CEO Magazine - Volume 25

CEO-MAG.COM

/

MBA RANKING EDITION

AN INTERNATIONAL MBA ANYTIME, ANYWHERE

2017 GLOBAL MBA RANKINGS

THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIPS

2

ceomag.co.uk / Spring 2016

12 16 GLOBAL MBA RANKINGS CEO Magazine

8

AN INTERNATIONAL MBA ANYTIME, ANYWHERE EuroMBA

THE EMBA IN 2017: RIGOROUS, ROBUST AND AS RELEVANT AS EVER

18

Michael Desiderio

PRICING PERCEPTIONS AND THE EXECUTIVE MBA

20 Francis Petit

ARE PEOPLE REALLY A COMPANY’S MOST IMPORTANT RESOURCE? Stéphane Garelli 2

EMBA: THE CAREER CATALYST

Robert D. Hisrich

26 THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIPS Oakland University School of Business ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

IN T

. . .

F O S S E N I S U HE B

H C R A E S E R G L E V E L LEADIN L A N O I T A N R E T N I ON AN

Shawn Rohlin, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Economics, Director of Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation

Bob Hisrich, Ph.D. Associate Dean for Graduate and International Programs, Bridgestone Chair of International Marketing

S R E D A E L L A B O L G E R U G FUT

EDUCATIN

120+ partnerships

with institutions in countries including Brazil, China, France, Italy and Slovenia

$2,500

scholarship awarded to all business students in education abroad programs

ceo-mag.com / Autumn 2016

SEE WHERE WE ARE HEADED WWW.KENT.EDU/BUSINESS/UPWARD3

HOW WE GAIN POWER AND INFLUENCE: SCIENCE’S SURPRISING ANSWER Mark C. Crowley

28

WHAT ARE VENTURE CAPITALISTS LOOKING FOR IN START-UPS?

31 34 Brian Wallheimer

36

HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 2.0

39 Theodore Benetatos

4

LESSONS IN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FROM THE HOTEL INDUSTRY David Dubois

WHEN THE NAME OF A HOTEL MATTERS

Pradeep Chintagunta

CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS – SYNERGIES FOR SUCCESS EU Business School ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

T

he EuroMBA offers participants a unique business education. By combining ten online courses in management with six thematic face-to-face residential weeks, the programme provides managers with an innovative and insightful means to develop their business skills and careers. Study at anytime from anywhere in the world, with managers from more than twenty different countries.

WHAT CAN EUROMBA OFFER YOU?

Anytime, anywhere Six partners, six perspectives life-long learning Global business network accreditations

Six Partners, Six Cities in Europe, One MBA

Call

+31 433884619 ceo-mag.com / Autumn 2016

Visit

www.euromba.org

Send email to

info@euromba.org 5

4244 FUTURE PLANNING, GLOBAL THINKING Ralf Schellhase

HOW TO NAVIGATE YOUR CAREER POST-MBA Australian Institute of Business

6 WORDS THAT CHANGED THIS MBA STUDENT’S ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT WHARTON

4751 5356

Knowledge@Wharton

THE FUTURE OF THE CORPORATE UNIVERSITY Benjamin Kessler

THE WORLD’S MOST TALENT COMPETITIVE COUNTRIES, 2017 Paul Evans and Bruno Lanvin

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

6

ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

CEO Victor J. Callender Group Editor-in-Chief Alexandra Skinner Design & Illustration pentacreate.com Financial Controller Anthony Gordon

Head Office: Communications House 26 York Street London, W1U 6PZ UK Telephone: +44 (0) 870 067 2077 (UK) Fax: +44 (0) 870 067 2078 (UK) Email: a.skinner@ceo-mag.com Web: www.ceo-mag.com

Head of Production Steven Whitaker Features Writer Amber Callender

@ceo_mag

/CEOMagazineGlobal

Published by CEO Magazine.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the expressed approval of the copyright owner. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, the Publisher accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions.

The Publisher disclaims responsibility for the views and opinions expressed herein by the contributors. Furthermore, the Publisher does not give any warranty regarding the accuracy thereof.

For further information on annual subscription rates visit: www.ceo-mag.com

MBA

Darmstadt Business School

MBA

Darmstadt Business School

general management programme part-time & full-time international focus professional relevance flexibility and attractive conditions ceo-mag.com 7 / Autumn 2016

For Your Career! ceo-mag.com / Autumn 2016 7

www.mba.h-da.de

EuroMBA

AN INTERNATION ANYTIME, ALEXANDRA SKINNER SPEAKS TO THE EUROMBA

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ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

AL MBA ANYWHERE Q. Please can you provide our readers with an overview of your MBA value proposition?

The EuroMBA provides modern managers with the opportunity to develop their leadership competencies and their global network. Firstly, by boasting 20 different nationalities in 18 different countries, the programme brings together managers from all around the globe.

Secondly, the online courses offer tremendous flexibility, allowing participants to study at home, on the plane or from their hotel room.

Finally, the partner institutes provide the skills and resources of six accredited international business schools and universities.

Q. The benefits attached to an educational consortium are significant. However, the integration of ideas can, I’m sure, be challenging. How, therefore, do you streamline this process and ensure that all schools are singing from the same hymn sheet?

A consortium can appear to be complex to manage, but through regular meetings and constant communication, we are able to keep things focused. Within the governance of the programme we have three important committees. The Board, made up of deans and directors of our partner schools, takes care of finances and strategy. The Academic Council, made up of academic representatives of the partner schools, is responsible for curriculum

ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

development and educational quality. Finally, our marketing and coordinators council, made up of marketers and educational coordinators, makes sure that all marketing activities are synchronised, and residential weeks are wellorganised.

Meetings take place annually. Moreover, the various committees also meet to share their decisions and actions for the coming year. Outside of meetings, there is regular communication between the partners. The academic council chairperson attends all residential weeks with the programme director to discuss any academic issues.

As well as these administrative committees, online teaching staff meet once a year to discuss and share experiences, receive training in the online environment and discuss future education developments.

Q. How important are the EuroMBA’s residential weeks and why?

T he residentia l week s a re ex tremely important for the participants. Firstly, they bring the students together so that they can share their knowledge and experiences, and develop stronger networks. Although we do this in the online environment, there is no denying the fact that people build stronger and more enduring relationships in a face-to-face environment.

9

EuroMBA

Secondly, the residential weeks are where the students experience the partner schools.

Each partner offers something unique to the programme, so by pooling their best resources, we can offer something that is unique in the field of education. Given that the online courses cover the functional areas of management, this allows the residential programme to explore more creative and thematic approaches. For example, at Audencia Nantes we explore global responsibility, at Aix-Marseille Graduate School of Management (AMGSM) students are coached through a business plan, and at Maastricht University School of Business and Economics, students develop their skills as change agents.

Q. The quality of a programme’s faculty - academically and in terms of business experience - is an important consideration for any student. Please can you tell CEO Magazine readers more about the EuroMBA faculty?

The EuroMBA faculty are drawn from our partner schools. As such, they are international and extensive in number. All instructors in our online environment have a research background (PhD) and the residential week instructors are a mixture of academics and professionals.

For example, during the residential week at AMGSM, students were taught and coached by a mixture of academics and entrepreneurs (and even academics who are entrepreneurs). We always select faculty based upon the learning needs.

Q. Schools and programmes often talk about the networking opportunities attached to the MBA experience. Would it be fair to say that this is one of the most significant benefits attached to the EuroMBA? Network ing is essentia l for a ny MBA programme, because it provides participants with the opportunity to learn from each other. All EuroMBA students are looking for like-minded people, namely managers with international experience. Approximately 50 per

10

cent of our students are expats, and all students work in international organisations, which means they look at the world as one big business environment within which they operate.

If you want to do business in India, China or Germany, we will always have someone in the group that can tell a story or two. If you want to know how to build a university in the Guinean jungle, how to do business in China or work with German social media organisations, the EuroMBA can always find someone who knows.

INTERNATIONALISATION

Q. Why is internationalisation such an important component in modern MBA programmes?

Managers cannot escape internationalisation.

Borders are becoming blurred and modern managers no longer see themselves as expats, working short-term assignments before heading home. The modern manager is someone that seeks the best opportunities anywhere in the world. They are ever-moving, excited by new experiences, forward-looking and not thinking about when their contract ends and they can then head home.

T he Eu roM BA ta rgets t hese t y pes of managers by offering a flexible programme that fits their transient lifestyle. Job relocation is not an issue for our students due to the online course format. Moreover, the cultural diversity of the participants, and the experience they bring, provides a rich learning environment. Finally, our residential week programme offers topics that we believe are important to contemporary managers, such as global responsibility, innovation and entrepreneurship.

