James O'Rourke
Mendoza College of Business
Professor of Management
- Corporate communication
- Reputation management
- Public speaking
- Business writing
O'Rourke’s Latest News
O'Rourke in the News
The Washington Post
UPS to cut 12,000 jobs as shipping volume falls and labor costs rise
January 31, 2024
UPS is still weathering the transition out of the pandemic retail economy of 2020 and 2021, said Jim O’Rourke, a business professor at the University of Notre Dame.
Marketplace
Postmaster DeJoy wanted to make a government service profitable. It’s not happening.
Audio
November 16, 2023
But this year’s net loss was predictable, argues James O’Rourke, a professor of management at Notre Dame.
Chicago Tribune
Chicago Audubon Society changes name to Chicago Bird Alliance, distancing chapter from problematic namesake
October 24, 2023
Brands such as the Audubon Society are different in that it is fueled by voluntary memberships, not revenue, said James O’Rourke, who studies brands with fraught and racist connections to the past as a business professor at the University of Notre Dame.
The Wall Street Journal
Trucks Hauling U.S. Mail Frequently Violate Safety Rules. Crashes Killed 79 People Since 2020.
March 03, 2023
“The Postal Service has been hit across the board,” said James O’Rourke, a professor of management at the University of Notre Dame.
ABC News
Corporate America mostly silent on recent mass shootings: Experts
June 07, 2022
"At the moment, most chief executives are deer in the headlights," said James O'Rourke, a professor of management at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. "They see the risk of taking a position as exceeding the return."
CBS News
Starbucks joins McDonald's in exiting Russia
May 23, 2022
"This was the very best of a series of difficult choices," James O'Rourke, professor of management at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, said in an email.
CBS News
McDonald's selling its Russian business
May 16, 2022
"This was the very best of a series of difficult choices," James O'Rourke, professor of management at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, said in an email.
New York Daily News
Why are Americans still ignoring our junk mail?
May 06, 2022
Notre Dame management professor James O’Rourke feared the agency could “go out of business” within a year without this intervention.
Investing
Are These Global Companies On The Right Side Of History?
April 27, 2022
James O’Rourke, a professor of management at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, was quoted by The Washington Post as saying, "This may be one of the moments in history in which proactive disinvestment is the best option. If you can’t move money in and out of Russia in a convertible currency, what’s the point of being there?”
Newsweek
DeSantis Feud Not First Time Disney Employees Pushed Company to Back Them
April 22, 2022
James O'Rourke, a professor at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, told Newsweek that the reason the pushback in the 1990s fell by the wayside was that then-Disney Chariman Michael Eisner had spoken out in support of his employees.
Newsweek
Disney's Reputation Will 'Outlast' Political Goals of DeSantis, Republicans
April 22, 2022
"I'm not worried for Disney," said James O'Rourke, a professor at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. "The Walt Disney Company will be around a lot longer than [Florida Governor] Ron DeSantis will."
USA Today
USPS gets a financial overhaul: Here's what we know about the Postal Service Reform Act
April 06, 2022
"The Postal Service is deeply in debt," said James O'Rourke, a management professor at the University of Notre Dame.
The Hill
Multinationals find quickly exiting Russia isn't so easy
March 24, 2022
“If Mr. Putin claims he’s going to expropriate those assets, you may as well act as though it’s going to happen,” said James O’Rourke, a professor at Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business.
Newsweek
Companies That Haven't Left Russia May Be Too Late to Win Back Americans
March 15, 2022
"It matters a great deal, what the rest of the free world thinks of you," James O'Rourke, a management professor at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, told Newsweek.
Voice of America
Putin Threatens to Nationalize Western Companies that Exit Russia
March 14, 2022
"Some businesses, some manufacturing operations, might well fit the Russian model," James O'Rourke, a professor of Management at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, told VOA.
The Washington Post
Dozens of corporations are still in Russia. It’s getting harder for them to leave.
March 11, 2022
“I would say to any corporate executive, you have to do what you think is right,” said James O’Rourke, a professor of management at University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business.
Marketplace
How will USPS reform affect postal workers?
March 10, 2022
Another financial challenge has been the requirement — imposed by Congress in 2006 — that USPS pre-fund retiree health care costs 75 years into the future, a practice basically unheard of elsewhere in the public sector, said James O’Rourke, a professor of management at Notre Dame.
Forbes
‘There Isn’t A Both Sides Anymore:’ With Russia, Customers And Employees Demand Action From Corporations
March 08, 2022
James O’Rourke, a professor at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business who studies corporate communication, says some executives say clients have raised questions about doing business with companies that still have Russia ties.
China Global Television Network
Professor James O’Rourke joins Global Business Europe on March 8th 2022
Video
March 08, 2022
James O'Rourke is a professor at Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business.
