G. Richard Shell - Faculty Research in Knowledge@Wharton

When Do Exaggerations and Misstatements Cross the Line?

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:52:02 EST

Embellishing stories about one's accomplishments or qualifications, whether by exaggeration or misstatement, is part of human nature, experts say, and almost everyone is guilty of it at one time or another. Left unchecked, however, exaggerations that seemed innocuous at first can result in serious, potentially career-ending consequences. Thanks to the Internet, it's easier than ever to get caught in an exaggeration, Wharton experts and others note. But the temptation to embellish has also never been greater, as recession-weary workers feel pressured to justify their worth and a 24-hour news cycle demands that leaders have an immediate, sound-bite-ready answer for everything.

The Bernard Madoff Case: Trust Takes Another Blow

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:53:55 EST

Successful marketplaces -- indeed, all social systems -- require a level of ethical behavior among their participants. In an interview with Knowledge@Wharton, professors Maurice E. Schweitzer and G. Richard Shell, who have conducted extensive research on the role of trust in markets, explain why even the most sophisticated investors put their faith in Bernard Madoff, the New York City financier recently accused of running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. That breach of trust has damaged the broader markets, Schweitzer and Shell say.

'The Art of Woo': Selling Your Ideas to the Entire Organization, One Person at a Time

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:24:43 EST

Former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca once noted, "You can have brilliant ideas; but if you can't get them across, your ideas won't get you anywhere." In their new book, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas, Wharton legal studies and business ethics professor G. Richard Shell and management consultant Mario Moussa provide a systematic approach to the problem Iacocca identified. Using relationship-based, emotionally intelligent persuasion to secure both individual and organizational buy-in, everyone from CEOs and entrepreneurs to team leaders and mid-level managers can sell their ideas -- a skill that everyone needs to learn if they want to be effective in their organizations, the authors say.

The Art of Walking Away from the Deal

Wed, 11 Jan 2006 16:32:12 EST

On December 15, 2004, Johnson & Johnson announced a deal to acquire cardiovascular device maker Guidant for $25.4 billion. Months later, after Guidant had recalled thousands of defibrillators and pacemakers and received subpoenas from U. S. Attorneys offices in Boston and Minneapolis, J&J insisted on renegotiating the purchase price lower. The two companies eventually agreed on a new price -- $21.5 billion. While the J&J case has recently been complicated by a counteroffer from medical device maker Boston Scientific, what Guidant experienced in the course of negotiations with J&J is a "material adverse change," a phrase that refers to events that happen between the time a deal is announced and the day it closes. How often do material adverse changes lead to deal breakups, and what role do they play as a bargaining chip for companies trying to renegotiate their original offers?

Is the Latest Corporate Bankruptcy Strategy a Death Knell for Pensions?

Wed, 06 Oct 2004 15:59:56 EST

Chapter 11 filings by US Airways and United Airlines, and the possibility of other airlines following them into court, bring new attention to bankruptcy reorganization as a management strategy. For example, is bankruptcy a last-ditch effort to salvage a firm passing through a temporary rough patch, or is it a way to get rid of long-standing pension obligations to employees? Wharton professors and bankruptcy experts look at this issue and others, including the dangers that companies face during bankruptcy, and recent economic conditions that may push a growing number of firms into bankruptcy court.

How Companies Use (and Abuse) Law for Competitive Gains

Wed, 19 May 2004 13:59:30 EST

As the main character in Mario Puzo’s novel The Godfather once put it, “The lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns.” A new book by Wharton legal studies professor G. Richard Shell, called Make the Rules or Your Rivals Will, addresses a different way that lawyers can affect how business gets done. Shell’s thesis centers on what he calls “competitive legal strategy” – the use of contracts, courts, regulation, and lobbying to secure competitive advantage in business. He shows how Sumner Redstone, Rupert Murdoch, Andy Grove, and Bill Gates, among others, have forced rivals to the bargaining table with litigation, defined the boundaries of their markets with regulations and used politics to fight competitive battles. What it gets down to, he says, is that someone is going to make the rules. The only question is who.