THE EUROMBA AND THE BUSINESS MARKET

Q. There is an expectation from the market that business schools should be creating responsible leaders. How much emphasis do you place upon dynamics such as CSR and sustainable development?

ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

We feel that responsible leadership is extremely important in the programme and for this reason we have a residential week completely focused on the topic of global responsibility. Indeed, in the Corporate Knights Better World MBA ranking of 2016, the EuroMBA featured in the world top 40, clearly highlighting our emphasis on CSR within the programme.

Q. In your opinion, what are the three most important skills the market requires from business leaders and how are you equipping your MBA students to meet these demands?

The first is a global mindset, and this is at the core of our programme. With 20 different nationalities in the group, as well as having six partner schools in five different European countries, and a wide range of international teaching staff, the programme is international in every dimension. All of this is before we discuss the international cases used in the online courses.

Secondly, we expect our participants to be creative and responsible leaders. Leadership skills are dealt with in each residential week on our skills workshops. Furthermore, in each residential week we have thematic group projects where we encourage students to think outside the box. Finally, one of our residential weeks is fully focused on global responsibility, giving the participants insight into the various challenges (and solutions) to being a more responsible leader.

Lastly, we encourage students to develop an entrepreneurial spirit. One of our residential weeks is focused on the business plan, which gives us the opportunity to develop the participant’s entrepreneurial skills. The week is extremely intensive, with daily coaching from academic staff and guest entrepreneurs.

Moreover, students may choose to write a final business plan as their master’s thesis (and many indeed do).

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THE EUROMBA AND THE FUTURE

Q. We have seen a greater integration of technology in MBA programmes, both as a subject and as a mode of delivery. To what extent is technology a driving force in your MBA offering?

Technology is an important driving force in the MBA progra m me, pa rticula rly as it is a blended learning MBA comprising 10 online courses. We are currently using IBM Connections as our platform. Connections itself is designed for managers who need to collaborate online, and we believe this best fits the profile of our participants. And collaboration is the key to online education: participants must work together if they are to share their experiences and knowledge. Moreover, by working in the Connections system, they not only learn about management, but also how to work and collaborate using the cloud. Most MBA programmes use online learning environments that are only geared towards education, with little functionality being available for students to develop their collaborative skills. Our belief is that the technology they use will also help them to develop as better international managers.

Q. What exciting programme innovations can we expect from the EuroMBA over the next 12 to 18 months?

We are constantly looking at our curriculum to see where we can make improvements. For example, the themes of the residential weeks represent the current strengths of our partner schools but they also represent current business trends. As trends change, we also need to adapt, and so this will be part of the discussion in the coming year. Moreover, online technology is rapidly developing and we are busy scanning the environment for new tools that we can integrate into our online system.

BIOGRAPHY The EuroMBA is a consortium of six international business schools and universities; Audencia Nantes, EADA, HHL, IAE-Aix, Kozminsky University and Maastricht University.

The six partners are responsible for providing the management and educational resources.

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2017 GLOBAL MBA RANKINGS

MBA Rankings

T

he benefits attached to an MBA are well documented: career prog ression , net work i ng opportunities, persona l development, sa la r y... a nd the list goes on. However, in an increasingly congested market, selecting the right business school can be difficult, which is far from ideal given the time and investment involved.

Using a ranking system entirely geared and weighted to fact-based criteria, CEO Magazine aims to cut through the noise and provide potential students with a performance benchmark for those schools under review.

Weighting of Data Points (full-time and part-time MBA) Quality of Faculty:

34.95 %

International Diversity:

9.71%

Class Size:

9.71%

Accreditation:

8.74%

Faculty to Student Ratio: Price:

7.76% 5.83%

International Exposure:

4.85%

Work Experience:

4.85%

Professional Development:

4.85%

Gender Parity:

4.85%

Delivery methods:

*EMBA Weighting: Work experience and international diversity are adjusted accordingly.

3.8% 0%

5%

10 %

15 %

NORTH AMERICAN MBA RANKINGS American University: Kogod Appalachian State University Auburn University: Harbert Bentley University: McCallum* Boston University: Questrom Bryant University California State University-​Long Beach California State University-East Bay California State University-San Bernardino Case Western Reserve University: Weatherhead Chapman University: Argyros Cleveland State University: Monte Ahuja College of William and Mary: Mason* Colorado Technical University DePaul University: Kellstadt Drexel University: LeBow* Fairfield University Florida International University Fordham University Georgia Institute of Technology: Scheller Georgia State University: Robinson Gonzaga University HEC Montreal Hult Internatonal Business School Kent State University Loyola Marymount University Lynchburg College Mercer University-Atlanta: Stetson Millsaps College Niagara University Northern Illinois University Oakland University Pepperdine University: Graziadio Queens University of Charlotte Rochester Institute of Technology: Saunders 12

20 %

25 %

30 %

35 %

**Online MBA Weighting: Delivery mode and class size are removed.

TIER ONE

Saint Joseph’s University: Haub Saint Mary’s College of California Suffolk University Temple University: Fox Texas A&M University-​College Station: Mays University of Akron University of Alberta University of Baltimore University of California at Davis University of California-San Diego: Rady University of Delaware: Lerner University of Louisiana-​Lafayette: Moody University of Massachusetts-​Boston University of Massachusetts-​Lowell* University of Nebraska -Lincoln University of Nebraska-Omaha University of New Mexico: Anderson University of North Carolina-Charlotte: Belk* University of Oklahoma: Price University of Oregon: Lundquist University of Pittsburgh: Katz University of Portland: Pamplin University of Richmond: Robins University of South Florida: Muma University of Tampa: Sykes University of Texas at Arlington University of Texas-​Dallas: Jindal University of the Sciences University of Utah: Eccles University of Vermont: Grossman University of Washington: Foster* University of West Georgia* Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Tech: Pamplin Willamette University: Atkinson

*Some data unavailable

ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

TIER TWO Baylor University: Hankamer* Bowling Green State University California State University-​Chico California State University-​Northridge Hofstra University: Zarb* Kennesaw State University Loyola University Chicago: Quinlan Marquette University Northwest Missouri State University Purdue University-West Lafayette: Krannert*

Seattle University: Albers University of Cincinnati: Lindner University of Connecticut University of Florida, Hough University of Hawaii-​Manoa: Shidler University of Kentucky: Gatton University of Memphis* University of Michigan-Flint University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Lubar

EUROPEAN MBA RANKINGS Country Aston Business School* UK Audencia Business school France Birmingham Business School UK Bradford University School of Management UK Brunel Business School UK Business School Netherlands Netherlands Carlos III University of Madrid Spain Copenhagen Business School Denmark Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences Germany Durham University Business School* UK EBS Business School Germany Ecole des Ponts MBA with Solvay France and Belgium ESADE Business School Spain EU Business School Spain, Germany and Switzerland HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management Germany

TIER ONE

Country IE Business School Spain IESE Business School Spain ISEG Portugal Leeds University Business School UK Mannheim Business School Germany MIP Politecnico di Milano Italy Nebrija Business School Spain Porto Business School Portugal SBS Swiss Business School Switzerland The Lisbon MBA Catolica | Nova Portugal Toulouse Business School France Trinity College Dublin School of Business Republic of Ireland University of Amsterdam Netherlands University of Exeter UK University of Liverpool Management School UK University of Nottingham UK University of Sheffield Management School UK

MBA RANKINGS-THE REST OF THE WORLD Country Central Queensland University Australia Griffith University Australia HKUST Business School China IAE Business School Argentina INCAE Business School Costa Rica La Trobe University Australia RMIT University Australia Swinburne University of Technology Australia The University of Adelaide Australia Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez Chile Universidad de Chile Chile ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

TIER ONE

Country University of Otago Business School New Zealand University of South Australia Australia University of Southern Queensland Australia University of the Witwatersrand, Wits Business School South Africa University of Waikato, Waikato Management School New Zealand University of Wollongong Sydney Business School Australia Victoria Graduate School of Business Australia

*Some data unavailable

13

GLOBAL EXECUTIVE MBA RANKINGS Rank Country 1 University of Ottawa: Telfer Canada 2 Ponts-Fox Global Executive MBA France and

(École des Ponts Business School

and Temple University) North America Spain, Germany 3 EU Business School and Switzerland 4 Copenhagen Business School Denmark 5 Global OneMBA Mexico, Brazil,

(EGADE, FGV-EAESP, Netherlands,

Rotterdam School of Management, North America

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and China

and Xiamen University School of Management) Switzerland 6 SBS Swiss Business School 7 Purdue University-West Lafayette:

