faculty spotlight

Expert Insights on Budgeting

cfabi002 — Fri, 23 May 2025 17:40:32 +0000

Expert Insights on Budgeting cfabi002 Fri, 05/23/2025 - 10:40 More Blog Posts Adam McCann | WalletHub May 23, 2025

Assistant Professor of Accounting Eric Allen

UCR School of Business Assistant Professor of Accounting Eric Allen was asked to provide expert insights on Budgeting for an article recently published on WalletHub.

What are some benefits to having a budget?

The best way to think about a budget is that it's a plan. Like all good plans, making one forces you to get intentional and really think about what resources you have and how to use them. A budget also gives you a framework to evaluate future decisions, so you're not just making financial choices in the heat of them moment without consideration of your overarching goals. And even if you don’t follow it perfectly, it still gives you a clear picture of what you thought would happen versus what actually happened — and that comparison can be really eye-opening and helpful.

Are there any downsides to budgeting?

Budgeting can be time-consuming, and if you don't put enough time into it, you'll have one that doesn't match your actual situation. Also, remember it is just a plan, and life can be unpredictable. If you're too rigid about sticking to the original budget instead of adjusting with changing circumstances, it can feel stressful and discouraging. A budget should be a guide not a trap.

Do you have any tips to help people create and stick to a budget?

Like any habit, it's good to 'ritualize' the process. Set aside time each week, to check in on the budget and make any updates. The more you make the budget part of your regular routine, the more likely you'll use it, and the habit will stick. Also, if you typically hate anything related to dealing with financials, look at it as another way to learn - in this case, about yourself. What you value, how you spend, and what makes you feel secure. If you approach it that way, and allow yourself to be flexible as things change, you'll be surprised how much you can learn from the process.

A budget is a plan that outlines how much of your income should go to different parts of your finances, from monthly bills and day-to-day purchases to savings, charitable donations and investments. Having a budget helps you stay organized while moving toward your financial goals and holding yourself accountable.

Unfortunately, budgeting isn’t something that’s often taught in schools, despite 94% of the country thinking it should be, according to a WalletHub survey. The good news is that it’s a skill that’s never too late to learn, and it’s actually a lot easier than it seems.

Below you can learn even more about budgeting, from why it’s important to how to actually go about doing it.

Key Things to Know About Budgets

Importance of Budgeting: Having a budget is important because it keeps you organized and can improve your financial status. Other benefits include building discipline and feeling like you’ve accomplished something.
Creating a Budget: To build your budget, first gather information on your income and expenses. Then, set goals, choose budgeting tools, prioritize your expenses, and allocate money based on your priorities.
Tracking Your Budget: You’ll need to track your budget progress each month and reassess from time to time, to make sure you’re on the best financial path possible. It’s also important to be honest about your spending and whether you meet your goals. Nearly 1 in 5 Americans aren’t honest with themselves while budgeting.
General Budgeting Guidelines: Many people recommend setting aside 50% of your income for necessities, 30% for “wants,” and 20% for other things like building your savings or paying down debt. This is called a 50/30/20 budget.
Different Budgeting Strategies: With a “zero-based budget,” you focus on making your income minus your expenses equal $0, regardless of specific percentages. An “envelope budget” can help you tangibly lay out cash for each spending category. And a “pay yourself first” budget prioritizes saving and investing.

Why Is Budgeting Important?

There are many reasons why having a budget is worthwhile – and even essential – for everyone. They include:

It improves your financial situation. Budgeting helps you avoid overspending, and it helps you work toward goals like building an emergency fund, paying down debt, growing your investments, or saving for a big purchase. Sticking to a budget can also help improve your credit score.
It helps you stay organized. Knowing exactly how much you plan to spend on each item in your budget makes it easier to set money aside and track your progress each month. People who have a budget feel significantly more secure, confident and in control of their lives, according to a survey by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.
It expands your knowledge. Budgeting gives you a better idea of how much you’re spending relative to how much you earn, as well as what you’re spending your money on.
It builds discipline. Sticking to your budget may involve passing up on things that you want, which can build self-control and other good habits. Only 1 in 5 Americans with a budget say they exceed it, according to a recent WalletHub study.
It gives you a sense of accomplishment. Budgeting may not be fun, with 27% of Americans saying they’d rather do laundry and 20% saying they’d rather do their taxes. But once you have a budget, you’ll find that setting goals and achieving them feels good, especially when it also leads to growing your net worth or reducing your debt.

How to Make a Budget

Making a budget might seem daunting at first, but it’s actually pretty simple once you break it down into the proper steps. Plus, once you make a budget for the first time, you’ll have the skills you need to update it as your financial needs change.

