Page 31 - BUZZ Magazine - Issue No. 3 - Summer 2022 | University of Rochester

V E R S I T Y
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST ISSUES FACING BUSINESS LEADERS I GOOD
TODAY? HOW HAS THE PANDEMIC AFFECTED THEM? N O
THINGS FOR
Talent management is one of the biggest issues this business world U ALUMNI AND F
is confronting. Leaders are pondering, more than before, what do R FRIENDS R
employees value professionally and personally in an organization O T E
C
or in a role? How do we onboard new talent and foster professional H E S
relationships and culture with so much remote work? The way people
work has shifted permanently—no matter if it’s within a corporation, a
not-for-profit agency, or an educational institution. At Simon, we are Buzz Magazine
asking ourselves the same questions from an academic perspective, Summer 2022
and we are coming up with ways to respond. For instance, soon, I’d
like to offer a talent and HR analytics class to help future leaders learn
management techniques around workplace productivity and satisfaction THOMAS FARRELL ’88, ’90W (MS)
in an increasingly diverse, often hybrid and highly digitized environment. Senior Vice President
for University Advancement
YOU HAVE EXPERTISE ON BLOCKCHAIN AND CRYPTOCURRENCY.
WHAT SHOULD THE AVERAGE PERSON KNOW ABOUT THESE? KAREN CHANCE MERCURIUS
There aren’t any barriers to entry with cryptocurrency nor is there much Associate Vice President
oversight. It is financially very risky. I would not recommend that anyone for Alumni and Constituent Relations
invest their tuition dollars into Bitcoin. Blockchain is another story
though, with great potential. It’s a decentralized technology on which ERIN MARTIN KANE
any kind of data can be safely stored and shared. Some refer to it as Executive Editor
a digital ledger, but to me it’s much more than that: it is an alternative
to trust. That’s blockchain’s greatest appeal—it is fundamentally MICHELLE HILDRETH
secure, and it cannot be undone. It can be used in many ways, too, for Creative Director + Designer
instance, to track supply chains, compare health care information, and
share financial data. The use cases are multiplying. We will see more KRISTINE KAPPEL THOMPSON
proliferation of blockchain technologies in the near future. Editorial Director + Writer

AS AN ECONOMIST WITH EXPERTISE ON INFLATION,
DO YOU EXPECT INFLATION TO EASE SOON? Staff Contributors
The Federal Reserve’s primary job is to facilitate a soft landing for the DEBORAH ALVAREZ
economy—to bring down inflation without throwing the economy into KRISTINA BEAUDETT
a recession. There have been some instances of soft—or softish— MARY BONOMO
landings after the Fed raised interest rates significantly in response to SYDNEY BURROWS
rising inflation. In 1965, 1984, 1994, the Fed pulled off its balancing act MIKE DAY
without causing a recession.
BARBARA FURGUSON
Will the Fed strike the right balance this time around? As of right now— JOANNA HACKETT
at the end of March 2022—I’m cautiously optimistic, but it’s difficult to KRISTIN WITHALL
overstate the complexity of preventing an economic downturn in the NANCY ZAWACKI
context of rising inflation, geopolitical conflict, and a global pandemic.
As a nation, we have confronted economic challenges before, but
we have never before faced these combined factors. These next Crossword Puzzle Key
few months will be pivotal. At Simon, we will continue to analyze and DOWN: 1. Blockchain, 2. Mel Sauce,
untangle the economic questions that matter most as events play out. 3. Ambassador, 7. Sledgehammers,
8. Calligram, 11. Bell, 14. Composer,
17. Savory
ACROSS: 4. Shimmer, 5. Baton, 6. Hub,
READ DEAN YELTEKIN’S BLOG 9. Drizzle, 10. Pawpaw, 12. Didgeridoo,
uofr.us/YeltekinBlog 13. Ganache, 15. Macaron, 16. Sow, 18. Joy