Single CEOs: How their risk-taking lifestyle affects the companies they run

If there’s one thing single guys are good at, it’s making fools of themselves. That’s why having an unattached CEO could mean more risk for a company’s investments, according to a recent study by two Wharton professors.

Nikolai Roussanov and Pavel Savor, assistant professors of finance at the Wharton school, recently conducted a study analyzing the correlation between company investment policy and the social positions of higher-ups. Their results suggest, among other findings, that the competitive nature of single men may even influence decisions in business management.

They even delved into matters of biology: position in social ranking directly affects one’s search for a mate. “If relative success determines ability to find a desirable mate, it may explain some of the drive to outdo the competition… [s]uch competition creates a kind of tournament, raising your tolerance for taking large financial risks.”
 
The question was whether such financial risk-taking would be seen in conditions with greater consequences- like managing  the future of an entire company.
 
One study of 1,500 publicly traded companies concluded that the “CEOs [that] are single invest substantially more… in particular when it comes to investments subject to the greatest uncertainty” thus increasing the company’s exposure to risk.  
 
Read the story here: http://bloom.bg/on1kMB

The best-prepared companies? Those with multiple workforce plans

With economic austerity and increased demands upon reduced resources, a company should do better to analyze the needs of its workforce to ensure they remain satisfied, according to a recent Wharton study. The research, done by Wharton management professor Peter Cappelli, suggests even a company with the best workforce plan focuses on a single goal to accomplish in a planning cycle, without taking into account the multiple factors that could occur in the future. The study recommends managers improve their communication with employees to help the effort to develop multiple workforce plans.

Read the story here: http://bit.ly/kuki3Z

Previously: ‘Talent on Demand’: Applying Supply Chain Management to People