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"Miniatures make us happy," said Kristina Durante, a psychologist and marketing professor at Rutgers Business School. "We feel like we can have a sense of control over these tiny things."

"When times are tough, we like to have things around that make us feel good," Durante said.

ROI Influencers: Real Estate 2024

Morris Davis
Academic director
Rutgers Center for Real Estate

He heads the top real estate school in the state — one that always is looking ahead, ensuring it will properly prepare the next generation.

“Interestingly, even a slight reduction in grocery bag use can offset the increased plastic consumption from trash bags,” Che said. “This suggests that these policies might still benefit the environment overall, even when repealed.”

The study’s title is “Are We Worse Off After Policy Repeals? Evidence from Two Green Policies.” In addition to Che, the authors are Dinesh Puranam of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, Sungjin Kim of Rutgers Business School at Rutgers University, and Jihoon Hong at W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

There’s not much to fix, said Parul Jain, an associate professor in the Finance & Economics Department at Rutgers University Business School. “The economy is in absolutely great shape. If you look at GDP growth in the economy, third quarter GDP growth came in at 2.8%, which was above expectations. The unemployment rate at 4.1% is pretty much at full employment, and inflation, the numbers have been coming down.”

“Some of the tariff numbers that he’s given — 20% against China right away, 60% maybe. And then he’s also got tariffs against our allies of 10%, Mexico maybe going to 100%. So the expectation is that these kind of tariff numbers, even if we scaled them down, they’re going to be inflationary for the U.S. economy. Consumers will pay more,” Jain said.

“Under Trump, I think the risks are pretty high that the economy could go into a massive slump, particularly with all this tariff talk and raising the budget deficit," said Parul Jain, who teaches finance and economics at the Rutgers Business School in Newark. "The Fed will have to rethink their policies as well.”

“We take great pride in our HIspanic Serving Institution Designation,’’ said Interim Chancellor Jeffrey Robinson, who introduced the event, noting that HSI’s must have a Latinx population of 25 percent and RU-N’s figures are 35 percent.“We’re attracting members of one of the fastest growing demographics in America.’’

Retail marketers can "build a false sense of urgency" around holiday shopping, said Kristina Durante, a psychologist and marketing professor at Rutgers Business School.

Feeling an urgency to buy something as soon as possible can encourage shoppers to spend more money.

"There's a lot to capitalize on there. It's that sense of urgency and scarcity with resources," Durante said. "We don't know when they're going to be depleted because we don't have control over what other consumers do. I think we want to have a good Christmas and we want to have a good Halloween and we want to be prepared for back-to-school. We have high expectations for these things, so we're more motivated to buy."

“Living in that fishbowl where you're constantly scrutinized, I think, may prepare somebody for politics,” says Rutgers Business School professor John Longo.

John Longo, distinguished professor of finance and economics at Rutgers Business School, told IBD that there could be wobbles in the lead-up to and the immediate aftermath of the election.

"Historically, there is volatility around the election date, but it is usually short-lived. I expect a similar pattern this year," he said.

She received her bachelor’s degree in 2001 and her master’s in public affairs and politics a year later from the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. As she was working toward her doctoral degree at Rutgers-Newark, her professor, Kevin Kolben, asked her in 2006 to join him as an assistant on a study trip and return to India.

“That’s when I really began to see all the changes taking place in India – all the impact of globalization, how people were changing, how culture was changing,” she said. “Prior to that, the last time I had gone back was during the study abroad trip, so I felt a shift happening.”

Mark Guthner, an associate professor of professional practice at the Department of Economics and Finance at Rutgers University, told Banking Dive at the time that “if they took the money out of the bank, the banking law is pretty clear that they committed fraud and they have to give the money back. Then it’s up to the bank to go chase the people down and take them to court.”

“[It’s] a criminal offense, subject to potential jail time and a fine. The people that did this are in trouble,” Guthner said.

“Yale’s endowment has experienced a short-term period of underperformance, but I would not be very concerned due to its sound investment philosophy and long-term track record,” John Longo, CIO of Beacon Trust and professor at Rutgers Business School, wrote to the News. “The S&P 500 increased roughly 25% over the July 1, 2023 to June 20, 2024 time period. Hence, Yale’s historical underweighting to U.S. publicly traded equities negatively impacted its investment performance during the last fiscal year.”