Gather information: Figure out how much money you take home each month, and then come up with a list of your monthly expenses and how much they typically cost.
Set goals: Decide what you want your budget to accomplish, such as getting debt-free in a certain time period, growing your emergency fund to a certain amount, saving up for a big trip or investing a certain amount every month. Your goal can even be as simple as staying organized and spending less than you make.
Use tools: There are a number of free and paid budgeting tools available that can simplify the process.
Prioritize: Divide your expenses into categories of high, medium and low priority. High priority means you must put money toward them. Medium priority means you should allocate them some funds, but they’re not the most important. Low priority means you can do without them.
Plan: Decide how much money to give to each item on your budget. You can start by setting aside money for all your mandatory bills, and then divide the remaining money between your personal “wants” and more important things like paying down debt, saving, and investing.
Track your progress: Use your budgeting tools to automatically or manually track your spending each month. See whether you are able to stick to your budget or you frequently exceed it.
Reassess: The budget you make now won’t necessarily be the right budget forever. If you meet one of your goals, you can set a new one and adjust accordingly. In addition, if you’re having trouble with your current budget, you may need to go back to the drawing board.

Budget Example

Below is an example budget for a typical American household, broken down into some common expense categories the household might have. This example is based on the real median household income, which is around $64,200 per year or $5,350 per month, after taxes. Keep in mind that actual incomes and expenses will differ widely by person and location.

In general, many sources say that you should follow a 50/30/20 structure with your budget, spending 50% on “needs,” 30% on “wants,” and 20% for savings and paying down debt. As you can see, though, it may be difficult to keep your “needs” to 50% of your budget during this inflationary period (the example budget above spends 62% on “needs”). In addition, it may be wiser to spend a higher portion of your budget on things that will help you financially, like paying off debt and building your savings, rather than things you simply want to have but don’t really need.

You can learn more about budgeting with WalletHub’s helpful budgeting tips guide. You can also join WalletHub for free to gain instant access to our budgeting tools.

Types of Budgets

There are several different types of budgeting strategies you can use, and you may want to try out various ones in order to see which works best for you.

50/30/20 Budget: You put 50% of your income toward your “needs,” 30% toward your “wants,” and 20% toward debt payoff, savings, and investments. This budget allocation is a good general rule of thumb, but you don’t need to strictly follow the recommended percentages, especially if your “needs,” or essential expenses, take up more than 50% of your income.

Zero-Based Budget: Zero-based budgeting focuses on ensuring that you don’t spend more than you make, requiring you to assign every dollar you make to a specific expense. Its concept is simple – your income minus your expenses should equal $0, regardless of how you distribute the money.

Envelope Budget: This is a budgeting style for people who want to make sure they don’t spend too much in one specific category. Essentially, you put a certain amount of money into “envelopes” each month for each spending category. This can be actual physical envelopes with cash or just virtual envelopes on a spreadsheet. Each time you pay for an expense, you take money out of the envelope, and once it’s empty, you’re not allowed to spend any more in that category.

Pay-Yourself-First Budget: Unlike other types of budgets, this one focuses the most on your future. It stresses that the first thing you should do each month is set aside a certain amount of money for savings and investments. After you’ve done that, you can divide the rest of your budget between essential expenses and things you want. This type of budget is good for people who want to make sure they don’t treat saving and investing as an afterthought.

The No-Budget Budget: This is the loosest type of budget, and we don’t recommend it over other types. With this budgeting strategy, you just focus on the things you absolutely must pay for each month. As long as you track your spending and set aside the money you need for those essential expenses, you can spend the rest of your money on whatever you want, without a defined plan. Budgeting this way is better than nothing, but planning out all or most of your monthly expenses in detail is always better.

____________________________________
All images courtesy of Google Gemini AI

Tags

faculty

faculty spotlight

Eric Allen

The Future of Decision Making

ilseu — Thu, 22 May 2025 23:37:40 +0000

The Future of Decision Making ilseu Thu, 05/22/2025 - 16:37 More Blog Posts Josh Haynam | Interact May 02, 2025

In a recent episode of the Quiz Marketing Podcast, Josh Haynam, Co-founder at Interact, sat down with Professor Ye Li, Associate Professor of Management at UC Riverside, to explore the fascinating world of behavioral science and decision-making. What makes this episode so compelling is how it bridges theory and practice, showing listeners why the psychology behind our choices matters not only in research but also in real-world applications like marketing, finance, and even health-related behaviors.

Professor Li and Josh begin by discussing the role of emotions in shaping decisions. Many people assume decision-making is purely rational, but as Li explains, emotions often act as shortcuts that influence how we evaluate options. For example, feelings of gratitude can lead individuals to be more generous with money or more trusting in negotiations. On the other hand, fear or anxiety might cause people to avoid risks even when the logical choice points the other way. Understanding these emotional drivers allows businesses, marketers, and policymakers to anticipate behavior and design strategies that resonate with people on a deeper level.

They then dive into the concept of cognitive shortcuts—or heuristics—and how these mental “rules of thumb” help us navigate daily life. Heuristics are essential because they save time and energy, but they can also introduce bias. Professor Li gives examples of how the framing of a question or the way information is presented can dramatically influence outcomes. Something as simple as asking whether a glass is “half full” versus “half empty” can change how people feel about the same situation. For marketers, this insight is crucial: the phrasing of quiz questions, survey items, or product descriptions can determine whether someone engages positively or feels uncertain.

