Costello College of Business News

Hierarchy has its upsides and downsides. A pyramidical power structure works well for day-to-day decision making. But as the distance between the base and the tip of the pyramid increases, tensions between organizational tiers can create obstacles to reform. It’s a matter of “the unconscious dynamics of humans in groups and systems” rather than a deliberate response, says Renee Rinehart Kathawalla, a postdoctoral research fellow of management at Mason.

Through the Global Engagement Scholar Program, undergraduate students in George Mason University School of Business have an opportunity they shouldn’t pass up to examine their own biases, cultural values, and learn how to contribute to a dynamic and global workforce.

In her latest book, Victoria Grady delves into 20 years of research on how people—and their brains—react to change in the workplace and beyond.

Rashed Hasan, executive-in-residence at George Mason University’s Business for a Better World Center (B4BW), is working to make transparent metrics and benchmarks that accurately represent stakeholder value a reality. Alongside a group of researchers and business advisors, he’s developing the Stakeholder Value Index (SVI), which he hopes will be a reliable framework for measuring business impact across the five stakeholders mentioned in the BRT Statement, as well as two additional stakeholders: the company itself and the planet.

As Ngoc Le was wrapping up her sophomore year at the George Mason University School of Business, she was surprised to learn that she had been nominated for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) scholarship. After a demanding application process, her hard work was rewarded as she was named a PCAOB scholar.

Gretchen Hendricks, instructor of business foundations, recently challenged 33 students in her BUS 303: Developing Your Professional Skills, Advanced Elements course to research and create a new business idea they call ThreeWishes, a company that makes kindness the norm.

As a transfer accounting student, Neil VanHaaften, joined the Student Ambassador program at George Mason University School of Business to get know his peers and professors, especially because he was attending virtually for his first semester.

A team of students from George Mason University School of Business’ master of science in real estate development (MRED) program recently won the NAIOP MD/DC Chapter’s 2022 Capital Challenge. This year’s win marks the program’s fifth victory in the Capitol Challenge in the last ten years.

Already an accomplished marketing executive, Patricia Mejia, returned to Mason to attain the master of science in technology management, graduating in 2012. Mejia is now the chief marketing officer at GoTab Inc., which provides food and beverage establishments with e-commerce solutions, a service increasingly in demand.

Gregory Unruh, academic director of Mason’s brand-new chief sustainability officer certification program in Executive Development, has been training sustainability leaders for decades.