“When we think of the future of the country and what we’re going to do in terms of electric vehicles, we’re going to need a whole bunch of systems in place,’’ said Robinson. “For this one to be here gets us on our way. And I’m looking forward to having a whole lot of folks who are happy on campus charging here.”

“The last thing I’ll say is that I’m an EV driver, so you might see me over here, too,’’ Robinson added.

“That stock will be replaced quickly,” said Kevin Lyons, a supply chain expert at the Rutgers Business School in Newark.

Rutgers Business School sophomore Julie Kalaentzis is a first-generation American and first-generation college student.

Kalaentzis’s parents instilled in her the importance of a college education. But not having had the opportunity to attend college themselves, she said, they are unable to help her navigate her academic journey. When she learned about UFirst, a program that connects first-generation Rutgers Business School students with mentors who share similar backgrounds, she enrolled immediately.

Launched in spring 2022 with 12 mentors and mentees, the hybrid program kicked off its first full year in fall 2023, pairing 38 students and alumni based on their majors and industry career goals, said program director Hannah Salto, assistant dean of support, engagement and leadership for Rutgers Business School.

Hosted by one of The PhD Project’s 2024 Hall-of Fame inductees, Jeffrey Robinson, Interim Chancellor at Rutgers University-Newark, the event will focus on the theme “Creating Corporate Change in America” through guest speakers and panel discussions. Dr. Robinson will share results of his research highlighted in books he co-authored with Randal Pinkett, business consultant and season four winner of the television reality show, The Apprentice. Black Faces in High Places, their second book together, explores the importance of diversifying the ranks of corporate C-suites to strengthen the US economy for everyone. The event, held at Hahne & Company Building, 54 Halsey Street, Express Newark - 2nd Floor, will conclude with a reception.

“Rutgers is home to one of the largest numbers of PhD Project alumni in the country, which makes our Newark campus the perfect place to share what the organization has been able to accomplish over the past 30 years as well as our next steps in creating future change in corporate America,” said Dr. Robinson, who earned a doctorate in Management and Organizations from Columbia University's Graduate School of Business. “We are thrilled to host the final regional celebration of the year on our campus.”

The transition from the typewriter to the earliest computer/word processors was an interesting time during my Ph.D. pursuit. Although the typewriter was being phased out in the 1980s, it took me a bit longer to make the switch because I had invested so much time and energy into perfecting my typewriter skills. I could take the typewriter apart and put it back together again; this was always an effort to become the master of unsticking typewriter keys and courier font type bars (this was considered high-tech, and I am quite sure AI could not deal with this phenom).

It is hard to believe any of our papers, reports, book proposals, articles, theses, and dissertations were ever completed and completed on time. Being a typewriter master was just as important as any research discovery that I made, and it got me to where I am today!

The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) announced that 40 individuals are the recipients of its 2024 Ovation Awards in seven categories: Lifetime Leader; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Exceptional Educators; Emerging Leaders; Impact; Innovation; and Women to Watch.

Ovation Award winners in the other categories advanced leading-edge ideas on their jobs, with the use of technology or in assisting clients/customers; made an impact in their communities; enhanced the well-being of their employees or staff; mentored the next generation of CPAs and accounting professionals; made their mark in classrooms; or promoted an open and diverse accounting profession.

“We could not be prouder of those individuals who have won these awards, raised the awareness of the accounting profession and helped their communities,” said Aiysha (AJ) Johnson, MA, IOM, CEO and executive director at the NJCPA. “We are thrilled to recognize their outstanding accomplishments.”

Exceptional Educators, Ann Medinets, Ph.D., MBA — Associate Professor of Professional Practice at Rutgers Business School, New Brunswick

“Under Trump, I think the risks are pretty high that the economy could go into a massive slump, particularly with all this tariff talk and raising the budget deficit," said Parul Jain, who teaches finance and economics at the Rutgers Business School in Newark. "The Fed will have to rethink their policies as well.”

“Rutgers University-Newark stands out as a beacon of opportunity, particularly for students from historically underserved backgrounds,” said Dr. Jeffrey Robinson, Rutgers University-Newark Interim Chancellor. “Our partnership with Braven beautifully exemplifies how an anchor institution can collaborate to advance our shared missions. This award is a true recognition of the measure of hope that partnerships like ours can instill in students.”