Krannert - Global EMBA North America 8 Temple University: Fox North America =9 Kennesaw State University North America =9 Loyola Marymount University North America =9 Virginia Commonwealth University North America =9 INCAE Business School Costa Rica 10 CEIBS Zurich institute of Business Education China and Switzerland 11 McGill-HEC Montréal EMBA Canada 12 Purdue University-West Lafayette:

Krannert North America =13 Hult Internatonal Business School North America =13 IfM Institut für Management Austria =13 Maastricht University Netherlands =13 Trinity College Dublin School

of Business Republic of Ireland 14 Leeds University Business School UK =15 Rutgers Business School North America =15 IE Business School Spain =15 IESE Business School Spain =15 The Lisbon MBA Catolica|Nova Portugal =16 Florida International University North America =16 AIX Marseille Graduate School of Management France =17 Kent State University North America =17 Business School Netherlands Netherlands =17 University of Nottingham UK =18 Fordham University North America =18 University of Utah: Eccles North America 19 Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez Chile =20 Case Western Reserve University:

Weatherhead North America =20 Rochester Institute of Technology:

Saunders North America =20 Mannheim Business School Germany =20 IAE Business School Argentina =21 University of Oklahoma: Price North America =21 University of Texas at Arlington North America =21 University of Exeter UK =22 Georgia State University: Robinson North America =22 Mercer University-Atlanta: Stetson North America =22 Oakland University North America =22 Audencia Business school France 14

TIER ONE

Rank Country =22 Stockholm School of Economics Sweden =23 University of California-San Diego: Rady North America =23 The Durham EBS Business

School Executive MBA UK and Germany 24 Pepperdine University: Graziadio North America 25 Boston University: Questrom North America =26 Baylor University: Hankamer North America =26 Millsaps College North America =26 RMIT University Australia 27 Bradford School of Management

Executive MBA in Dubai Dubai =28 Northern Illinois University North America =28 University of Kentucky: Gatton North America =28 Villanova University North America =29 California State University-​Long Beach North America =29 HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management Germany =29 Porto Business School Portugal =29 University of Wollongong

Sydney Business School Australia 30 Washington State University: Carson North America 31 Bradford University School of Management UK 32 University of Tampa: Sykes North America 33 Solvay Brussels School

of Economics and Management Belgium 34 University of Oregon: Lundquist North America =35 California State University-East Bay North America =35 University of Texas-​Dallas: Jindal North America =35 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee:

Lubar North America =36 Marquette University North America =36 Saint Mary’s College of California Trans-Global EMBA North America =36 University of Alberta Canada =36 University of Washington: Foster North America =36 College of William and Mary: Mason* North America =36 Aston Business School* UK =37 Georgia Institute of Technology: Scheller North America =37 ESADE-Georgetown Global Executive MBA Spain and North America =38 Auburn University: Harbert North America =38 University of Connecticut North America =38 University of Pittsburgh: Katz North America 39 MIP Politecnico di Milano Italy =40 Loyola University Chicago: Quinlan North America =40 Seattle University: Albers North America =40 Suffolk University North America =41 Saint Mary’s College of California North America =41 Texas A&M University-​

College Station: Mays North America =42 Saint Joseph’s University: Haub North America =42 ESADE Business School* Spain 43 University of Hawaii-​Manoa: Shidler North America =44 Chapman University: Argyros North America =44 University of South Florida: Muma North America =45 Hofstra University: Zarb* North America =45 University of New Mexico: Anderson* North America =45 Universidad de Chile Chile

*Some data unavailable

ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

TIER TWO Rank Country =1 Bowling Green State University North America =1 University of Florida: Hough North America 2 Drexel University: LeBow* North America 3 Cleveland State University: Monte Ahuja North America

Rank Country 4 University of North Alabama North America 5 Birmingham Business School UK 6 University of Louisiana-Lafayette: Moody North America 7 University of Memphis* North America

GLOBAL ONLINE MBA RANKINGS Rank Country 1 EU Business School Spain, Germany and Switzerland 2 SBS Swiss Business School Switzerland 3 IE Business School Spain 4 University of Otago Business School New Zealand =5 University of Utah: Eccles North America =5 The Lisbon MBA Catolica | Nova Portugal 6 Temple University: Fox North America =7 The Open University UK =7 Rochester Institute of Technology:

Saunders North America =7 MIP Politecnico di Milano Italy 8 Bradford University School of Management UK =9 La Trobe University Australia =9 American University: Kogod North America =10 The EuroMBA (Aix-Marseille, Audencia Nantes, EADA,

France, Spain,

HHL Leipzig, Kozminski University and Germany, Poland,

Maastrict University) and the Netherlands =10 Colorado Technical University North America 11 University of Massachusetts-​Lowell* North America 12 Jack Welch Management Institute North America 13 Washington State University:

Carson - EMBA North America 14 RMIT University Australia =15 University of Southern Queensland Australia =15 University of Liverpool Management School UK =15 Durham University Business School* UK =16 Griffith University Australia =16 California State University San Bernardino North America

GLOBAL DBA LISTING Aston Business School Baruch College, City University of New York: Zicklin Case Western Reserve: Weatherhead Cranfield School of Management DePaul: Kellstadt Drexel University: LeBow Durham University Business School École des Ponts Business School EU Business School Georgia State University: Robinson ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

Rank Country =17 Washington State University: Carson North America =17 Queens University of Charlotte North America =18 Saint Mary’s College of California North America =18 Pepperdine University: Graziadio North America =19 University of Texas-​Dallas: Jindal North America =19 Suffolk University North America =19 Mercer University-Atlanta: Stetson North America =20 University of the Sciences North America =20 University of Baltimore North America =20 Saint Joseph’s University: Haub North America =20 Florida International University North America =20 Central Queensland University Australia =20 Birmingham Business School UK =21 University of Delaware: Lerner North America =21 Swinburne University of Technology Australia 22 Georgia WebMBA (Columbus State, Georgia College,

Georgia Southern, Kennesaw State, University of West Georgia, Valdosta State)

23

Hofstra University: Zarb* Aston Business School* Baylor University: Hankamer University of Hawaii-​Manoa: Shidler University of Cincinnati: Lindner Drexel University: LeBow* College of William and Mary: Mason* University of Florida: Hough University of Nebraska-Lincoln University of North Alabama Auburn University: Harbert Cleveland State University: Monte Ahuja University of Memphis* Northwest Missouri State University

24 25 =26 =26 =27 =27 28 29 =30 =30 31

=32 =32

North America North America UK North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America

Based upon accreditation, quality of faculty, geography, and international standing, this year’s Global DBA Listing is designed to showcase the market’s premier DBA providers.

Harvard Business School IE Business School Kennesaw State University: Coles Maastricht School of Management Rollins College: Crumer SBS Swiss Business School Temple University: Fox University of Dallas: Gupta University of Manchester: Alliance Washington University in St. Louis: Olin *Some data unavailable

15

THE EMBA IN 2017: RIGOROUS, ROBUST AND AS RELEVANT AS EVER

EMBAs

“If you think about the total equivalent years of work experience in the classroom you start to realize its leaders teaching leaders.”

16

I

MICHAEL DESIDERIO

n today’s business climate executives face many challenges. They must deal with a global landscape that is constantly changing and evolving. Geopolitical factors have always been important for businesses to consider; today however, the breadth and depth of those factors can have a much broader impact than just for those who have bricks and mortar on foreign soil. The interconnected nature of businesses through technology and supply chains - that are linked across multiple geographies - leads to new levels of complexities. Technology itself provides a great paradox of sorts. On the one hand, it allows businesses to do things they could never do before, to communicate with and reach markets previously thought to be beyond their reach.

Technology also allows new entrants to disrupt markets by innovating quickly, taking business away from established entities.

These are just two factors to consider, but these, among others, mean that the executive of today cannot be content with their subject matter expertise alone for them to be effective leaders. They need to be able to understand these new complexities and make decisions that impact their business in a positive way.

Executives need to inf luence their teams,

which may be dispersed widely. Executives need to lead in a way that fills their teams with confidence that they are prepared, willing and able to chart a course forward.

How do current leaders broaden their thinking, their knowledge base and their ability to make better decisions? One way, is for leaders to take the plunge and enroll in an Executive MBA (EMBA) program, which is a master’s degree in business. An EMBA program comes with the rigor one would expect of any master’s degree. The primary difference from the traditional full-time MBA is the audience that it is intended to serve.

Executive MBA programs were designed as a way for experienced business leaders to earn a master’s degree in business administration while working in a format that minimizes disruption to their work. Unlike part-time MBA programs, where students take evening classes that fit with their schedule, EMBA students begin the program at the same time, move through the program together and typically complete the degree requirements for graduation as a group.