Another major theme of the episode is personalization. Li highlights how micro-targeting and individual differences shape the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. Two people may react very differently to the same message based on their values, past experiences, or personality traits. By paying attention to these nuances, businesses can craft experiences that feel more personal, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. Interact’s quiz-based marketing model fits seamlessly into this discussion, as it allows brands to segment audiences and provide tailored recommendations.

The conversation also turns toward the future of decision-making in the age of artificial intelligence. Far from replacing human judgment, Professor Li emphasizes that AI works best when it collaborates with human insight. Algorithms can process massive amounts of data, but humans bring context, creativity, and ethical considerations that machines alone cannot provide. Together, the two create a decision-making process that is not only efficient but also more balanced and humane. For students, entrepreneurs, and professionals alike, this perspective encourages critical thinking about how to leverage AI responsibly while respecting human judgment.

Whether you’re interested in marketing strategy, psychology, or leadership, this podcast episode delivers valuable takeaways. If you’re a marketer, you’ll walk away with new ways to frame questions, design quizzes, and appeal to your audience’s emotions. If you’re a business leader, you’ll gain insights into motivating teams, understanding customer behavior, and making more informed decisions. And for students or lifelong learners, Professor Li provides a clear and engaging introduction to behavioral science that connects academic research with everyday life.

The 48-minute podcast is available on two platforms, making it easy to tune in on your favorite service:

Spotify

Apple Podcasts.

___________________________

The Interact podcast explores human behavior and decision making. Interviews with experts delve into the specifics of how humans operate and make choices, with the goal of better understanding what drives people. Josh Haynam, Co-founder at Interact, hosts the podcast. Josh has been studying human behavior through the lens of personality quizzes since 2013 and has seen over 1 billion data points come through the Interact platform. Conversations weave in and out of research studies and anecdotal information derived from experiences of guests and quiz creators.

Tags

faculty spotlight

faculty

Ye Li

Challenging the Notion of “Right Answers”

ilseu — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 22:28:17 +0000

Challenging the Notion of “Right Answers” ilseu Wed, 04/09/2025 - 15:28 More Blog Posts Laurie McLaughlin April 09, 2025

It comes as no surprise that Kyle Ingram has received various prestigious student-voted awards five times during his seven-year professorial career at UCR.

Assistant Prof. Kyle Ingram

“Dr. Ingram is an incredible professor and is, thankfully, doing what he is meant to do,” wrote one of the many students over the years nominating Ingram for a teaching award. “He makes an indelible mark on all his students, and I am thankful I was able to learn from such an incredible person.”

This year, the professor was honored with the 2023-2024 Golden Apple Award for Business Administration Pre-requisite Courses by undergraduates, who were asked to vote for professors in whose classes they had the best overall experience in learning, engagement, teaching style, and innovative teaching methods.

Previously, Ingram was honored with the 2022-2023 James Merino Endowed Innovation Award: Students select a faculty member demonstrating innovative teaching or using innovative tools and technologies in the classroom. For 2021-2022, students recognized Ingram with the Shulman Endowed Excellence in Teaching Award for overall effectiveness of teaching, including invoking curiosity and creating an academic environment that is open and encouraging.

Ingram says that central to his instructional philosophy is challenging the traditional notion of “right answers” and cultivating an appreciation for the complexity of social and psychological phenomena.

“I believe that while we may not have all the answers, there are certain things we do know, and it is important to develop sensitivity to different levels of certainty,” he says. “I aim to engage students in critical thinking and encourage them to question assumptions by presenting them with contradictory research findings and theories.”

Outside the classroom, Ingram will lead the UCR Business Brazil Leadership Experience, a three-week study trip covering two leadership courses encouraging students to “engage in a deeper understanding of human behavior in organizations,” working on the “idea that behavior is a function of a person in his/her environment.” Which means the way “we behave is largely dependent on who we are and the various contexts we find ourselves in,” according to the program description. Students will study leadership and international management with academics and practitioners in Brazil, in addition to interaction with business leaders with an emphasis on sustainable leadership.

In spring 2024, Ingram also served as coach for the UCR team representing the UCR School of Business at the Collegiate Leadership Competition, which saw 200 teams from the U.S. and Canada compete in two contests: the U.S. Invitational at John Caroll University in Ohio, where the UCR team placed fourth overall, and the online Global Challenge with UCR placing fifth overall, an impressive showing for the inaugural School of Business team participating in the competition.

During the 10 weeks of competition preparation, including weekly coaching sessions, “I watched a transformation that went beyond skill enhancement. It was a profound evolution perspective and unity,” says Ingram. “As our team prepared for the competition, they learned to see their vulnerabilities not as weaknesses but as invaluable strengths. This shift turned each session into a steppingstone, building trust and resilience.”

This dedication to helping students learn both about the subject at hand and about themselves is the hallmark of Ingram’s teaching, coaching, and mentorship.

“Professor Ingram shows great care for his students and has always made himself available for any questions,” wrote another nominating student. “He was the first professor to encourage me to step out of my comfort zone, and I’m glad he did.”