Working with RU also offered the OED the opportunity to get direct input from one of its target audiences. “That was really exciting for us, to get to partner with Rutgers with their entrepreneurship students through the business school,” Paolini said. “And now that we have this tool, the students are one of the groups that we will be directly reaching out to let them know that when they graduate, they don’t have to leave the area to find the type of job that they’re looking for — that you have these Fortune 500 companies in your backyard, all of these opportunities for great paying jobs.”

“That stock will be replaced quickly,” said Kevin Lyons, a supply chain expert at the Rutgers Business School in Newark.

Interim Chancellor Jeffrey Robinson noted that the 50th anniversary launch event was the first in a year-long series of occasions to celebrate the school. “It has taken its place as one of the prestigious schools of criminal justice in the nation,’’ he said. “It has done incredible things, not just here in Newark but around the country.’’

Automation looms, setting the stage for more labor disruption ahead, said Arash Azadegan, a professor of supply chain management at Rutgers Business School in Newark and New Brunswick.

"I think we're at the start of something that is going to be concerning in the next few years," Azadegan said. "Self-operating cranes at the port are going to be more and more prevalent in the not-so-distant future. So those are the things that become concerning, meaning that there's going to be more complaints (from workers). So it's kind of a brave new world."

And even then, the market still has many modes of transportation serving it, said David Dreyfus, an associate professor in Rutgers University’s Department of Supply Chain Management.

The West Coast ports remain open, shipping lines with Mexico and Canada continue functioning as usual, and companies that rely on ports now idle because of the strike will start looking for alternative routes like rail and air, he noted.

“We’re all a little still getting over the pandemic, and we remember what that was like,” Dreyfus said. “But this isn’t the pandemic. The logging hasn’t stopped. The mills haven’t stopped running. The trucks and trains are still running. They’re humming along. It’s just one mode of transportation has stopped — and only decreased by a certain percentage; it hasn’t completely stopped. So while things may be slow and there might be some temporary shortages, it’s not going to be like we saw a few years ago.”

Rudi Leuschner is an associate professor and director of master of supply chain management at Rutgers Business School.

“This strike covers the entire East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico – that accounts for about 60% of goods coming into the United States,” Leuschner told NJBIZ. He noted that figure has increased because of the widening of the Panama Canal.

Leuschner explained that the shipping companies cannot just switch back and send their goods to the West Coast ports to get around the strike.

“The union has actually said that if a ship gets diverted to the West Coast, they’re going to make sure that the West Coast workers will not unload it to basically protect the strike,” said Leuschner. “So, that’s kind of an interesting situation. They’ve kind of made it so that goods will slow down. Now, when that happens, it’s going to be an immediate reaction that all consumers feel.”

“This program is an excellent example of how Rutgers-Newark in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office, through existing infrastructure with incredible staff and faculty, celebrates innovation and spotlights the talents of new first-year, first generation college students,” Rutgers University-Newark interim chancellor Jeffrey Robinson said.

Supply chain management professor Arash Azedagan explains a shortage could be a great time for consumers to shop locally, like farmers’ markets or neighborhood small businesses. Generally speaking, smaller establishments tend to not have as broad of a supply chain and sourcing issue.

Watch the 2 minute video

The arrival of goods such as toilet paper on your local store shelves is dependent on a fine-tuned and fragile supply chain, Rutgers supply chain professor David Dreyfus wrote in February this year.

“After the first early weeks of the pandemic, demands for goods escalated," Dreyfus wrote. "This renewed demand ballooned to extreme levels in many industries. With greater demand and fewer workers, businesses and suppliers could not keep up. The complexity and structure of our supply chains were working against us.”

Demand for toilet paper surged as consumers hoarded rolls in anticipation of a shutdown that was slated seemingly to go on indefinitely, but “production had halted.”

Eventually, as the world reopened, production resumed, Dreyfus noted, from loggers harvesting timber to paper mills turning wood into paper, manufacturers churning out rolls of toilet paper and truck drivers getting them to nearby stores.

Experts say that while the repercussions of the strike will be felt across the country, the disruption to the supply chain of goods did not come unexpectedly in the way COVID-19 did. “These port strikes are disruptions that gave warning,” says Rutgers Business School professor Arash Azadegan. “That helps organizations to be better prepared.”