CBS News
These are the corporations that have pulled out of Russia since its invasion of Ukraine
March 08, 2022
"It's really tough to do business in Russia under the best of conditions. Now it's become just crazy. So getting out is a smart business proposal," said James O'Rourke, professor of management at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, who specializes in reputation management and business communications.
The New York Times
Samsung and Apple, which provide half of Russia’s smartphones, halt sales there
March 05, 2022
The lost sales in Russia are not much of a sacrifice for international smartphone manufacturers, but the potential reputational damage of continuing to sell there could be much more significant, said James S. O’Rourke, a professor of management at the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame.
Herald and News
Oregon yanking pension investments from Russia over Ukraine war
March 04, 2022
“It’s really tough to do business in Russia under the best of conditions. Now it’s become just crazy. So getting out is a smart business proposal,” said James O’Rourke, a professor at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business specializing in reputation management.
Associated Press
Russia’s war spurs corporate exodus, exposes business risks
March 03, 2022
“It’s really tough to do business in Russia under the best of conditions. Now it’s become just crazy. So getting out is a smart business proposal,” said James O’Rourke, a professor at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business specializing in reputation management.
MarketWatch
The Washington Commanders’ ’emotional rebranding’ could boost merchandise and ticket sales, experts say
February 02, 2022
James O’Rourke, professor of management at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, thinks the Washington Commanders could enjoy similar success.
The Washington Post
An electric-plane pioneer has a plan to transform package delivery. It might work.
January 31, 2022
James O’Rourke, a University of Notre Dame professor and retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel says a network of safety coordinators will be needed.
USA Today
Biden’s Build Back Better bill would speed up conversion to electric mail trucks at struggling USPS
November 10, 2021
James S. O'Rourke IV, professor of management at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, calls the proposal "a very big deal" for the postal service and its customers.
Associated Press
Column: Pull the plug on the chop -- and Braves name, too
October 29, 2021
“This is an existential moment for the Atlanta Braves,” said James O’Rourke, a professor of management at Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. “They need to recognize that this problem is not going to go away.”
WTVW
Slower mail delivery starting at USPS, temporary price changes start soon
Video
October 01, 2021
“The real problem, of course, with what the postal service is doing at the moment is it won’t solve their problems,” says James O’Rourke, management professor at the University of Notre Dame.
News Nation Now
What the USPS’s future could mean for your holiday gifts
Video
September 30, 2021
“The issue of a slowdown and an increase in prices will only serve to disappoint USPS customers. It will not solve any of their problems,” said University of Notre Dame professor Dr. James O’Rourke.
NBC News
Mail has been showing up on time, but don't be fooled: Slower days are coming
August 18, 2021
“Service performance continued to improve, but that was based on a comparison with a year in which performance has declined substantially,” said James O’Rourke, a management professor at the University of Notre Dame who has tracked the USPS for more than a decade.
The Hill
Postal Service sees chance to turn the page after tumultuous year
May 23, 2021
James O’Rourke, professor of management at the University of Notre Dame, said the Postal Service still faces myriad problems even as Biden seeks to reshape it through the board of governors and as Congress aims to alleviate some of its financial burden.
Sinclair Broadcast Group, 25+ others
Bipartisan deal on USPS reform could ease pressure for more drastic changes
May 20, 2021
“Whether we choose to communicate by smartphone and differences in generational habits are really beyond the reach of Congress,” said James O’Rourke, a professor of management at the University of Notre Dame.
NPR
Roughly 40% Of Post Offices Operate In The Red. Could Banking Offer Them A Way Out?
May 01, 2021
Rather than shutter offices, the Postal Service settled instead for service cutbacks, according to James O'Rourke, a professor at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business.
NPR
Thousands Of U.S. Post Offices Lose Money. Should Some Be Closed?
Audio
April 27, 2021
James O'Rourke is a professor at Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. He says the Postal Service settled for service cutbacks.
NBC News
Speed of some mail delivery would decrease under proposal
Video
February 13, 2021
Interview with James O’Rourke, a professor of management at University of Notre Dame.
The Washington Post
Postmaster general’s new plan for USPS is said to include slower mail and higher prices
February 12, 2021
“If suddenly some of your best customers quit putting things in the mail,” said James O’Rourke, a professor of management at University of Notre Dame, “or they decide they can do it faster, better, cheaper another way, then the post office has this huge infrastructure and the demand is not supporting all of it.”
Best Life Online
Aunt Jemima Just Got a New Name and Logo
February 10, 2021
"Brand managers have been aware of that for years and have tried, largely through incremental updates to the character's image on the packaging, to modernize how she is seen. The headscarf is gone, they've added a lace collar, pearl earrings. But the effect, because of the name, is the same," James O'Rourke, professor at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, told the Associated Press in June.