for Knowledge." Winer commented on the Haas School's research into the 
feasibility of starting a program in Asia.

The Daily Cal covered the Cal Performances season-opening celebration on 
September 22. The celebration was also in honor of Earl F. Cheit, dean 
emeritus of the Haas School.

The San Francisco Chronicle also covered the Cal Performances season opener, 
mentioning that the evening was also to honor dean emeritus Cheit. 

Severin Borenstein, the E.T. Grether Professor of Public Policy and Business 
Administration and the director of the University of California Energy 
Institute, did live interviews with KCBS and KGO radio stations September 22 
on the effect of Clinton's decision to release 30m barrels from the Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve.? Borenstein said that it would probably have a modest 
effect on world oil prices. He also said that lowering world oil prices is an 
indirect way to help poor people in the northeast better afford heating oil 
this winter.

The Leading Edge Conference was listed in Upside Today on September 22 as 
"Today's Special."

Dean Laura Tyson was quoted in The New York Times on September 22 in "Plan to 
Tap Oil Reserve Strikes Some Experts as Temporary Answer." Tyson commented 
that it was a short-term fix targeted at home heating oil, and not an attempt 
to change market dynamics.

Richard Lyons, professor in the Economic Analysis and Policy Group and the 
Finance Group, and Richard Portes, Distinguished Global Visiting Professor, 
authored a letter to the Financial Times advocating a change in the monetary 
policy of the European System of Central Banks.

Winer was also quoted in "All the World's a Campus," in The New York Times on 
September 20, on the Haas School's research into the feasibility establishing 
an Asian MBA program.

Borenstin gave a live interview on KGO radio on September 20 about the causes 
of the high gasoline prices.

Borenstein was also quoted on September 20 in the San Francisco Chronicle, 
the Oakland Tribune, Sacramento Bee, and AP Newswire on the cause of 
California's high gasoline prices.? Borenstein explained that these prices 
are likely to persist for a while and that state authorities should be 
looking into how to increase competition in the California refining market.

Brett Trueman, the Donald and Ruth Seiler Professor of Public Accounting, 
chair of the Haas Accounting Group, and director of the Center for Financial 
Reporting and Management, was quoted in the Industry Standard on September 20 
in an article titled, "SEC Tells Teen Trader to Pay Up." Trueman commented 
that this sort of fraud would not be possible if it weren't for na<ve traders 
who take online stock advice without doing their own research. 

AScribe founders David Irons, former director of public affairs at the Haas 
School and Ron Wolf, MBA 96, were featured on the front page of the 
Chronicle's business section on September 20. The article "Spreading the 
Word," was about news wire services in general, but highlighted the nonprofit 
niche that AScribe serves. The full text of the article can be found at 
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/09/20/B
U40578.DTL&type=business 

The Haas School's daylong conference on housing and urban policy was covered 
by the San Francisco Examiner on September 19. "Panel Addresses Critical 
Housing Shortage" quoted several of the speakers at the event. ? On September 
19, Borenstein was quoted in a piece on the NPR show "Marketplace" commenting 
that uncertainty about the form that electricity restructuring in California 
would take slowed the building of new generation facilities during the 1990s.

Pete Sealey, adjunct professor in the Marketing Group and co-director of the 
Center for Marketing and Technology, was quoted in the Star-Tribune 
(Minneapolis/St. Paul) on the Xbox, Microsoft's new game platform. 

HAPPENING AT HAAS
 MBAA OPEN MEETING  Tuesday, September 26 12:45 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Room C330 
Pizza and beverages will be provided. ? DEAN'S PIZZA LUNCH WITH ALL MBA 
STUDENTS Wednesday, September 27 12:45 p.m. to 2:00p.m. Haas Courtyard

 UC BERKELEY ENTREPRENEURS FORUM  "Accelerating Early Stage Start-Ups" with 
speakers Randy Haykin, founder & managing partner, iMinds Ventures; Neil 
Cohen, founder & chief marketing officer, CampSix; and Alan Fisher, founder & 
general partner, Wingspring. Thursday, September 28, 2000 6:30 p.m. Arthur 
Andersen Auditorium Founders of new forms of venture management and capital 
firms discuss their new creations and how these differing combinations of 
previously disparate elements in new venture creation can speed the time to 
market for the firms with which they work. Registration is reqiuired, see the 
web site for details http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/~lester/bef.html.? For more 
information on this event particular event, please go to 
http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/~lester/sep00.html.

