News Room

New research by INFORMS member Burak Kazaz, of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, shows a wine distributor can significantly improve its profits by investing in wine futures, in addition to bottled wine. The study's numerical analysis demonstrates an approximate 21 percent profit improvement, a benefit that increases as the wine distributor's degree of risk aversion increases. This study will be published in the INFORMS journal of Manufacturing & Service Operations Management. 

Aviation security expert and INFORMS Fellow Sheldon Jacobson provided insight on vulnerabilities at airport checkpoints, like the kind that resulted in 11 passengers passing through an unsupervised checkpoint at JFK airport in February, all of whom reached their flights without further screening.

“The most vulnerable time for any kind of check point is in a transition period,” said Jacobson, who continued that airport security is weakest early in the morning and during shift changes.

Looks do matter. According to a new study in the INFORMS journal of Management Science, the more competent you look (based on certain facial features) the more likely you are to be a CEO. They study, which focused on male CEOs, found that faces that rated as competent-looking typically had square jaws, overall sharper features and appeared more mature.

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Whether you are a seasoned professional or a fresh graduate, networking plays an essential role in long-term career growth. Membership in a professional association like INFORMS provides access to many networking opportunities, as well as other member benefits such as career resources. 

A forthcoming study in the INFORMS journal of Marketing Science, based on the psychology of sympathy, shows that small changes in the wording of a fundraising letter can increase donations by over 300 percent.

With over a million registered public charities in the United States, fundraising for good causes has become more difficult than ever. Annual events like Giving Tuesday increase overall giving, but also increase the competition for funds around those events.