From Russia With Love: How Legal and Political Strategies Shape Competition

Wed, 21 Apr 2004 14:29:08 EST

Eric Novotny, vice president of Lockheed Martin, explained the regulatory and competitive minefields that lay in the path of some of the most successful collaborations to emerge from the Cold War – joint ventures between former Soviet republics and

U.S.

partners to market missile technology for commercial use. Richard Shell, legal studies professor at Wharton, talked about Microsoft’s lobbying muscle and Coca-Cola’s legendary relationship with its bottlers. The link between the two presentations was a recent Wharton conference on management strategy during which participants discussed an often-overlooked but critical variable in business – how law affects the competitive process.

Suing Your Customers: A Winning Business Strategy?

Wed, 22 Oct 2003 13:48:09 EST

The recording industry has a pricing problem. People do not want to pay $15-20 for a compact disc when they can download the same music for free over the Internet. The industry�s solution appears as novel as the technology that is giving it such headaches: launch hundreds of lawsuits against otherwise law-abiding consumers who download music. As G. Richard Shell, a legal studies professor and author of a forthcoming book on competitive legal strategy, notes, this same tactic was tried 100 years ago against Henry Ford. It didn�t work then, and it won�t work today.

Collapse in Cancun: The World Trade Agenda Gets Sidetracked

Wed, 24 Sep 2003 00:00:00 EST

If you took delegates from 146 countries � ranging from the poorest agricultural regions in Africa to the most affluent nations of Europe � and asked them to negotiate a trade agreement that would satisfy everyone, what are the chances they would succeed? Very slim, as the collapse of the world trade talks in Cancun earlier this month proved. Huge fault lines appeared between two general camps: The developing countries, who contended that the richer nations� agricultural subsidies are an unfair trading advantage, and the more advanced nations who sought new global rules that would help protect their economic interests. So what happened and where do we go from here?

Lawyers and Accountants Can Expect Curbs and Compromises in New SEC Rules

Wed, 29 Jan 2003 00:00:00 EST

Recent rules adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to curb legal and accounting shenanigans that toppled companies like Enron and Arthur Andersen are not as strong as the SEC first suggested. But do they still have enough teeth to make them effective tools in stemming corporate corruption? Wharton faculty offer their opinions.

It�s About Time: Corporate Responsibility Law Finally Makes Lawyers More Accountable

Wed, 14 Aug 2002 00:00:00 EST

The current corporate scandals have taken a heavy toll on CEOs, accountants, bankers, analysts, and even consultants. But until now one group has escaped any serious talk of blame, let alone indictment � lawyers. But that may change, as it should, says Wharton legal studies professor Richard Shell. President Bush�s new corporate responsibility legislation requires that lawyers report to their clients (the corporate board of directors) any evidence they acquire of a �material violation of securities law or breach of fiduciary duty.� Shell, who is writing a book on how firms use legal strategies to gain competitive advantage, talks about the difference between Trusted Counselors and Legal Enablers.

Testing His Metal � and His Motives: Bush�s Steel Tariffs Spark an Uproar

Wed, 13 Mar 2002 00:00:00 EST

When President Bush imposed tariffs on steel imports March 5, the White House characterized it as a deft compromise, balancing the needs of the troubled American steel industry with the free-market principles the president has so strongly espoused. Not everyone � in fact, hardly anyone � agrees with this assessment. Already a number of foreign steel producers have filed formal complaints with the World Trade Organization.

Are Efforts to Extend Patent and Copyright Laws Good for Business or Good for Society?

Wed, 20 Jun 2001 00:00:00 EST

When it comes to foreign trade, U.S. businesses are famous advocates for strong, consistently applied intellectual property rights. Drug companies worry about weak patent law in India and software companies complain about the Chinese approach to property law. But what about the application of intellectual property laws at home? Are many firms more concerned with securing competitive advantage than with ensuring impartial laws?