E M BA prog ra m s prov ide a u n ique environment for leaders to expand and grow.

Being immersed in a learning environment where the peer group is on average 38 years old,

ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

has an average of 14 years of work experience and an average of nearly 9 years of management experience, means that the richness of the discussion in solving business problems is at an amazing level. If you think about the total equivalent years of work experience in the classroom you start to realize its leaders teaching leaders. Couple this with the expert faculty member at the front of the room guiding executives through the latest theories and helping them work together to think through implementations, and it becomes obvious this is something that is hard to duplicate elsewhere.

Through case analysis, shared learning, diverse viewpoints and an intensity that pushes leaders to think differently, there is no doubt that the transformative nature of an EMBA program is something that happens even when you don’t expect it to happen. A recent EMBA graduate informed me that he went into the program thinking he “wanted the credential,” the degree itself, and came out the other end with something much more valuable. The ability to assess the business enterprise through a whole new set of lenses; to think more strategically about all the variables impacting the business as opposed to thinking about those variables as discreet tasks to be dealt with in a serial fashion.

EMBA programs allow executives to become better, more effective leaders, and because of the nature of the learning, arm them with a thirst to learn more from within.

Leaders, whether aspiring, emerging or existing, need to have the ability to influence

“Being immersed in a learning environment where the peer group is on average 38 years old, has an average of 14 years of work experience and an average of nearly 9 years of management experience, means that the richness of the discussion in solving business problems is at an amazing level.”

ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

and mobilize teams of staff, both direct line and non-reporting line personnel. This is where EMBA programs can help shape leaders in yet another way.

We often hear about the importance of establishing one’s personal brand. Like any brand there is both a tangible and intangible value associated with it. That personal brand’s perceived value is critical in regards to leading people in pursuit of a strategy and a vision. Part of any personal brand is tied to competence and confidence. EMBA programs, by virtue of the fact that they provide students with new levels of business acumen, raise the competence of even the most seasoned executive. Once competence is brought to a new level, innately enhanced confidence soon follows.

It’s that conf idence, coupled with the necessary knowledge and precise vocabulary, which provides leaders with an acute, newfound awareness. This results in an increased business fluency, which allows leaders to articulate a vision and a path forward.

Often as we think about our own professional development, we are fearful that we’ll invest in something that doesn’t have staying power.

One of the key benefits of EMBA programs are their ability to transcend geography. After speaking with alumni from across the world, the words we hear are the same: “transformational,” “strategic focus” and “global mindset.” These are not things that serve a leader just for today, but always.

As current and aspiring leaders look at how to stay ‘ahead of the curve’, one thing is evident, standing still is not an option. In other words, whether a leader chooses to attend an EMBA program, or looks for some alternative to en ha nce their sk ill set, they must do something to progress. Today’s global business environment demands it.

Is higher education able to keep up with this fast changing climate we live in? Indeed, there is clear evidence that education is changing to meet the needs of those in the pipeline.

EMBA programs, created to be face-to-face environments within the hallowed halls of great historic institutions, have embraced the flipped classroom. They are leveraging hybrid and online models by tapping into electronic course materials. While the EMBA industry hasn’t figured everything out, the fact that career services, electives and concentration areas are now available as part of many EMBA programs, is evidence that EMBA programs are willing to meet the changing needs of leaders while ensuring they don’t compromise the rigor that nets them the new knowledge they seek.

So are EMBA programs the proverbial ‘silver bullet’ for leaders to consider as they outline their next career development steps? Of course not. They are, however, one very compelling option to consider.

BIOGRAPHY Michael Desiderio joined the Executive MBA Council (EMBAC) as its executive director in 2007. During that time, Michael hired a PR firm to increase awareness about Executive MBA programs. He has participated in multiple media interviews – both broadcast and print – for the Council and the higher education industry, effectively delivering key messages to media outlets across the globe.

The Executive MBA Council is a nonprofit association of universities and colleges that offer Executive MBA Programs. The Executive MBA Council currently includes more than 200 colleges and universities that administer over 300 programs in more than 25 countries worldwide. The council attracts members from schools and programs diverse in size, scope, and location. One of the Council’s key roles involves serving as a voice and a central source of information about Executive MBA education.

17

EMBAs

PRICING PERCEPTIONS AND THE EXECUTIVE MBA FRANCIS PETIT

E

xecutive MBA programs have traditionally incorporated a skim tuition pricing strategy.

Originally when corporations were fully financially sponsoring their employees to attend such programs, business schools would charge a premium and the sponsoring organizations would pay full freight with no questions asked.

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Yet times have changed. Over the past two decades the percentage of students who receive full financial sponsorship from their organizations has dwindled to about 23 per cent. Increases in the self-financially sponsored sector have become apparent along with visible distribution changes in the partial sponsorship allotment. Overall, the bottom line is that students are now encumbering more out-ofpocket to pay for the Executive MBA This phenomenon has changed the way business schools price their Executive MBA programs. More specifically, there is now an increased disparity in tuition prices that exists as a direct result of the changes in corporate financial sponsorship.

For example, a top tier school within a specific geographic market may feel they have the brand leverage to incorporate a more aggressive tuition price increase than a school with a weaker brand and market position.

Overall, it is anticipated that this tuition price disparity will become even greater, leaving the prospective students with many more program selection issues than ever before.

With this as a background, I would suggest that prospective students take a step back and reflect, from a big picture perspective, on their pricing perceptions for the Executive MBA product. Once a prospective student u nderst a nd s t hei r con su mer a nd pr ice tendencies for the Executive MBA, they can then make an informed decision on the selection of their business school.

THE FOUR TYPES OF BUYER

1THE PRICE BUYER

Are you price sensitive and are looking for the best deal possible? If this is the case, you are then considered a ‘price buyer’ for the Executive MBA. Price buyers, in general, tend to have a high perceived pain of expenditure and a low perceived value for differentiation.

More specifically, they do not want to pay premium prices and/or increase their student financial debt at the same time. Price buyers hunt for the lowest price and are willing to forgo program differentiation for that saving.

Realizing that you fall in this category can help you to select the right program and manage your program expectation at the same time.

2

THE CONVENIENCE BUYER

Similarly, you may consider yourself a ‘convenience buyer’ for the Executive MBA. Convenience buyers, in general, have a low perceived pain of expenditure as well as a potentia lly low perceived va lue for differentiation. More specifically, convenience buyers are willing to pay more for the Executive MBA so long as it is convenient for them.

Convenience, for example, can be defined as the location of the program, the program format or

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its delivery schedule. Convenience buyers are even willing to forgo program differentiation for personal convenience. If this is the case and you consider yourself a convenience buyer perhaps this can assist you in selecting the right program for you, in addition to managing your program experience expectation as well.

3THE VALUE BUYER

You may consider yourself a ‘value buyer’ for the Executive MBA. Value buyers, in general, have a high perceived pain of expenditure along with a high perceived value for differentiation. More specifically, value buyers are willing to pay a premium price for an Executive MBA program so long as they are attracted to the value proposition and the other value-added bells and whistles that are part of the experience. If they are not attracted to these components, value bauyers will find it very difficult to pay a premium or requested price. If you therefore consider yourself a value buyer for the Executive MBA, you may want to search all possible options given that there is no ceiling on what you are willing to pay. Value buyers, in fact, have many more options to explore and should do so since they are willing to pay for something they consider of value.

“Over the past two decades the percentage of students who receive full financial sponsorship from their organizations has dwindled.”

4THE LOYAL BUYER

Lastly, you may consider yourself a ‘loyal buyer’ for the Executive MBA. A loyal buyer can be defined as a consumer that has some type of connection and/or affinity to one specific brand and are thus committed to this brand. Loyal buyers, within this scenario, could be an alumnus and/or has a family connection to a specific academic institution. Loyal buyers, in general, have a low perceived pain of expenditure along with potentially a low perceived value for differentiation. More specifically, loyal buyers are willing to pay a specific price so long as they are associated with their beloved brand.

Loyal buyers are even potentially willing to forgo program differentiation for this brand association, given their commitment to the brand. Overall, if you consider yourself a loyal buyer, realize that you have the willingness to pay so long as you can establish a continued association with this brand.

The above examples show the characteristics of different buyers in general terms and, of course, there will be variations. For example, a loyal buyer or a convenience buyer, in some instances, may have a very high perceived value for differentiation for a specific brand or product and/or may not. The goal here is to assist prospective students in looking at how they view Executive MBA programs from a pricing perspective, so that they may use this to manage their expectations when selecting the right program for their needs.

