FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 15, 2013 www.baylorlariat.com News the Baylor Lariat|A11 Proposed $24.4B looms over Dell’s earnings Associated Press the fourth consecutive quarter. The about $4.5 billion, including his 14 pany maintains it the current bid latest drop could be the biggest so percent stake in the company, to is fair. ROUND ROCK — Dell’s fiscal far, based on analyst forecasts call- get the deal done. The rest of the The company’s conference call fourth-quarter report is expected ing for a 12 percent decrease. money is coming from Silver Lake to discuss the quarterly earnings to show why the struggling per- The slump stems from weak- and about $15 billion in loans from will mark Michael Dell’s first pub- sonal computer maker wants to ening demand for PCs as more Microsoft Corp. and a consortium lic remarks since the terms of the end its 25-year history as a public technology spending shifts toward of banks. sale were announced. company. smartphones and tablet comput- Although the proposed sales Michael Dell already has been WHAT TO WATCH FOR: ers. The challenges caused by that price is a premium from where trying to boost the company’s The results, due out after the shift caused disillusioned investors Dell’s stock had been stuck at, the revenue by expanding into more stock market closes Tuesday, are to dump Dell’s stock, which stood company’s two largest shareholders lucrative niches such as business being released two weeks after Dell at about $24 in early 2007 when behind Michael Dell don’t think it’s software and technology consult- Inc. announced it plans to sell itself Michael Dell returned for a second high enough. Southeastern Asset ing while also trying to develop for $24.4 billion to founder and stint as the company’s CEO. Management and T. Rowe Price, an attractive line of tablet comput- CEO Michael Dell and a group of Dell’s shares sagged to as low which combined own a nearly 13 ers to compete against Apple Inc.’s investors led by Silver Lake. as $8.69 three months ago. By percent in the company, already trend-setting iPad. Michael Dell and his backers then, Michael Dell had already have vowed to vote against the pro- WHY IT MATTERS: Despite are betting the Round Rock, Texas, ASSOCIATED PRESS approached the company’s board posed sale, and other shareholders its struggles, Dell remains one Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO of Dell, speaks during his keynote ad- company will be better off trying about his interest in engineering are expected to join the uprising. of the world’s biggest and best- dress on Monday at Comdex, in Las Vegas. to diversify its business beyond a buyout with other investors. The Southeastern maintains Dell is known technology companies the PC market without facing Wall board set up a special committee worth $23.72 per share. T. Rowe whose products and services are subtracting certain accounting per share, on revenue of $16 bil- Street’s pressure to boost earnings last August to explore the possibil- Price hasn’t publicly shared its ap- still widely used. The company’s charges, analysts polled by FactSet lion. If not for certain accounting from one quarter to the next. ity and negotiated with three suit- praisal of the company. At least one proposed sale and brewing share- predict the company will earn 39 charges, Dell would have earned 51 The numbers for the three ors before settling on a proposal analyst thinks Michael Dell and his holder rebellion against it will cents per share on revenue of $14.1 cents per share during this period. months ending in January are ex- that will pay existing stockholders investors will need to raise their also affect the values of millions of billion. pected to show Dell’s revenue de- $13.65 per share. offer to $15 per share to win over stock portfolios. LAST YEAR’S QUARTER: HP clined from the previous year for Michael Dell is contributing shareholders, although the com- WHAT’S EXPECTED: After earned $764 million, or 43 cents Excellence can put strain on social relationships By Linda Nguyen when people make generous con- break those norms, they will be all started with an equal number study is the first to present an ar- the person who works hard, even A&E Editor tributions, they are rewarded,” Ir- punished,” Irwin said. “They can of points. They had the option to gument as to why people are pun- if it improves the output, will be win said. “Recently though, some do less than the norm prescribes contribute to a group pot which ished for doing and giving more. punished by the other workers. It Doing is everyone what to con- studies have shown people who or more than the norm prescribes.” could be doubled and then divided “Maybe those who do more discourages people from excelling form to tendency the have people. make generous contributions are Irwin said what they were re- among the group members regard- are considered do-gooders,” Irwin or from being altruistic.” The sentence above breaks a punished. ally interested in understanding is less of how much they originally said. “The other people might feel Horne said this is contrary to social norm by being written in There’s some why the community would punish contributed. In each group, there inadequate, but that wasn’t one of what groups would encourage. reverse. level of re- those who go above and beyond was a deviant who would either the reasons. In every case, still the “You can have a society where According to a study by Dr. sentment. what is asked. contribute generously or sparingly. only predictor is norms even con- people are discouraged from doing Kyle Irwin, assistant professor in Those indi- “Let’s say you have to do a lit Afterwards, the participants were trolling for that other stuff.” things that would help the group,” the department of sociology, and viduals are review,” Irwin said. “You decide given the opportunity to punish Horne said the most intriguing Horne said. “We would want to Dr. Christine Horne, associate pro- ostracized. everyone should do one review the deviant by taking points away. thing about the study was finding encourage people to do things to fessor at Washington State Univer- We thought and you show up and someone “What we find is when norms that people punish goodness. benefit the group.” sity, people tend to look unfavor- it’d be in- has done all four reviews. On one are strong and everyone’s doing the “What is typical seems to be Irwin and Horne are currently ably upon and even socially punish teresting to hand, maybe you really like that same thing, the deviant giving way important,” Horne said. “In some conducting another experiment people who break social norms ask why. It’s person or maybe you really resent above is punished stronger,” Irwin ways, people valued conformity to explore other possible expla- even if they are benefiting society called anti- Irwin that person for doing something said. “Norms are motivating peo- more than contribution, which we nations as to why people punish overall. social pun- that was against the norm.” ple to punish this generous person would not necessarily expect.” those who break the norms in a Irwin said the study, which was ishment.” Irwin and Horne examined even if their contributions benefit Horne said she thinks these beneficial way. published in the journal Social Sci- Irwin said he defines norms as their questions by conducting a everyone in the group. In the case findings may discourage individu- “Kyle and I have different ence Research, provides an expla- typical behavior: how people talk, public goods study where indi- of a free-rider, the norm makes no als from doing something that is strengths so we complement each nation as to why individuals who how they dress and what people viduals were randomly assigned to difference, everyone is frustrated. beneficial because it is atypical. other well,” Horne said. “It was a do more than what is expected and normally do. a group and were asked to decide That’s universal across conditions.” “You can imagine this applying very successful collaboration.” benefit the community are pun- “What we argue is that when how to divide their given resourc- Irwin said previous research to a work group,” Horne said. “If ished by others in society. there are strong norms for the way es. Their goal was to maximize the has mainly shown the effects of the work group is made of people “Lots of research has shown people should act, when people amount of points they have. They anti-social punishment, but this who tend not to work very hard, FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 15, 2013 | the News A12 Baylor Lariat www.baylorlariat.com Sports FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 15, 2013* www.baylorlariat.com Baylor baseball ready for new season By Daniel Hill from there.” Sports Writer Tonight, Baylor opens up a three-game series against Univer- Last season, the Baylor Bears sity of California, Irvine. The Bears baseball team had a 49-17 record will take on U.C. Irvine tonight and won the programs third Big 12 and on both Saturday and Sunday championship. With 49 wins, the afternoons. 2012 squad ended just one win shy “We’re ready and very excited,” of the Baylor record. On the dia- senior outfielder Nathan Orf said. mond, the Bears also won a school- “The weather has been baseball record 24 games. weather lately. It’s just that time of They also had four Louisville the year and we’ve put a lot of work Slugger All-Americans and had six in to get to this point and I think players selected in the 2012 MLB we’re all ready for the next step.” draft.