Tags

FACULTY AWARDS

faculty spotlight

Professor Takes UCR Students Around the World

cfabi002 — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 23:11:05 +0000

Professor Takes UCR Students Around the World cfabi002 Wed, 03/19/2025 - 16:11 More Blog Posts Laurie McLaughlin March 24, 2025

Professor Sean Jasso

Professor of Practice Sean Jasso teaches both inside and outside the classroom—sometimes, way outside of the classroom: For 15 years, Jasso has led, as a volunteer, the UCR School of Business’s educational domestic and international travel program.

Jasso has also served as advisor to many, many victorious UCR Business teams at student competitions locally and nationally over the same time span, with multiple winning streaks at the annual UC Davis Case Competition, International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition, and the UCR Women In Business Case Competition.

Due to these endeavors and his popular in-classroom instruction style, Jasso was recognized with the student-voted 2023-2024 Shulman Endowed Excellence in Teaching Award. The accolade was established by an alumnus and his wife to honor David Shulman, a retired economics professor, and annually rewards an exemplary business professor who embodies teaching excellence just as Shulman did.

While presenting the award during a banquet ceremony, Jaya Gazula ’24 shared a student’s comment: “Dr. Jasso embodies excellence and fosters that in his students. His involvement with the case studies and competitions highlights that education extends beyond the classroom; this approach not only enriches academic learning but prepares students for future success.”

Jaya Gazula ’24 and Prof. Sean Jasso at the UCR School of Business Faculty Awards Dinner 2024

Last year, Jasso established the Dr. Sean Drake Jasso Global Endowed Scholarship, which funds student participation in UCR Global Programs, with a preference for School of Business third- and fourth-year students.

“In all the years that I’ve done the global programs, I’ve been moving toward creating a scholarship,” says Jasso, who also received the student-voted Golden Apple Award in 2023, 2018, and 2017, for teaching excellence. “I want to help students in need see the world.”

Among the several excursions he conducts annually, Jasso led a student group to China last summer for an immersive experience to help them better understand the nation’s considerable worldwide economic and political influence.

“A global mindset enables students to broaden their perspectives on everything,” says Jasso, and firsthand, on-the-ground exposure in a very different business landscape is tough to beat when it comes to expanding students’ academic résumés.

“The objective is for our students to gain confidence and strengthen their overall competitive value in the labor market.”

___________________

Faculty Selection / Eligibility Process for the UCR Business Teaching & Innovation Awards

Any faculty member (ladder-rank and lecturer) who has taught at least one class in an award category and at least three classes over the last two academic years is eligible. After winning an award in a category, a faculty is not eligible to win the same award for the next 5 years.

Tags

faculty spotlight

FACULTY AWARDS

“He Puts a Ton of Effort Into His Courses”

cfabi002 — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 20:07:16 +0000

“He Puts a Ton of Effort Into His Courses” cfabi002 Fri, 03/07/2025 - 12:07 More Blog Posts Laurie McLaughlin March 07, 2025

Associate Professor Marketing Ye Li

Within his courses, Associate Professor Marketing Ye Li provides what he characterizes as “minor things” for his students.

“I arrive 10 minutes before class and play music from a custom playlist that the students create related to decision-making topics,” says Li, who teaches Judgement and Decision Making and Managerial Decision Making courses at UCR School of Business.

“I learn all my students names every year, which is about 150 students per quarter, without name tents or name tags, and I take a daily class photo for attendance instead of having them sign in,” he adds. He also encourages attendance at office hours, he says, “by allowing students to decorate their own 1-inch wooden star, and I’ll make a framed collage once I have enough stars.”

Li also runs a class Discord server to enhance communication in addition to office hours, and updates course content by sharing podcasts and TED talks relevant to course work.

These “minor things” are obviously considered major things by his students, who once again honored Li with the student-voted 2023-2024 Golden Apple Award for Business Administration Elective Courses. He was also awarded the prestigious Golden Apple in 2017 and 2022.

“Professor Li is an amazing professor. He cares about his students and puts a ton of effort into his courses,” wrote a student voter when nominating Li for the award. “He has designed courses with activities, data-driven application of class concepts, and intriguing lectures.”

Indeed, Li focuses on active learning. “I encourage students to not take notes during class and just listen to the content of the lecture,” says Li, who provides students the lecture slides and recording. He also designates half of the classroom “as an electronics-free zone, where students can commit at the start of quarter to not use electronics during class, including laptops to take notes. Students in this zone love the lack of distractions,” he says.

Another student voter wrote: “Professor Li is extremely passionate about the topics he teaches, and his form of teaching ensures that students use critical thinking to make decisions. He also makes the material absorbable.”

Li’s courses include weekly web assignments, “which consist of experimental stimuli from the papers they’re going to read that week,” says Li. “I analyze this data to show them the effects—such as anchoring, overconfidence, etc.—that they’ll learn in class.” He also sends personalized emails to each person with their scores.