How Deception, Reputation and E-mail Can Affect Your Negotiating Strategy

Wed, 23 May 2001 00:00:00 EST

How widespread is deception in negotiation and how can you detect it? What are the pros and cons of using e-mail during the negotiating process? How does a good, or bad, reputation influence the outcome of a negotiation? In a new book entitled �Wharton on Making Decisions,� three faculty members discuss these issues and offer advice on how to improve your bargaining ability.

Got a New Job? Better Check That Non-Compete Clause

Mon, 19 Mar 2001 14:04:53 EST

While the Internet allows us to generate and share information more quickly than ever, it has also led to increased job hopping among employees, many of whom feel little allegiance to a particular company. But with high-tech employers increasingly concerned about protecting �intellectual property,� some of these employees may find it�s harder to move on than they thought.

Risky Business: Kidnappers Target Global Executives

Wed, 22 Nov 2000 14:31:38 EST

As corporate America buys and sells more goods and services abroad, the number of company employees kidnapped for ransom in places like Mexico, Brazil, the Philippines and Chechnya has increased. Along with that increase have come escalating demands for ransom money, more expensive insurance policies and more sophisticated negotiation tactics on both sides of the table. Knowledge@Wharton looks at recent developments in the kidnap and ransom business.

Should Law and Accounting Firms Be Allowed to Merge?

Wed, 19 Jul 2000 14:03:10 EST

Earlier this month an American Bar Association policy making committee voted down a proposal that would have allowed mergers or acquisitions between law and accounting firms, a practice that is already widespread in Europe. While accounting firms, especially the Big Five, expressed disappointment over the vote, the game isn�t over yet. First, the ABA�s regulations are not binding on state associations. Second, accounting firms have already found ways to circumvent some accountant-lawyer prohibitions. Legal experts from both Wharton and the University of Pennsylvania Law School think that reforms are bound to come in time.

China�s Great Leap Outward

Tue, 21 Mar 2000 17:03:44 EST

However troublesome relations between the U.S. and China have been over the past decade, it�s clear that the trade pact signed last week is heady stuff. By partially clearing the way for China to enter the World Trade Organization (WTO), the U.S. has offered domestic industries their best opportunity ever to tap into a marketplace of 1.25 billion consumers. Should the trade accord be approved � by the U.S. Congress and by major trading partners such as the European Union - the U.S. will benefit from lower tariffs on its exports to China while China will gain new jobs, new technology, new foreign investment and perhaps most important, new respect as a member of the global trading community. Knowledge@Wharton asked five Wharton faculty members to analyze this historic agreement and comment on its implications: Ming-Jer Chen, founding director of Wharton�s Global Chinese Business Initiative; legal studies professor G. Richard Shell; finance professor Richard Herring; operations and information management professor G. Anandalingam; and insurance professor Neil Doherty.

The Umpire Strikes Back (And Out)

Thu, 19 Aug 1999 09:27:31 EST

You would think that employees whose profession requires them to make quick, emphatic decisions on the basis of extensive and arcane rules would have a leg up in a workplace dispute. But Major League Baseball umpires in the U.S.� those often colorful individuals responsible for calling strikes, balls and outs, among other rulings � have committed a string of negotiation blunders in their recent fight against baseball-team owners. Wharton's Peter Cappelli and G. Richard Shell analyze the umpires' mistakes and offer insights into lessons that managers can learn from them.

Bargaining for Advantage

Fri, 23 Jul 1999 16:35:52 EST

From morning decisions over who will pick up the kids until the nightly tug-of-war over which television shows to watch, all of us face negotiations as a part of daily life. Of course, the stakes are highest when our careers and fortunes depend on how well we manage the negotiation process. But, as Richard Shell and Stuart Diamond point out in Wharton's Executive Negotiation Workshop, the process looks much the same every time someone wants something from somebody else. Shell and Diamond teach a systematic approach to negotiation, large and small.

What's Your Best Offer?

Mon, 24 May 1999 17:46:03 EST

Every business person, from J.P. Morgan to Donald Trump, has had to become a sound negotiator. In his new book Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People, G. Richard Shell, a professor of legal studies and management at Wharton, offers insights into the negotiation process drawn from academic research as well as practical examples.