BIOGRAPHY Francis Petit, Ed.D., is the Associate Dean for Global Initiatives and Partnerships for the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University.

Francis has also been responsible for creating executive programs and modules for participants in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

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EMBAs

EMBA: THE CAREER CATALYST A L E X A N D R A S K I N N E R TA L K S T O R O B E R T D. H I S R I C H

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Q. There is much talk of disruptive innovation shaping both the MBA marketplace, and industry in the wider sense. Will we see the Executive MBA (EMBA) becoming part of this movement?

T he i n novation t hat ha s occu r red i n education is significant, and we are better for it. When we think about the MBA market, I am reminded of Christensen’s concept of disruptive innovation which, although quite novel, is quite applicable to the business world, and education.

In fall 2017, the AACSB-accredited Kent State University College of Business Administration will launch a very unique online MBA using an eight-week modular format. This will allow potential students to move at their own pace or complete their online MBA degree in 12 months.

Students will complete 36 credit hours for this online MBA programme.

The flexibility of this global project-based curriculum has changed considerably in the past years.

We are doing similarly creative things with our EMBA making it more streamlined. Part of the programme is offered online so that students don’t have to travel to campus as frequently, but backed up by 16 face-to-face meetings in order to facilitate networking and student interaction. It is important to get to know your fellow students, because that becomes one of your strongest support systems and networks after receiving your graduate degree.

There is a significant new wave of technology supporting MBA and EMBA educational experience that allows an online component for the programme.

Q. As the EMBA becomes more global through collaboration, technology and, therefore, accessibility; what benefits will this afford incoming EMBA students?

Technology has allowed us to have remote projects, which are now easier to organise and manage with the better communication systems like Skype and other platforms. This allows us to offer remote lectures with professors from different parts of the world. For example, I just gave a lecture via Skype to a group of students at a university in Europe; we do the same for our EMBAs. If there is a topic that we think someone from a particular country can offer more insights on and a different perspective, we will ask them to provide a lecture and discussion.

From a com merc i a l s t a ndp oi nt , t he relationships we enjoy at Kent State provide us access to senior managers and business leaders around the world. Depending on the operation and location our students are interested in, we are often able to set up a discussion with a manager or CEO with industry-specific knowledge and expertise both domestically and internationally.

Disruptive innovative communication has made our EMBA programmes so much richer. ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

Q. The networking opportunities attached to the MBA degree are well documented and, indeed, this is one of the areas where the EMBA of Kent State University shines, given the work experience and maturity of its students. Kindly expand upon the opportunities Kent State University (KSU) provides in this respect.

That’s a great question. It’s certainly one of the things you need to think about when selecting an EMBA programme, apart from the location, cost, and quality of the professors.

This has been one of the strongest attributes of the EMBA programme at Kent State University and underpins everything we do here.

We’ve set up a mentoring network for our students, which our EMBA graduates were very excited to be part of.

In this mentoring programme every EMBA student is assigned a mentor at the start of the programme with the two having contact at least every other week. Alumni of the programme were eager to give back, and a nice way to do that is by becoming a mentor and part of the network with the present EMBA students.

“As an entrepreneur, creativity is an important skill to develop because things generally are not linear you have to deal with ambiguity all the time.”

Q. For those individuals seeking a career change, what can an EMBA offer, over and above other MBA options?

This is one of the most significant benefits in obtaining an EMBA degree, in terms of career change, you are attending classes with students who have significant work experience.

In terms of the EMBA programme at Kent State University, this is a minimum of 15 years, compared to two years for our online MBA programme. Thirteen additional years of work experience provides much richer career opportunities. Through your cohorts, you hear about new job opportunities in different industries and about how things are evolving in a sector and company.

The group work we do, online and faceto-face, helps to strengthen relationships, which is important when thinking about a new career. The introductions you have and the connections you make are a distinct advantage when comparing the EMBA to an online or faceto-face MBA option.

Q. Given that the EMBA tends to be more expensive than other MBA options, and with an ever-increasing number of self-funded EMBA students on the back of declining corporate sponsorship, has this created a more motivated cohort at KSU? All of the students I interact with in our EMBA programme at Kent State are very motivated and driven to learn and apply this learning in their present positions.

With those who self-fund, and there is a percentage in every class, they are not only highly motivated to learn and apply the material being taught, they are also selective in what 21

EMBAs

“The ability to pick up the phone or send an email to one of your classmates with a certain skillset, or expertise in a particular field or industry; this is invaluable.”

BIOGRAPHY Robert D. Hisrich, PhD., is the Bridgestone Chair of International Marketing and the Associate Dean of Graduate and International Programs at Kent State University.

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they want to learn. There is an intensity and selectivity of learning for the self-funded EMBA student. They want a return on investment as quickly as possible.

This does not mean that those receiving funding do not have ideas and things that they want to work on. They also have a desire to glean information that they can apply to their jobs.

Regardless of whether the student is selffunded or corporate-sponsored, each EMBA student has an expectation of having material that is applicable and interesting.

Q. For the working professional at a career crossroads, how important is the global perspective an EMBA brings to the table and how does KSU integrate this component into its curriculum?

Kent State University has professors from around the world, which automatically assists in globalising our curriculum. I like to use professors from different countries on certain topics, be that in the classroom or via Skype. We also have global industry experts.

The global projects and trips also develop global thinking in our students. This year the EMBAs will be in Italy while last year they were in India.

Our international business trip normally spans 12 days with students being immersed in the country’s culture and business practices: they meet with business leaders, tour selected businesses, visit some of our university partners, and explore the region and its culture.

We attempt to choose a destination based on events impacting both the domestic and global economy as well as our contacts in the country.

In terms of Italy, Kent State University has a campus in Florence.

Q (a). The expectation is that the modern day EMBA should offer career guidance and support. How much emphasis do you place upon this and, from experience, how is it valued?

Of course, we do not encourage students to leave their current employer. However, for those who want to explore new career opportunities, the College of Business Administration has its own career services center to work with these EMBA students on everything from career objectives, resume preparation and specific job opportunities.

Interestingly, the feedback received from employers suggests that it is good for employees to see what opportunities are available and better understand the market. This allows the employer to highlight the strengths of their business and the opportunities in that position.

You are going to see more career guidance

offered in all EMBA courses. I do not see this decreasing in the EMBA programme of Kent State University.

Q (b). Of course, it’s not always about moving out of a company, it’s often about moving upwards within a company. Would I be correct in thinking that your career services department can provide assistance in this regard?

Absolutely, as you indicated, it’s not usually about leaving but accelerating your career within the company where you are presently employed. When a student/employee wants to move into a position where they can be more effective for an employer, this is very positive for the company.

Q. Given the cachet attached to an EMBA, does this make the graduate more attractive to potential employers, versus someone holding a part-time MBA? A lt houg h t h i s quest ion i s employerdependent, an EMBA degree is important to an employer for several reasons. First, the focus of the courses at the EMBA level is different compared to the MBA, whether that be seated or online. Second, the work experience and industry diversity of EMBA students is significant, which in turn enriches student interaction. This work experience is transferable, and the depth of that experience in the EMBA programme is certainly not in short supply.

This broad base of experience, viewpoints, and industry sectors cannot easily be replicated or matched in an online or regular MBA. Q. To what extent does KSU’s EMBA offering cater to would-be entrepreneurs?

The EMBA, for an entrepreneur, assists the individual in creating a powerful network, which is very important. The ability to pick up the phone or send an email to one of your classmates with a certain skillset, or expertise in a particular field or industry; this is invaluable.

By making these strong connections, you know that you can call upon your classmates in the future.

Most, if not all, of our courses have a creative part. As an entrepreneur, creativity is an important skill to develop because things generally are not linear - you have to deal with ambiguity all the time. The approach in the EMBA programme at Kent State University is attractive to would-be entrepreneurs as well as existing entrepreneurs. The skills and tools obtained allow them to cope with all the things that they think will not happen but do occur. ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

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Human Capital

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ARE PEOPLE REALLY A COMPANY’S MOST IMPORTANT RESOURCE?

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Employees are on the wrong side of the balance sheet STÉPHANE GARELLI

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t happens regularly all over the world and in every company. The CEO addresses his collaborators: “You are the most important resource at this company.” He believes it, and he is right. His collaborators listen politely but are skeptical. They are not wrong. They know that during the slightest economic downturn the “most important resource of the company” will immediately pay the price for it.

At the heart of the problem is an accounting peculiarity. The employees of a company ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

appear in the balance sheet as a cost and not as an investment. In other words, they are on the wrong side of the balance sheet. If a company employs 100 geniuses or 100 fools, they are accounted in the same way, namely as a cost.