Why should small business owners favor using business cash back credit cards over consumer cash back cards?
Businesses often prefer small business cash-back cards due to their tailored nature. For example, a business card may enable firm employees to use it to purchase travel and entertainment experiences at a discount. The card may also facilitate record-keeping activities across several employees for the same firm.

Why are prepaid cards so popular?
I wouldn’t say they are very popular, but they provide some benefits. For example, they may be used by someone who repairs their credit and finds it difficult to get a conventional credit card. They also may be used by someone beginning to establish their credit since they ensure the holder will not overspend. Generic prepaid cards may be given as a gift and enable holders to purchase an item they like instead of being given the proverbial ugly sweater or fruitcake. Prepaid cards and traditional credit cards avoid the need to carry cash, which runs the risk of being lost or stolen.

Are there alternatives for people considering prepaid cards?
Debit cards may be an alternative since they ensure someone will not spend more than they have. However, most debit cards do not provide benefits like cashback or a discount on purchases.

A professor from the Rutgers Business School says the duration of the strike could expand the industries affected.

"It could affect the manufacturing industry located around the port. They rely on receiving raw materials for inputs into their manufactured goods," said associate professor Rudi Leuschner.

The increase in the Fed Funds rate from 0 to 5% created a very stressful situation for banks. The increase in the Fed Funds rate pushed up the cost to banks to service their short-term debt and deposits but did not (immediately) change the income banks receive on their existing stock of loans and other assets. This reduced bank profitability. Banks responded to a decline in their profits and an increase in their cost of funds by tightening credit standards (higher loan-to-values (LTVs), higher debt-service coverage ratio (DSCRs)) and charging higher interest rates on construction loans and commercial mortgages. This had an immediate impact on our sector: Projects no longer penciled out, deals fell through, developments under construction were abandoned, prices fell and transaction volume declined.

As the Fed reduces rates, we should expect the exact opposite to occur. Bank profitability will rise, freeing up cash to banks and enabling banks to make more loans. The loans they make will have lower DSCRs, higher LTVs and lower interest rates. The availability of more plentiful and cheaper finance to the sector will enable firms to bid more aggressively for deals, pushing up prices and transaction volumes. All in all, the decline in rates will be good for commercial real estate.

In our quest to empower high school and college students with financial literacy, and ultimately financial freedom, we have developed the +Club program that seeks to answer the elusive, age-old question: How can one achieve financial freedom and pave the way to a fulfilling and good life? At the heart of our program is the concept of Living Within Your Means — or LWYM. To make this idea resonate, we turn to the appeal of popular culture, offering cautionary tales of celebrities who, despite their vast prior fortunes, faced financial ruin by spending beyond their means. We also emphasize the importance of saving early in order to have the “miracle” of compound interest work effectively for young people.

Robinson, a Rutgers alumnus, is an internationally known author and co-founder of the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development at Rutgers Business School. He joined Rutgers-Newark in 2008 as a faculty of management and global business at Rutgers Business School. His work addresses community and economic development issues for urban metropolitan areas in the United States and abroad.

He is the co-author of two books published by HarperCollins Leadership, including "Black Faces in White Places: 10 Game-Changing Strategies to Achieve Success and Find Greatness," published in 2010, and a sequel, "Black Faces in High Places: 10 Strategic Actions for Black Professionals to Reach the Top and Stay There," which won a 2023 Axiom Award, one of the top honors for books about business. Both books were co-authored with Rutgers alumnus Randal Pinkett, Robinson’s long-time friend and business partner.

What can we learn from Capital One’s marketing strategies, particularly its television advertising?

Capital One’s TV ads bring a fresh perspective to marketing, focused on the customer experience; not too cerebral but certainly very personal, more sensory, emotional and perhaps intuitive. Research has shown that customer decisions are not entirely rational, indeed, that was the topic of my dissertation, so Capital One’s approach is very much in line with the trends and the evolution of marketing.

“Investing doesn’t take overnight, right? There’s planning stages, there’s R&D, there’s all that stuff that takes time. I think the Fed is giving you the green light to get to work,” said Fred Hoffman, a finance professor at Rutgers University.

The companies best positioned to get to work are big corporations that can take on risk. Because bigger picture, borrowing money is not just about the cost of borrowing. It’s also about business conditions.

“We’ll have another president. We’ll have another Congress,” Hoffman said, which could come with changes to corporate taxes and tariffs.

