Category: Leadership

Harkins Theatres: The backstory of a successful family business

Dan Harkins, the owner and chief executive officer of Harkins Theatres, was the featured speaker at the Economic Club of Phoenix luncheon on October 11, 2012. Family-owned and -operated Harkins Theatres was founded in Arizona in 1933 and now has 30 locations in five states. Harkins talked about the position of theater operators in the massive entertainment industry. The Economic Club, associated with the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, is a forum for the exchange of ideas about business and the economy.

Leadership development unleashes employee potential

Research continues to reinforce that recruiting, hiring, and training new talent is more costly and less effective in the short term than developing those already employed. With that in mind, the W. P. Carey Center for Executive and Professional Development has created the Leadership Development Workshops, a series of five standalone courses taught by management faculty, on topics that range from driving employee engagement to leading effective team processes.

US Airways CEO Doug Parker: New normal includes ala carte service fees and fewer carriers

Doug Parker is chairman and CEO of US Airways. In a speech at the Economic Club of Phoenix, Parker surveyed the state of the airline industry as the economy slowly recovers, and traced the America West/US Airways story – which he termed “remarkable.” The Economic Club of Phoenix is a forum for the discussion of economic and business issues among academic, business, labor and public sectors in the Phoenix area.

Leaders, cheer up! Positive thinking can boost organizational performance

Research indicates that psychological characteristics such as optimism, resilience and hopefulness can impact performance among top management teams. What’s more, these performance-boosting characteristics can grow when nurtured, and their impact increases under transformational leadership, according to a study conducted by Suzanne Peterson and Zhen Zhang, two assistant professors of management at the W. P. Carey School of Business.

Shell executive Curtis R. Frasier: The world energy system

Curtis Frasier is the executive vice president and general counsel of Royal Dutch Shell’s Upstream Americas business. He is also Shell’s head of legal in the USA. In his speech at the Economic Club of Phoenix on February 2, 2012, he described Shell’s business worldwide and commented on sustainable energy issues. The Economic Club of Phoenix is a forum for the discussion of economic and business issues among academic, business, labor and public sectors in the Phoenix area.

Tribute: Remembering Wm. Polk Carey

On January 2, 2012, the W. P. Carey School of Business lost its benefactor and friend, Wm. Polk Carey. At the January Economic Club of Phoenix luncheon, Dean Robert Mittelstaedt delivered a tribute, speaking about Mr. Carey’s early interest in business, his innovations and his high ethical standards. Mittelstaedt also recalled Mr. Carey’s support of higher education, especially the school at Arizona State University that bears his name.