Such an approach completely underestimates the investments made in the know-how as well as the professional and individual development of a person. It also ignores the loss of experience and skills when that person leaves the company.

Could it be done other wise? From a n accounting point of view, the approach is based on two assumptions. In the first place, employees are excessively mobile. The company’s most important resource leaves the company in the evening at six o'clock to, perhaps, return the following morning at eight o'clock. How can you give an accounting value to a “company’s most valuable asset” when it wanders the obscure streets of your city at night? Historically, this was why employees were paid on a weekly, then a monthly basis; it was to make sure they came back.

In addition, and this is the central idea, employees do not belong to a compa ny.

Therefore, they cannot be accounted for as an asset in the same way as a machine or a building.

It is certainly correct, but it cultivates a deep ambiguity regarding the value of people. Several economists prefer to use the term “human capital”. But it is not the way employees are accounted for in the valuation of companies.

Stock exchanges always favor companies with the least employees compared to turnover.

Fo r e x a m pl e , G o o g l e h a s a m a r k e t capitalization of USD $576 billion and employs 72,000 people. Facebook is worth USD $390 billion for a workforce of 15,700 employees.

In comparison, General Motors who employs 215,000 people is worth $56 billion, and Ford who employs 99,000 people is valued at only $49 billion. It is not only the size but also the competence which counts. Bill Gates pointed out: “What would Microsoft be worth if it was sold without its collaborators; one dollar?”

Nevertheless, accounting standards prevail.

When a company downsizes its workforce, the market considers that it reduces its costs and therefore the share price goes up. It is absurd because, in fact, the company loses management competencies and personal skills, and should be less valuable.

The monetary aspect is not the only one to consider. There is a value which stems from a shared culture between the company and the collaborators: attitudes, written or unwritten rules and a sense of mutual respect. To have value, we must feel valued. It implies a sense of intellectual affinity and even emotional closeness which must permeate every level of the company. As Franklin D. Roosevelt once said: “A good leader cannot go too far from followers.”

“If a company employs 100 geniuses or 100 fools, they are accounted in the same way, namely as a cost.”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Courtesy of IMD Business School.

BIOGRAPHY Stéphane Garelli is Professor Emeritus of World Competitiveness at IMD and Professor at the University of Lausanne.

He founded the IMD World Competitiveness Centre and has pioneered research in this field for 30 years.

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EMBAs

THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIPS I Oakland University School of Business

n early 2015 , K resge Fou ndat ion Ch ief I nvest ment Of f icer Rob Manilla faced a paradox. He was making plans to travel out-of-state to recruit the foundation’s next class of investment analysts. Manilla, whose Rob Oa k la nd Un iversit y Manilla degree well-prepared him for his first career in the automotive industry, acknowledged that the necessary talent existed at local campuses, but these students were increasingly difficult to recruit. New graduates were attracted to big banks and private-equity groups in New York City or Chicago for their first professional experience. But few were aware of the hundreds of private a nd publicly held compa nies, academic and health institutions, foundations

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and nonprofit organizations that employs investment analysts and managers to protect and grow their pension plans, endowments and trusts.

So, Manilla sought to make finance and economics students at nea rby ca mpuses aware of the many in-state competitive job opportunities. And ultimately, he pursued a new avenue for the foundation to recruit for its three-year investment analyst rotation program.

With his Oakland University business school alma mater, Manilla put into motion a way to bring more attention to investment career opportunities at Kresge and other local organizations by establishing a $2 million fund carved out of the foundation’s $3.5 billion endowment.

A unique course curriculum was developed for the class in conjunction with a unique setting. The class, Managing Investment Funds,

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commenced in fall 2015. It is taught in a lab with several Bloomberg terminals so students are able to apply their portfolio management, stock selection and portfolio evaluation skills in real time. Investments are recommended by students and made from the Kresge fund; students monitor the portfolio and make adjustments to maximize the performance.

If there are gains, the fund increases; if there are loses, students assess their investment strategies to recover.

“The curriculum and hands-on experience offered in this class will better prepare OU graduates for the job market. And by exposing students to a broader range of investment roles, we are optimistic that we will be able to retain our locally-trained talent - who typically head to New York City for their first professional experience - to explore and fill the many rewarding job opportunities that exist within metro Detroit’s public, private and philanthropic sectors,” Manilla explains.

A critical component of the course comes through the support of a class advisory board, consisting of six investment professionals representing metro Detroit investment offices who complement the lectures and learnings with the class professor. Nick Krasnokut, investment officer, The Kresge Foundation actively participates on the advisory board.

Benef its abound on both sides of the investment lab’s door. Professional involvement in the course exposes undergraduates to the many local companies and career opportunities that are available in their backyards. And inside the classroom, students are gaining handson experience that wouldn’t otherwise be attainable until their first postgraduate job, better preparing the students for their first professional position.

Brad Garrigues was one of the first students to take part in the new program. He was drawn to the class in part because of Kresge’s participation, which opened his eyes to the broad range of organizations that rely upon sound investment strategies for growth. “Many of those organizations are close to home and to OU,” he says. “I realized you don’t have to go to New York or Chicago to get this experience.”

Manilla hired Garrigues in July 2016 and looks forward to seeing a robust pipeline of qualified candidates for Kresge’s rotation program and for the foundation’s peers in the local market.

“Brad was selected out of a candidate pool of 260 applicants, including finalists from across the country,” says Manilla. “Our opportunity to see him during the Student Investment Fund presentations was a wonderful chance to assess his skills in real time. He was knowledgeable, confident and well prepared. We are excited to have him join us.” ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

Trpko Blazevski

“The curriculum and hands-on experience offered in this class will better prepare OU graduates for the job market.”

Jeffrey Rogers

Oakland’s business school also enjoys a strong con nection w it h Fiat Ch r ysler Automobiles (FCA). In fact, Mike Novak, Vice President, NAFTA Regional Controller, is an Oakland alum and an active member of their Board of Visitors. OU works with FCA to deliver professional education sessions to its employees. Delivering programs that help FCA employees gain specific and critical knowledge in key business areas, increasing their expertise for their organization.

FCA is also one of the largest employers of Oakland business school alums. FCA recruiters a re on ca mpus frequently, meeting with students, mentoring, and generally helping students evolve into business professionals.

Jef f rey Rogers , a 2 01 1 Oa k la nd M BA graduate, now manages US retail incentives finance at FCA. He says, “Oakland University’s exceptionally strong aff iliation with the surrounding business community provided an added dimension to my graduate studies.

Oakland’s relationship with the region’s global automotive and manufacturing companies ultimately served as the pathway to the role in corporate f inance that I desired upon graduation.”

Tr pko Bla zevsk i, a Busi ness Systems Application Specialist at FCA, concurs, saying, “Whilst studying at Oakland I realized my passion for leading a team and discovered a desire for project management. This leadership ability has helped me tremendously in leading projects and stabilizing our custom SAP solution at Chrysler. OU has always made a point to connect students to industry by brining industry professionals to campus. Being at Chrysler, I now have had the privilege to come to campus representing FCA to recruit future employees and continue to grow my relationship with OU.”

BIOGRAPHY Located in Michigan, the AACSB accredited School of Business at Oakland University offers nine undergraduate business majors and 11 minors, four master’s degree programmes, including the MBA and Executive MBA, and a wealth of graduate certificates.

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Leadership

I

n the late 19th Century, British historian, Lord Acton, famously asserted that “power corrupts.” And we surely needn’t look too deeply within business, politics and everyday life to find examples that validate this timeless truth.

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But new resea rch from U.C. Berkeley social scientist, Dacher Keltner, confirms something few of us may ever have personally acknowledged with regard to Lord Acton’s insight: When we ourselves are given positions of power, we’re no less prone to abuse it.

In the American workplace today, over half of workers admit to quitting jobs in order to flee a power-abusing boss. And, of course, employee job satisfaction and engagement are mired in true crisis levels. What Keltner’s work reveals is that our common ways of applying power in managing people deserves much of the blame for these outcomes.

For the past two decades, Keltner has been studying human emotions and how they inf luence behaviour. Tied to this work, he advised Pixar Studios in the making of their Academy Award-winning animated f ilm, Inside Out and guided Facebook executives in creating their new emoticons. And in his new book, The Power Paradox: How We Gain And Lose Influence, he explains why our traditional beliefs on leadership power must be tossed away if our goal is to succeed in motivating 21st Century workers.

I recently visited with Keltner and asked him to explain how our current beliefs about power were formed - and what new understanding must replace them. His conclusions have profound implications to the future of workplace leadership.

