3/1/18 | 4:15pm | E51-345
Reception to follow.

Bill Lovejoy

Raymond T. J. Perring Family Professor of Business Administration
University of Michigan, Ross School of Business 

Abstract: This talk is motivated by work in some economically challenged urban neighborhoods, and whether one can design a self-generated and self-sustained social safety net. How would one organize a small scale (in population and geographic footprint), self-sufficient society for the basics of food and housing? What happens when you embed such a society into the global economy with all of its temptations and constraints? There are natural models for answering some of these questions in the political-economic history of Oceanic island nations. Many of the islands were the last places settled on earth outside Antarctica, evolved in relative isolation, were self-sufficient and environmentally sustainable for millennia, and were largely undisturbed by western influences until the 19th century. While traditional memories are still strong, Oceanic societies are now facing serious challenges being embedded in a global economy, with many of their issues (obesity, diabetes, heart disease, drug and alcohol abuse, crime, teen pregnancy) similar to those facing many marginalized communities. This talk will outline some organizational lessons that we can take from the Oceanic experience for potential transplantation into modern urban neighborhoods.

Bio:  Professor William S. Lovejoy is the Raymond T. Perring Family Professor of Business Administration, Professor of Technology and Operations in the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, and holds a joint appointment in the School of Art and Design. Professor Lovejoy received his B.S. in Industrial Engineering and M.E. in Nuclear Engineering from Cornell University, and a Ph.D in Operations Research from the University of Delaware. He has worked in the private and public sectors (for General Electric and the National Marine Fisheries Service), and since starting his academic career he has been on the business school faculties at Georgia Tech, Stanford University and now the University of Michigan. Professor Lovejoy has worked with companies on new product development, the management of innovation, and process assessment and improvement; and with hospitals and clinics on health care operations. He has taught courses at all levels from bachelors to Ph.D. and Executives, and his new product development course (which he teaches jointly with the College of Engineering and the School of Art and Design) has enjoyed coverage by CNN, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and Businessweek. He is currently the faculty co-director for the University of Michigan’s Master of Entrepreneurship degree.