These strategies are coupled with other innovative teaching methods, including an exercise where student partners design their own precommitment device and track their behavior quantitatively over the course of two weeks. “This demonstrates the power of precommitment/prepayment to help self-control problems, like spending less time on the phone or exercising more,” says Li. “It helps them understand the psychology of dynamic inconsistency, the benefits of precommitment, and what went well or not about their self-control attempt.”

The professor’s research “studies the reasons people make various kinds of decisions, especially involving tradeoffs between sooner and later consequences,” he says. “Some of my most influential work has looked at the role of emotions and cognitive ability influencing these types of decisions. For example, sadness makes people less patient, while gratitude—but not happiness—makes them more patient.”

Along these lines, another student voter wrote: “Dr. Li is well versed in his subject area. I was able to improve my decision-making skills after taking his course. He also provided valuable feedback throughout the course, which let us know how we were performing. He is attentive and cares about his students.”

Recognizing this commitment, Li was lauded by Poets & Quants with the 40 Under 40 Best MBA Professors recognition in 2020. “Ye Li has wowed us as much as he has his students, who have had the luck to see him in action in a classroom,” stated Poets & Quants award evaluators. “What impressed us even more than his mountains of research was the feedback current and former students gave, particularly about how much he genuinely and truly cares for those he teaches.”

With the strategies mentioned and other innovative approaches—including embracing AI as part of the learning process and a group project that resulted in student-generated ideas for campus dining calorie equivalent information, a way for diners to make informed choices—Li is invested in both the education and welfare of his students.

“Professor Li’s courses have offered lessons that will be applicable outside my career, both in life and in personal finance,” wrote a student. “He has been extremely helpful about finding opportunities outside the classroom.”

To that, Li responds: “My favorite moments are when students report using class concepts in their lives and jobs.”

___________________

Faculty Selection / Eligibility Process for the UCR Business Teaching & Innovation Awards

Tags

FACULTY AWARDS

faculty spotlight

Managing Mental Health and Fostering Resilience

cfabi002 — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 19:31:12 +0000

Managing Mental Health and Fostering Resilience cfabi002 Fri, 03/07/2025 - 11:31 More News Aurora Abt March 07, 2025

UCR Assistant Professor of Teaching in Management Kyle Ingram

New Case Study Prioritizes Mental Health

Imagine a job ruining your well-being. For 9 out of 10 employees, work-related stress* is a reality. This phenomenon also creates a unique set of pressures for female managers. While research on this topic is limited, a new case study has been commended for exploring the impact of mental health challenges on career growth and ways to improve corporate culture. More importantly, it outlines simple solutions to empower and support both.

Professor Kyle Ingram, UCR Assistant Professor of Teaching in Management, and Professor Bethania Antunes, London School of Economics and Political Science, have taken a real-life example and created a lesson on how to make the modern workplace a healthier space. Their case study, “Stonegate: Managing Mental Health and Fostering Resilience,” explores the experience of Stephanie Riley, a bright, highly motivated manager suddenly crippled by depression and anxiety. What is particularly interesting is that Riley’s crises occurred while seeking an advanced leadership role.

Stonegate helps students understand the relationship between stress, depression, anxiety, and diminished work capacity. Violetta Gallagher, associate director at Ivey Publishing, the study’s distributor, believes: “The most compelling aspect of the case is its focus on mental health, a vital yet underrepresented area in business education.” By following Riley’s mental health timeline, students can analyze the effect the rigors of career growth and changing roles can have on an individual’s mental health.

Fresh Narrative on Female Resilience

The presentation of a star employee’s unraveling and eventual recovery is a game- changer among business case studies. From struggling with day-to-day duties to cracks in her composure and symptoms of depression, Stonegate explores the call for corporate intervention in light of inadequate support systems. Says Gallagher: “What makes this case truly stand out is its portrayal of Stephanie Riley as a multifaceted, strong female protagonist. Her story challenges traditional stereotypes by demonstrating that prioritizing mental health can coexist with resilience and success.” A key takeaway is that advocating for better services is imperative when prioritizing mental health.

Unique Benefits of the Case Study Format

Ingram believes “case studies offer an interactive learning experience, providing students with a real-world context for applying theoretical concepts.” Gallagher concurs, noting that Ingram and Antunes have created a winning format with Stonegate: “From a pedagogical standpoint, the case excels in its structure and use of roleplay. The roleplay component is particularly impactful, as it transforms the case into an interactive experience, helping students develop empathy, communication, and problem-solving skills in sensitive scenarios.”

Gallegher, an avid reviewer of business case studies and well-versed in the marketplace, believes the study achieves two broad yet noteworthy goals: “In today’s competitive landscape, this case fills a critical gap. It not only highlights the importance of mental health but also showcases how organizations can genuinely integrate these considerations into their culture.”

Culture Shift: Strategies to Promote Well-Being

One question Ingram and Antunes’ study poses is whether management could or should intervene before an employee requests help. “These topics are highly relevant as businesses increasingly recognize the link between employee well-being, productivity, and organizational success,” explains Ingram.