We’ve Held The Same Views On Power For 400 Years “Our cultural understanding of power has been deeply shaped by Niccolò Machiavelli and his 16th Century book, The Prince,” Keltner told me. “Hundreds of thousands of students read this every year, and it’s a book that teaches that power - in its essence - is about force, deception and disregard for people.”

It may be hard for any of us to accept that our own use of power could at times be coercive, self-serving or Machiavellian, but Keltner’s ‘Cookie Monster’ experiment proves quite effective at indicating otherwise: Three people at a time are brought into a room and told they will be working together to complete a small project. Before the work begins, one of the participants (randomly selected) is told that they have been put in charge. About halfway through the task, a plate of four cookies is brought into the room, and each person is given one to eat. But after the group is asked who should get the last cookie, the ‘powerful’ person not only repeatedly takes it, but savors it in front of the others.

“Give any person a little feeling of power,” Keltner says, “and we become more focused on our own desires than on others. What this experiment confirms is that each and every one of us is vulnerable to it: abusing power, leading ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

by fear, and stressing people out.”

We Start Off With Good Intentions, And Then…

Research shows that most people gain power by enhancing the lives of others. But when they get into power, there’s a pull that leads them to forfeiting the very skills that enabled them to gain power in the first place.

T hey lose empathy, generosity, openmindedness and caring about others. In what Keltner calls the “power paradox,” once most people get a little taste of success, they stop doing the things that are foundational to good leadership. All of a sudden they lose touch with how others feel and treat people rudely.

“People tell me all the time how they experience this in their own organizations,” says Keltner. “As one person described it, ‘all of a sudden my boss has forgotten my name, interrupts me and doesn’t listen. It’s total bullsh*t.’”

The Times Have Changed, But We Haven’t Because of the TV show, Mad Men, most of us are very familiar with how workplaces were run 50 years ago. As Keltner describes it, “Manly men, very top down, hierarchical - and Machiavellianism prevailed.”

Today, of course, companies employ far more women, the work people perform demands far more collaboration and interdependence and business has become considerably more multi-cultural and complicated. “Yet with all these broad social changes,” Keltner says, “Machiavellianism continues to take hold of our imaginations. It’s an idea that’s still around and motivates workplace leadership around the globe. But we’ve reached the point where we must question its continued utility within our organizations, and the times.”

People Who Rise To Power Today Care For The Success And Well-Being Of Others Keltner’s modern view of power is that it’s now conferred upon us rather than grabbed. We no longer earn power by being self-focused, but by consistently acting in ways that improve the lives of others. Power is expressed in advocacy, compassion, respect, attentiveness to human feelings, and gratitude toward others.

“We have a deep cultural intuition that nice guys finish last,” Keltner told me, “and that one must step on others to rise in the ranks. But nothing could be further from the truth.”

Nu merous ex per i ments back up t h i s assertion and reveal that people who attain enduring power today exhibit five behaviours that inherently balance mind and heart: 1. Enthusiasm: They express interest in others, advocate on their behalf and take joy in their achievements.

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Leadership

2. Kindness: They co-operate, share, express appreciation and dignify other people.

3. Focus: They establish shared goals and rules, a clear purpose and keep people on task.

4 . Calmness: T hrough their action s and communication, they instil calm and perspective.

5. Openness: They display empathy and a disciplined process of listening attentively.

“Over 70 studies have shown that people who rise in power - whether it be in business, education or the military - consistently embody these qualities,” Keltner says. “And when individuals use their power to advance the greater good, the evidence is also clear that they and the people they empower prove to be happier, healthier and sustainably more productive.”

Niccolò Machiavelli famously said that “It is better to be feared than loved,” while also expressing that “Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.” What science now serves to prove is that it’s only on the latter point that Machiavelli was right.

“Once most people get a little taste of success, they stop doing the things that are foundational to good leadership.”

BIOGRAPHY Mark C. Crowley is a speaker, leadership consultant and the author of Lead From The Heart: Transformational Leadership For The 21st Century.

Connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and at his website.

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WHAT ARE VENTURE CAPITALISTS LOOKING FOR IN START-UPS? BRIAN WALLHEIMER

I

f you’re the next Uber or Facebook, you have a good chance of attracting high-dollar investors. But venture capitalists doling out millions to back big ideas may be less interested in the product than in the people developing the product, research suggests.

Harvard’s Paul Gompers, University of British Columbia’s Will Gornall, Chicago Booth’s Steve Kaplan, and Stanford’s Ilya A. Strebulaev surveyed 885 institutional venture capitalists, posing dozens of questions. They find that big investors almost always cite a management team for their willingness to invest. Venture capitalists also say that deal selection is the most important factor in making winning investments.

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Venture Capital

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

COURTESY OF THE CHICAGO BOOTH REVIEW.

Potential investments that reach each stage of the VC deal consideration process For every one closed deal over past year 1. VC considers the investment 2. Meets the management team 3. Reviews with VC partners 4. Exercises diligence 5. Offer a term sheet

101

1

28

10

2

3

4.8

1.7

4

5

“Perhaps surprisingly, VCs did not cite their own contributions as a source of success or failure.”

Gompers et. al, 2016

31 %

Origin of VCs’ deals closed over past year n Professional network n Proactively self-generated n Referral from other investors n VCs’ company management n Referral from company in own portfolio n Quantitative data analysis

28 % 20 % 10 % 8%

Gompers et. al, 2016

How VCs interact with their companies Average percentage of companies in VCs’ portfolios Provide strategic guidance Connect them with investors Connect them with customers Provide operational guidance Hire board members Hire employees 0%

20 %

40 %

60 %

80 %

100 %

Gompers et. al, 2016 What VCs see as most important factor in successful investments One choice in the survey that no one selected as most important: The VCs’ own contributions. n Management team n Timing of deal n Technology n Business model n Industry conditions n Good luck n Market conditions n Board of directors

56 %

12 % 9%

WORKS CITED • Paul Gompers, Will Gornall, Steve Kaplan, and Ilya A. Strebulaev, “How Do Venture Capitalists Make Decisions?”

NBER working paper, February 2017.

• Morten Sørensen, “How Smart Is Smart Money? A Two-Sided Matching Model of Venture Capital,” Journal of Finance, November 2007.

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7% 7% 6%

Gompers et. al, 2016

How VCs analyze investments percentage of respondents who...

Use cash returns on investment Use internal rates of return Use companies’ present cash value Often make gut investment decisions Quantitatively analyze past investments Use no financial metrics at all 0%

20 %

40 %

60 %

80 %

100 %

Gompers et. al, 2016

When considering an investment, 95 percent of respondents mentioned management as an important factor, and almost half (47 percent) called it the most important one. VCs also frequently consider business-related factors: 83 percent mentioned business model, 74 percent cited product, and 68 percent referred to market.

Still, only 37 percent of investment groups rated one of those as the most important factor.

That surprised Kaplan, who says conventional wisdom has held that a product must be sound for an investment to be successful. But venture investors “view the team as more important than the business to the ultimate success or failure of their investments,” the researchers write. “Perhaps surprisingly, VCs did not cite their own contributions as a source of success or failure.”

The researchers also find that there has been a shift among VCs in terms of what they see as generating their returns. VCs a decade ago believed deal flow, deal selection (investment choices), and postinvestment actions more or less drove returns equally, according to previous research by Columbia University’s Morten Sørensen. But Gompers and his colleagues now find that 49 percent of venture-capital groups see deal selection as the most important factor, followed by postinvestment actions, then deal flow.

Venture-capital businesses also seem to resist standard methods when valuing the companies in which they may invest. Business schools teach discounted cash flow or net present value (NPV) analyses as the standards for evaluating investment opportunities. Instead, the VCs said they tend to rely on cash-on-cash return or internal rate of return, and less than a quarter of them use NPV. Some, it seems, simply rely on their guts, with 9 percent of venture capitalists saying they use no financial metrics at all. ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

Like a Diamond, an MBA is Forever Ensure it’s AMBA-accredited.

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Be in company MBA students on AMBA-accredited programmes are required to have at least 3 years prior management experience, making for quality networks and applied learning.

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Invest in education that stands the

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AMBA-accredited schools have educated MBAs to AMBA standards for a minimum of 3 years and usually over 10 years.

AMBA-accredited MBA programmes require a minimum of 500 ‘contact’ hours, ensuring face-to-face learning and strong relationship-building.

Access the

highest quality experts in academia and industry.

Faculty at AMBA-accredited programmes are internationally diverse and at least 75% must have a relevant postgraduate qualification.

ceo-mag.com / Rankings 2017

AMBA is the world’s only MBA-specific Accreditation Organisation, accrediting just 2% of the world’s Business Schools.