 KNOWLEDGE FORUM ON THE INTERNET-ENABLED ECONOMY "Creating and Exploiting 
Knowledge Assets in the Internet-enabled Economy" Friday, September 29, 2000 
8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Arthur Andersen Auditorium Registration required. For 
more information please go to 
http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/~imio/knowledge/index2000.htm.

 INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY 2000 Maximizing Shareholder Value: Lessons from the 
Natural World Solutions for Business, Inspired by Nature October 5 to 8, 2000 
Co-hosted by Global Futures and Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley The 
fifth annual conference on Industrial Ecology brings a mix of high-level 
executives and leaders from the environmental, social advocacy, academic, 
government, media, and investment communities together for a practical 
exploration into the future of business. Hear from innovative industry 
leaders including Hewlett-Packard, Nike, 3M, Pitney-Bowes and Coors Brewing 
Co. For more information, please visit the conference web site at 
http://www.globalff.org/.

 HAAS HOMECOMING & REUNION WEEKEND  Saturday, October 14, 2000 The day is 
filled with reunion activities, an MBA student-alumni mixer, career seminar, 
entrepreneur panel, a New Orleans-style lunch with Zydeco music, and the Cal 
vs. UCLA football game. If you have not already received the Haas Homecoming 
& Reunion Weekend invitation, check out all the events taking place on the 
Haas Alumni Network web site at http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/alumni. To 
REGISTER online go to http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/alumni/registration . 
Deadline to RSVP is October 6.? If you have any questions, please contact the 
Haas Alumni Relations Office at 510-642-7790 or email 
alumni@haas.berkeley.edu. 

 SEMINARS
 OBIR SEMINAR "Second-Order Imitation: Uncovering Latent Effects of Board 
Network Ties," by James Westphal, University of Texas at Austin, School of 
Business Wednesday, September 27, 2000 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Director's 
Room, Institute of Industrial Relations, 2521 Channing Way  For more 
information, contact Charles Montague at montague@haas.berkeley.edu.

E.T GRETHER MARKETING SEMINAR "Price Dispersion in the Grocery Market," by 
Ying Zhao, UC Berkeley Thursday, September 28, 2000 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
Room F320 For more information, contact Laura Gardner, at 
lgardner@haas.berkeley.edu.

IDS 270 INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS WORKSHOP "Open Source Software: A Nonprofit 
Competitive Threat," by Jenny Kuan, UC Berkeley Thursday, September 28, 2000 
4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Room C325, Cheit Hall For more information, contact 
Anita Patterson at patterso@haas.berkeley.edu.

FINANCE SEMINAR  "Learning and Market Efficiency: Evidence from the Opening 
of California's Electricity  Markets" by Severin Borenstein, UC Berkeley. 
Thursday, September 28, 2000 4:15 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. Room C110 Cheit Hall For 
more information, contact June Wong june@haas.berkeley.edu or visit  
www.haas.berkeley.edu/finance.

OBIR SEMINAR "Traditional, Hybrid, and Virtual Teams," by Terri Griffith, UC 
Berkeley Wednesday, October 4, 2000 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Director's Room, 
Institute of Industrial Relations, 2521 Channing Way  For more information, 
contact Charles Montague at montague@haas.berkeley.edu.

E.T. GRETHER MARKETING SEMINAR Rajeev Tyagi, University of California, Irvine 
Thursday, October 5, 2000 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Room F320 For more 
information, contact Laura Gardner, at lgardner@haas.berkeley.edu.

IDS 270 INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS WORKSHOP "Corruption, Finance, and 
Entrepreneurship," by John McMillan, Stanford University Thursday, October 5, 
2000 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Room C325, Cheit Hall For more information, 
contact Anita Patterson at patterso@haas.berkeley.edu.

FINANCE SEMINAR  "Why Investment Banks Underprice IPO's: Because They Can," 
by Mark Taranto, UC Berkeley Thursday, October 5, 2000 4:15 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. 
Room C110 Cheit Hall For more information, contact June Wong 
june@haas.berkeley.edu or visit. www.haas.berkeley.edu/finance

HAAS CELEBRATIONS
 Birthday Susan Reneau, September 29

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marked "do not announce" on the central birthday list to 
Haasnews@haas.berkeley.edu.????? 

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