The cost of not seeking help is twofold. The operational cost is approximately 12 billion workdays lost globally each year as workers cope with depression and anxiety. The financial cost, however, totals one trillion dollars in lost productivity.** The need for corporate support is evident. The pressing question is, how can companies best assist struggling employees?

Stonegate helps students develop a more informed perspective on workplace challenges. As Gallagher surmises: “Riley’s story resonates as both a call to action and an inspiration, emphasizing that success should never come at the expense of mental health and that everyone deserves the space to grow, recover, and thrive.”

The Stonegate Case Study with teaching note is available for purchase.

Fostering Mental Health: 3 Practical Tips

1. Adopt health-oriented leadership practices: Emulate successful models from high-stress industries, encouraging empathy and resource access.
2. Build a supportive organizational climate: Through open-door policies, regular check-ins, and employee support programs, companies can foster a culture that emphasizes well-being.
3. Enhance trust and transparency: Leaders should focus on building trust with employees by prioritizing transparency and open communication, making mental health resources accessible and normalized.

________________________

*Center for Advancing Health, “Stress in the Workplace, 2024 Update,” January 11, 2024
**UKMoney.net
Source: Stonegate: Managing Mental Health and Fostering Resilience

Tags

faculty spotlight

Fostering Student Understanding and Interaction

ilseu — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 17:44:04 +0000

Fostering Student Understanding and Interaction ilseu Mon, 01/06/2025 - 09:44 More Blog Posts Aurora Abt January 03, 2025

Serious learning. Students of Associate Professor of Management Elaine Wong credit her with offering this – and much more. Her signature teaching method of fostering critical thinking and thoughtful discourse has literally earned an apple for this instructor. Dr. Wong has the distinction of being the 2023-2024 recipient of the Golden Apple for Excellence in Teaching Graduate Core Courses and the James Merino Innovation Award for inventive teaching methods. At the core of this double recognition is the admiration and appreciation of her students.

One student assessed Professor Wong’s classroom style and commented on her standout approach: “The inverse format of the course allowed us to digest the material in advance and engage in valid arguments with other serious learners during class time– that’s gold.” Sharing opinions and defending individual positions are hallmarks of the critical thinking process. Business leaders use critical thinking to make tough decisions that impact hundreds, if not thousands, of employees and consumers, so the importance of honing these skills in the classroom cannot be understated.

Professor Wong’s student-centered approach is a key factor in her teaching effectiveness. One student noted that she was “always innovative and attentive to student’s needs, adapting as she taught.” This adaptability acknowledges what works for individuals and fosters reciprocal respect between the instructor and students. Professor Wong’s dedication to student success is further highlighted by a student who believes she “brings energy and compassion along with insight to make the course interactive and memorable.” She has demonstrated an ability to lead a classroom of keen, motivated learners and make a long-lasting impression.

Undergraduates and graduate students often find their voice at various times, developing a point of view deeply rooted in acquired knowledge, a unique perspective, and self-confidence. Professor Wong encourages students to exchange ideas and experiences for the betterment of all. She believes: “Class discussions play a crucial role in student development, as they not only help students meet general program goals to refine their critical thinking and communication skills, but also specific course goals to diagnose, evaluate, and improve the organizational challenges they face and will encounter in their careers. The amazing diversity of the student population at UCR heightens the benefit of class discussions, as students share and hear a wide range of perspectives, making for important and interesting interactions.”

Professor Wong ensures that students can share their understanding and interpretation of class topics without feeling judged by classmates. As one student stated: “I never before felt like my voice mattered in the way it did in her class.”

___________________

Faculty Selection / Eligibility Process for the UCR Business Teaching & Innovation Awards

Tags

FACULTY AWARDS

faculty spotlight

‘Dr. Ingram is doing what he is meant to do’

ilseu — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 18:21:09 +0000

‘Dr. Ingram is doing what he is meant to do’ ilseu Thu, 03/07/2024 - 10:21 More Blog Posts Laurie McLaughlin April 02, 2024

Challenging the traditional notion of “right answers” and cultivating an appreciation for the complexity of social and psychological phenomena is central to the instructional philosophy of Kyle Ingram, assistant professor of teaching in management.

Ingram’s philosophy works for students, and they honored him with the student-voted 2022-2023 James Merino Innovation Award, which recognizes a faculty member for innovative ways of teaching or utilizing innovative tools and technologies in the classroom.

“Dr. Ingram is an incredible professor and is, thankfully, doing what he is meant to do,” wrote one of the students nominating Ingram. “He makes an indelible mark on all his students, and I am thankful I was able to learn from such an incredible person.”

Professor Kyle Ingram with undergraduate business students in the UCR Student Success Center

Ingram aims “to keep the classroom fresh and engaging by integrating a variety of teaching methods and tools,” he says. “For instance, in my Designing and Leading Teams course, I employ a method known as concurrent design, where students learn about team-related theories as they work on solving real problems faced by organizations.

“This approach allows students to gain hands-on experience and apply theoretical concepts in a practical context. I also collaborate with external partners, such the School of Medicine’s Healthy Campus Initiative and the Department of Music, to provide students with opportunities for real-world consultation and project-based learning.”

