REFLECTIONS PART III

“As I look back on my career, one of its most satisfying things was the creation of the 43-year relationship between Harvard Business School and the Harvard Business School Alumni Club of Malaysia.” Harvard Business School’s Prof Warren McFarlan recalls how the HBS program took root in Malaysia 43 years ago. Other key HBS faculty members also share their experience teaching in Malaysia under the Club’s flagship program. This section also features some Alumni members of the programs in Boston and in Malaysia.

As I look back on my career, one of its most satisfying things was the creation of the 43-year relationship between Harvard Business School and the Harvard Business School Club of Malaysia. I will never forget that first program at Fraser’s Hill where Daryl Wyckoff, Sam Hayes, Mike Porter and I ran the first two-week HBS education program in Malaysia. It was an exciting experience in a part of the world I had never been in. The flight was long – Boston-London-Paris-Kuwait-Kuala Lumpur. It was a very different Malaysia with 95% of the economy being palm oil, rubber and tin mining.

I was personally anxious to start the relationship because of my work in Information Technology. I wanted a long-term relationship in a country that was English-speaking (so I could readily understand what was going on), not well developed but rapidly emerging with great prospects for growth. Malaysia fit the bill.

Over the years, first I and then Dick Vietor were able to attract the best of the HBS faculty to Malaysia. Always an important part of the program was using the opportunity to pick faculty who wanted to write cases and do research in the region. The program was always much more than simply an education program and as such, it endured. For more than 20 years, it was one of the most exciting things I did as I saw a country literally grow and change before my eyes. When my responsibilities at Harvard ultimately took me elsewhere, I took great care in finding a faculty member to replace me who would find great intellectual payoff in working with Malaysia.

I congratulate you and all the leaders of the HBS Club who made this possible. HBS is much enriched by your steadfast support.

McFarlan (R) with the then President Mohd Yusoff Talib.

WARREN McFARLAN

“I have now been directing the SMDP and the ASMDP for about 14 years....This has been one of the intellectual highlights of my professional life. Every year, in summer, I get to go to Malaysia – either Genting Highlands or Bangi – and meet and teach a group of interested and enthusiastic Malaysian professionals – either business or governmental leaders. It has been a fantastic experience. Not only do I get to teach an in-depth version of my course (Business, Government and the International Economy – or BGIE), but I also get to socialize and talk informally with a knowledgeable group about Malaysia and Southeast Asia generally. Among other things, this has afforded me the opportunity to write three cases on Malaysia, to consult with the government and to visit a number of states in Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak.

As a result of these contacts, I feel much more comfortable in my knowledge of Southeast Asia, and much more competent. The SMDP and ASMDP have been key to my development as a political economist!” RICHARD VIETOR Baker Foundation Professor of Business Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.

“The Malaysia Club is the most active and most successful alumni association outside the United States. The Malaysia Club is the one and only Harvard Alumni Club in the world that organises an executive program. No other Harvard Alumni Club in the world is allowed to run an executive program because we can’t give the faculty.” PROF EMERITUS SAMUEL HAYES Harvard Business School in an interview in the New Straits Times on August 21, 1992.

“I taught in the SMDP program in the early part of 2000. I wish I could have continued longer but the several years I did, have been one of the most memorable in my career at the Harvard Business School. First of all the people, the participants, the club officers, the organizers and everybody there in Malaysia are genuinely warm, welcoming and friendly. The organization of the program itself was superbly professional. I still recall the opening session where along with all the best of Malaysian food, the club leadership (all AMP alumni) would walk participants through what preparation would be required to get through the week. As anxious participants hurried off after dinner to get through their preparation, the effects would be evident in the classroom the next day. The insights and participation were of high quality. And for the subject I taught – Marketing, there was always mutual learning as the participants brought their unique country and cultural/ethnic perspective to bear. The program leadership took pains to replicate all the key learning aspects of a typical HBS senior management program, living groups, discussion groups, name cards, seating arrangement, and every small detail that add up to a great learning atmosphere. The first two days of the program usually had the tension and stress of hard work and the rapid-fire learning by the case method, but once that ice was broken, the eagerness of the participants to get to know the faculty was as affectionate as it was inquisitive. The dinners were packed with great conversation, great fun and great friendliness. Over and above the three key ingredients, the participants, the club officers, and the faculty, the program was an ambassador for a powerful fourth dimension – a global perspective on how business principles applied to any domain or culture can indeed lead to a lot of good for society. The West and East have a lot to learn from each other. Congratulations and best wishes on your 43rd birthday.” Prof V KASTURI RANGAN Malcolm P. McNair, Professor of Marketing at the Harvard Business School, was the chairman of the Marketing Department (1998-2002), and is now the co-chairman of HBS’s Social Enterprise Initiative.

“The annual SMDP & ASMDP programs in Malaysia, which have now been in session for 30 years, demonstrate the absolute commitment of the HBS Club of Malaysia to improving the quality of management in the country. There are few, if any, comparable programs on offer anywhere in the world – least of all supported by an alumni club. The value alumni place on continuing education for the executive suite is a credit to the country and their belief in the HBS case method approach to teaching. As a faculty member, I have always appreciated the support of the alumni and their gracious hospitality during my stays. I also enjoy interacting with participants and seeing how they benefit from the program. Above all though, I must thank Othman and Rose for how carefully and effectively they manage arrangements for the class to make it seamlessly easy to make the trip and negotiate the visa requirements!” DAVID COLLIS Thomas Henry Carroll Ford Foundation Adjunct Professor

“I’ve been impressed with the caliber of the leaders who participate in this group. We engage in challenging conversations that strengthen our leaders’ capacities to lead teams, organizations, and themselves.” RAKESH KHURANA Danoff Dean of Harvard College, Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development, Harvard Business School, and Department of Sociology.

Prof Samuel Hayes delivers a lecture during 6th SMDP at Melaka Village Resort, 1990.

Dean of Harvard Business School, Boston, Dr Kim B Clark, Kuala Lumpur.