NJ Spotlight News spoke with Dr. Farrokh Langdana, director of the Rutgers Executive MBA Program, who described the action as the most decisive move yet by the Fed in its long-running battle against inflation.

“Inflation had vanished from our country since 1981, then it came back in 2022 when the Fed hit the brakes 11 times,” he said. “Then what’s happened now is that while the inflation is down, it looks like they have engineered a soft landing. The labor market was throwing up these red lights, and this time the Fed’s trying to get ahead of it.”

Watch video interview

“EisnerAmper is a firm focused on hiring Rutgers students and helping to ensure that students studying real estate are prepared to join the workforce,” said Morris A. Davis, Paul V. Profeta chair of real estate and academic director for the Rutgers Center for Real Estate. “Partnering with a dedicated firm whose mission includes the highest ethical standards will benefit the students interacting with their professionals.”

Lisa Kaplowitz brings a real-world perspective to academia. An associate professor of professional practice in the Finance and Economics Department at Rutgers Business School, she draws on 20-plus years of experience as an investment banker and CFO to teach finance in a way that goes beyond textbook examples, challenging students to think: “How are we going to use this information to grow the business?” Kaplowitz is also co-founder and executive director of the Rutgers Center for Women in Business, which works to remove barriers, build community and empower women.

Lei is a professor and has been dean of the Rutgers Business School since 2015. She holds a doctorate in Industrial Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a minor in Computer Science. Her research focus includes supply chain network design and optimization, operations planning, scheduling, process recovery after disruptions, demand-supply planning and resource allocation optimization.

“EisnerAmper is a firm focused on hiring Rutgers students and helping to ensure that students studying real estate are prepared to join the workforce,” said Morris A. Davis, Paul V. Profeta chair of real estate and academic director for the Rutgers Center for Real Estate. “Partnering with a dedicated firm whose mission includes the highest ethical standards will benefit the students interacting with their professionals.”

Which type of credit card is better for beginners: one with no annual fee and no rewards, or one with rewards and an annual fee?

For beginners, I recommend a card that does not have a fee. Why pay a fee if one is not even sure if they are going to use the card?

Why don’t more credit card companies offer cards for people with limited or no credit history?

The short answer is credit risk. Credit card debt is unsecured, there is no collateral supporting the debt, thus the card company has to rely on the borrower paying it back in good faith. If a person has not track record, then how does the bank know that they are a good credit risk?

”If they took the money out of the bank, the banking law is pretty clear that they committed fraud and they have to get the money back,” Mark Guthner, an associate professor of financial practice at Rutgers University, said of the customers who participated in the scheme in a conversation with Banking Dive. “Then it's up to the bank to go chase the people down and take them to court. [It’s] a criminal offense, subject to potential jail time and and a fine. The people that did this are in trouble.”

Typical bouts of consumer outrage and accompanying boycotts tend to be fleeting, Michael Barnett, a professor of management and global business at Rutgers Business School, told The Post.

“Public memory is usually short. New issues arise on an almost daily basis, crowding out concern for yesterday’s news. Old habits and cravings start to outweigh lingering concerns,” he said.

Barnett noted that the Israel boycotts could, in some geographies, permanently shift consumer habits.

What is the biggest myth about your school?

I can’t really say that there is a “myth” about Rutgers Business School. The school lives up to the standards and achievements that it displays to the world.

Grocery stores could use AI to recommend products to customers that they’re more likely to buy based on their shopping history, said Madhavi Chakrabarty, an assistant professor of marketing at the Rutgers Business School.

“Humans forget and make mistakes,” she said in an email. “If they have an ally in their shopping platform which can remind them when they need to reorder or renew, it becomes easy for buyers.”

Shopping is the "New Jersey state sport," according to Marc Kalan, an associate professor at Rutgers Business School. But it's the job of businesses to pick up on what consumers want, and cater to it.

"Consumers continually change. They're not boring, they're pretty fascinating," Kalan said. "Good companies that just didn't see the change fell by the wayside."


Specialty retailers, which focus on one category of goods, are generally able to prosper, he said — as long as they're in a community with the right amount of demand.

"You don't have to be stuck in what you do today," Kalan said of businesses. "You have to be looking at what people need today, but also, where are they going tomorrow?"

I chose an Executive MBA program over a traditional or part-time MBA program because I wanted to leverage the breadth of experience the cohort would bring. I also preferred a program that would be flexible, given my tendency to travel for work.