Ingram also incorporates case discussion, research-driven lectures, and in-class exercises to engage students and foster their love for the subject matter, he says. “In my Organizational Behavior course, students participate in a case competition, where teams of student consultants compete to provide the best solution to a given business challenge.”

The contest culminates in a grand finale with a panels of judges, including professors, former students, and administrators. He also incorporates similar interactive experiences in his

Leadership Development course, where students engage in a leadership consulting exercise interacting directly with organizations based in Riverside.

Among the challenges professors face is ensuring everyone grasps difficult subjects. “This requires adaptability, creativity, and perseverance. It is important to continuously assess and adjust my teaching strategies based on student feedback and learning outcomes,” says Ingram. “Establishing a supportive and inclusive learning environment is essential when teaching subjects that might be challenging or, perhaps, revealing. It is essential to encourage open dialogue, questions, and discussion.”

Supporting this notion, one of his students wrote: “Dr. Ingram does a great job creating a space where interaction is encouraged and makes class extremely interesting and engaging. I think that he does a great job of utilizing the classroom space and innovating in his classes.”

Another student’s input included, “… Professor Ingram incorporates new and exciting ways to teach us and really helps us understand the meaning of his lessons. He prepares us very well for real-life business situations, and I appreciate his connection with his students.”

“This recognition as a recipient of the James Merino Innovation Award motivates me to continue pushing the boundaries of traditional teaching methods and finding new ways to inspire our remarkable students,” says Ingram, who last year received the 2022 Innovative Teaching Award from UC Riverside and the 2022 Shulman Endowed Excellence in Teaching Award from the UCR School of Business.

“Every student can be successful in my courses—it just takes the right attitude and motivation.”

Tags

FACULTY AWARDS

faculty spotlight

Accounting’s Dynamic and Evolving Landscape

ilseu — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 22:06:08 +0000

Accounting’s Dynamic and Evolving Landscape ilseu Tue, 09/26/2023 - 15:06 More News September 15, 2023

When asked why she was compelled to earn a business education herself, Professor of Accounting Ivy Zhang’s answer is definitive: “I have always been intrigued by the dynamic nature of the business world, where innovation, strategy, and problem-solving intersect.

A business education offered me the opportunity to gain a comprehensive understanding of the various aspects of commerce.”

From the beginning, Zhang was fascinated by how business connects people, organizations, and global markets. She recognized that pursuing a business degree would not only provide her with technical knowledge, but also sharpen her ability to analyze issues from multiple perspectives and solve problems that have real-world impact. This broad foundation gave her the tools to explore where her passions and skills intersected most strongly.

Among the many disciplines within business, accounting stood out. “I was captivated by the ability of accounting to translate complex financial data into meaningful information that helps stakeholders,” she says. “Accounting also offers a dynamic and evolving landscape, with the advent of technology and data analytics revolutionizing the profession.”

This perspective reflects how accounting is no longer limited to recordkeeping. For Zhang, it is a language of business — one that helps companies, investors, and communities understand performance, assess opportunities, and plan for the future. By combining precision with interpretation, accounting has allowed her to bridge the technical side of business with its human impact.

Zhang joined the UCR School of Business in 2018, bringing her expertise and passion to students preparing to enter a wide range of professions. Teaching, for her, is more than sharing knowledge. “One of the primary reasons I chose to be a professor was the opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of students as a mentor and educator,” she says. “Guiding students through their academic journeys, seeing them overcome challenges, and witnessing their intellectual growth is incredibly gratifying.”

This commitment has shaped her teaching style. She works with both undergraduate and graduate students, adapting her methods to ensure that each classroom becomes a space for curiosity and growth. In her courses, theory is paired with application, and she emphasizes collaboration as much as individual achievement. Group projects, case studies, and simulations give students the chance to test ideas, learn from each other, and build confidence in real-world settings.

“By engaging in practical tasks, students can demonstrate their comprehension and develop essential skills that are transferable beyond the classroom setting,” she says. “My goal is to create a dynamic and inclusive learning environment where students feel comfortable and motivated to explore new and sometimes complex concepts.”

For Zhang, teaching is not just about delivering content but about cultivating resilience and independence in her students. She strives to prepare them for challenges they will face as professionals, ensuring they leave her classroom not only with technical knowledge but also with adaptability, critical thinking skills, and confidence. Her dedication underscores the central mission of the UCR School of Business: empowering students to succeed in an increasingly complex and interconnected business world.

Ivy Zhang’s research focuses on two areas: the CEO labor market and social media. She recently co-authored “Outside Opportunities, Managerial Risk Taking, and CEO Compensation” in The Accounting Review.

Tags

Staying Ahead of Business Analytics

ilseu — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 22:10:37 +0000

Staying Ahead of Business Analytics ilseu Mon, 04/17/2023 - 15:10 More News Laurie McLaughlin April 17, 2023

It is no surprise that Subramanian Balachander is a professor. “My story as a teacher begins at a young age,” he says. When he was in eighth grade, his father transferred jobs, the family moved, and Balachander found himself at a new school with an advanced curriculum. “Previously, I had been excelling in my studies, but I found myself struggling in algebra and geometry classes,” he says.

