Professor Draws Inspiration from Chess for New Article

Linna  Jones
Commentary Editor

   The Academy of Educational Leadership Journal accepted “Business Lessons from Chess” for its upcoming edition.

   Robert Graber, professor of Accounting, wrote the article as a revision of his first article, “Chess Strategy and Business Strategy.” He received inspiration for “Chess Strategy and Business Strategy” and “Business Lessons from Chess” by being involved in the Chess Club and playing chess.

   “It really did start in Chess Club one day while I was playing and explaining some points to students,” Graber said. “It just occurred to me that these are the same things I explain in my classes.”

   Graber teaches Finance and Economics. In class, he talks about long term planning and opportunity cost, like giving something to get something else and seeing the big picture.

   Graber explains in “Business Lesson from Chess” the parallels between business strategy and chess strategy and includes elements such as:

•     Ethics and Sportsmanship

•     No Free Lunch

•     Long Term Thinking

•     Investment Strategies in business and chess

•     Flexibility

•     Patience

•     Perseverance

•     Teamwork   

   Lou James, dean of the School of Business and professor of Finance, commented on the ideas of the article and how it would benefit the School of Business.

   “I think the main thing is to help our students think ahead in making decisions in future moves,” James said.

   Graber learned about the Academy of Educational Leadership through working with the Allied Academy. The Allied Academy is a meeting of several academic disciplines. Graber became aware of some of the other academies in the process of being with and talking to people of other disciplines.

   He wrote other articles for other publications and learned about other publications and in the course of attending the Allied Academy conference in 2004 became aware of some of their other journals.  

   Graber also serves on the editorial boards of The Academy of Accounting and Financial Studies Journal and the Journal of Economics and Economic Education Research.

   He has written five articles since he came to the University of Arkansas at Monticello six years ago. He received the “Distinguished Research Award” in April 2004 for “Management Turn-over and Myopic Decision Making” in The Academy of Accounting and Financial Studies Journal.

   “Scholarship is part of our responsibilities and when a faculty member is published, it enhances the reputation of the University of Arkansas at Monticello,” Graber said. “So that it doesn’t only benefit individual faculty member, but it benefits the University as a whole.” 

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