Prof. Subramanian Balachander

“That is when my mother rescued me. She sat with me and taught me and made it look easy. I learned the importance of teaching and the gift of knowledge from this experience.” He went on to teach his younger siblings and tutored in high school. While working in the corporate world, “even some of my work colleagues thought I should be a professor based on how I approached things,” says Balachander. “So, I guess, I have been a teacher most of my life.”

A Constant Evolution into New Areas of Knowledge

Earnest. That is how Balachander, professor of marketing, describes his approach to teaching.

“I am earnest in the belief that critical thinking skills are crucial to good learning and to be successful in life and career,” he says. “In today’s dynamic and complex business environment, it is not possible to teach everything, and even if you teach a lot of things related to what is happening today, knowledge gets obsolete very quickly.

“However, critical thinking allows you to adapt to new situations and become a lifelong learner.”

His courses cultivate critical thinking skills by employing active learning and decision-making through case analyses and discussion, experiential exercises, and simulations. “Students who have gone through my courses typically are ready to become valuable contributors to their organizations on day one,” he says.

Balachander joined the UC Riverside School of Business and the A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management in 2016 as the Albert O. Steffey Chair, which was established to promote excellence in research and teaching. Balachander also serves as the academic director of the Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program, the area coordinator for the marketing department, and he is a member of the business school’s Executive Committee and Strategic Planning Committee.

However, his true devotion lies within the classroom, where he teaches marketing strategy to undergraduate and master’s students, digital marketing to master’s students, and marketing models at the Ph.D. level. Balachander relishes the opportunity to teach students in a discipline defined by its constant evolution.

Education on the Very Forefront of Business and Data Analytics

“In today’s gadget and internet-driven world, tremendous amounts of data—so-called big data—is being accumulated from ecommerce, online advertising, social media, wireless sensors, mobile devices, video feeds, and the like,” says Balachander when asked about the importance of earning a master’s in business analytics.

“Businesses and other organizations want to utilize this hitherto unused mountain of data to derive insights that will help improve their operations and gain a competitive advantage. Therefore, they are in a rush to hire employees who have the skills to analyze these huge quantities of data.”

MSBA students have already proved a quantitative aptitude and interest in solving business problems and using data analytics through their admission to the program, adds Balachander, and UCR’s MSBA curriculum is taught collaboratively by the School of Business and the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences’ Department of Statistics.

“The courses taught by statistics faculty typically provide the key concepts and skills required to extract and prepare data, make valid inferences about variables that affect outcomes of interest, and develop and test predictive models for these outcomes,” says Balachander.

“The courses taught in the School of Business integrate these data analytic skills with the concepts necessary to understand what makes businesses successful, which enables students to understand what data may be relevant to address a business problem and to know how to translate the results for business data analytics into recommendations for the business.”

Balachander’s Research Examines the Effectiveness of Marketing Strategies

Balachander currently has several co-authored marketing research projects nearing completion. Two of these include:

Studying the optimal sales incentives—individual or group incentives—that brands which manage their own retail sales should offer their retail salespeople: “Examples of brand-managed retail include store-in-store formats, such as the cosmetic counters in major department stores or brand-managed stand-alone stores, such as Aveda or Gap,” he says. “We first analyze a theoretical model in this research, which suggests that relatively weaker brands could benefit from using group incentives in comparison to stronger brands, which may be better off with individual incentives.”
Examination of optimal promotions for brands that aim to be considered by consumers during the purchase process: “For example, in 2010, Suzuki announced a nationwide promotion, the Kizashi Test-Drive Challenge, offering prospective sedan buyers $250 for adding the Kizashi to their consideration lists,” says Balachander. “Buyers in auto markets visit only 1.6 auto dealerships on average because of the high search costs in terms of time and money. In this research, we develop a model of consumer search behavior, and we then estimate the parameter of the model using survey data from U.S. car buyers reporting the set of car models they considered during their purchase process and the model they eventually chose. Using the estimated model, we are able to project the results of running alternative test-drive promotions.”

Finding a Teaching Career

After earning an MBA in marketing, Balachander worked in management consulting in operations, marketing, and finance. He realized he was most “interested in marketing problems as strategic decisions, which were more important for the health and future of any organization and require integration of information about consumers, competitors, and market conditions—all of which were quite fluid and hard to predict,” he says.

While working in a corporate marketing environment, he fine-tuned his interests and realized he wanted to spend less time on mundane tasks and more time “on issues involving critical thinking about marketing,” he says, and he headed to Carnegie Mellon University to earn a Ph.D. in marketing. He was a professor at Purdue University, University of Maryland, and Clark University before arriving at UCR.

Looking back, he remembers his time studying for his doctoral degree, and says: “I found myself absorbing great ideas about marketing, economics, and business from great faculty minds.” Today, Balachander is doing the same for his own university students.

Tags

Faculty Profile

faculty spotlight

featured faculty