33 www.mbaworld.com

Hospitality Management

LESSONS IN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FROM THE HOTEL INDUSTRY Integrating content creation, curation and dissemination skills into business operations is a must to meet the challenges brought by e-disruptions.

DAVID DUBOIS

F

aced with powerful waves of digital disruption coming from every direction and unexpected competition from one of the digital era’s most spectacular success stories – Airbnb – large traditional hotel groups have had no choice but to embrace change and transform their organisations to become more digital, more agile and thus, more competitive.

A new INSEAD case study, AccorHotels and the Digital Transformation: Enriching

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Experiences through Content Strategies along the Customer Journey, co-authored with INSEAD Marketing Professor Joerg Niessing, Research Associate Jean Wee, and Marketing Professor Inyoung Chae from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, explores AccorHotels’ response to this powerful wave of digital disruption and ambitious digital transformation, aiming to return the customer to the centre of its strategy and operations.

One of the key game changers in the industry has been consumer empowerment: Consumers’ access to information – about prices, destination choices, the possibility of alternative styles of accommodation and sharing experiences with a global audience – has become increasingly fluid, blindsiding many traditional players.

Whereas hotels would once court travel agents and retain tight control over their relationships with their customers and other stakeholders, a new breed of online travel agents (OTAs) and digital influencers have had an increasingly strong bearing on consumer decisions along with the opinion of peers and other travellers sharing their experiences at great length: the good, the bad and the previously unheard-of.

Emerging actors like TripAdvisor, Booking. com, Agoda and Expedia have taken on multiple roles from hosting reviews to offering discounted flights and hotel deals and have reshaped the industry by becoming the primary factor driving bookings. At the same time, alternative lodging sites such as Homestay, onefinestay (which AccorHotels acquired in April 2016) and Airbnb have changed customers’ attitudes and expectations regarding the accommodation industry. In 2015, hotels in New York City alone ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

lost around US$450 million in direct revenues to Airbnb – a 2008 start-up which was now boasting a valuation of US$30 billion, US$10 billion more than that of Marriott International.

Content avalanche Common to these digital disruptions was the rapid accumulation of content from videos, reviews or images that increasingly influenced consumers’ travel planning and purchasing behaviour. Friends, bloggers and social media reviewers were educating consumers on what experiences to expect, encouraging and empowering guests to tell more, complain more and expect more; and giving them greater ability to switch when their increasing expectations were not met.

To meet this challenge it had become crucial for hotel chains like AccorHotels to rethink their approach to their online presence and place content at the heart of their strategies.

In particular, if incumbents needed to meet these e-challenges, they first needed to acquire the skills to listen to online content and be aware of what their consumers were saying about their hotels online using digital intelligence. Focusing inward, they needed to think about how to consider online content in their ROI calculation and business operations as a new metric of success via e-reputation integration. Looking outward, AccorHotels needed to foster a dynamic approach to produce and disseminate online content on platforms that would balance where the content about its hotels was and integrate the new dynamic into business operations with content production and dissemination.

Designing a digital transformation plan AccorHotels – a diverse group operating more than 4,000 hotels in 95 countries, spanning the spectrum from luxury to budget – needed to identify the different types of content that existed online and understand their relevance as well as how each could create (and destroy) value at the different stages of the traveller’s journey (from dreaming about a place to booking it, experiencing a place and post-stay activities).

To address this challenge, AccorHotels began to develop and integrate social media listening (SML), systematically scrutinising reviews and customer comments and complaints on OTAs, metasearch and review sites. Adopting IT applications that alerted the company to relevant public conversations on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) and online platforms helped AccorHotels to become more customer-centric by following its customers along each step of their journey.

A content powerhouse Creati ng content wa s a lso cr ucia l to ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

establishing the hotelier’s presence a nd e-reputation. Two sources of information were particularly important: hotel-generated images and text, published by hotels on their own websites, promoting the hotel itself or its organisation, describing rooms, services prices, etc.; and user-generated content such as blogs, travel site comments, and reviews. The former is content mostly aiming to educate and convert and tends to appeal rationally rather than emotionally while user-generated content is often written to entertain and persuade; its “shareability” making it an even more powerful and effective way of increasing the conversion rate.

To leverage content, AccorHotels initially engaged in pa rtnerships with sites such as TripAdvisor, which helped to dispatch content on the company’s sites and through other channels for maximum effect. The information – what customers were saying about Accor before, during and after their trip – was collected and used to encourage other guests to share their positive experiences and views and, importantly, to attract customers to the company’s own website for booking, thus avoiding the hefty commission fees demanded

by OTAs like Booking.com.

Finally, embracing the digital revolution required the breaking down of traditional silos within the organisation, between functions such as marketing, strateg y, f inance and human resources. For AccorHotels, this meant (1) ensuring that insights collected would be widely shared within the company and (2) creating a system to integrate e-reputation into incentive schemes to increase collaborators’ accountability. Information generated by the hotel, consumers, and other industry stakeholders became widely shared across internal departments. In addition, AccorHotels worked to create a system so that everyone from the front desk to the back-end service staff had to be prepared to incorporate the firm’s online reputation into their everyday duties. To this end, the new objectives were linked to employee incentives.

Value creation in a digital world In the face of dynamic competition and more informed and chatty customers, a plan such as the one AccorHotels implemented should not be an exception. It should be the rule. In fact, several forward-thinking brands across services (e.g., banks, insurance companies, food services, transport and distribution) have implemented similar approaches to embrace the challenge offered by digital disruptions.

Tomorrow, a major driver of value creation will lie in companies’ ability to perform content capture, creation, curation and dissemination within an omni-channel and customer-centric approach.

“In 2015, hotels in New York City alone lost around US$450 million in direct revenues to Airbnb – a 2008 start-up which was now boasting a valuation of US$30 billion, US$10 billion more than that of Marriott International.”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Courtesy of INSEAD Knowledge.

BIOGRAPHY David Dubois is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at INSEAD and a Programme Director of Leading Digital Marketing Strategy, one of the school’s executive development programmes. You can follow him on Twitter @d1Dubois.

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Hospitality Management

“In a truly international environment with approximately 50 nationalities and cultural backgrounds, inter-cultural communication is an everyday practice.�

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Q. You’ve remained a private institution for over 25 years. How has this served you, and your students, over the years?

Being a private school has many merits when it comes to education. It allows you to have more flexibility in remaining current in the marketplace. Additionally, due to our strong links with employers, we are always able to offer top and relevant education. Our students are living proof of our success, occupying management positions around the world.

Q. You offer the following MBAs: International Hospitality Management, Swiss Hotel Management Operations, and Luxury Brands and Services Management in Hospitality.

Whilst the common denominator here is hospitality, can you point to the differentiating factors between each?

We currently offer three MBAs. The first and fundamental difference relates to the fact that the MBA in International Hospitality Management is accredited by the Manchester Metropolitan University Business School, while the other two sit under the umbrella of the Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality in London. So, on one hand you have a state of the art University, and on the other a professional British awarding body for qualifications in the hospitality and tourism sector.

The MBA in International Hospitality has a broader remit and thus provides wider coverage of hospitality for students who have not yet decided on the hospitality sector they wish to work in. The other two programmes are more specialised and are designed for students who have decided to work in hotels, or who want to specialise in managing luxury brands, which is ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

currently receiving significant attention from employers as well as students.

Q. Given the ‘hands-on’ nature of hospitality management, how important is experiential learning and to what extent is it integrated into the MBA curriculum at IMI Switzerland? Kindly talk us through the industry partnerships you’ve forged and how these benefit your students.

Our academic strategy has three main pillars: originality in educational provision, inspiration in learning and education, and finally a blended learning experience that is now the cornerstone of contemporary education.

In this respect, we have a dedicated body of academics who all have professional experience alongside academic qualifications. In addition, we invite visiting professors and lecturers who are currently professionals of the highest caliber. This includes CEOs, vice presidents and entrepreneurs.

Some units are even delivered in hotel company headquarters in Zurich, which we feel exposes the student to the very heart of the industry. We also involve our students in business research projects in Europe as well as S.E. Asia. Since 2011, we have conducted such projects in more than 30 counties.

Q. Typically, post-MBA, what positions do your graduates occupy?

Most of our alumni will choose to stay within the hotel industry. It’s an industry that is always booming in different geographical regions, and our strong reputation, especially in Southeast Asia, provides students with access to high profile jobs.

Our alumni traditionally start in supervisory sales, food and beverage and, lately, revenue management positions. Soon thereafter, they find themselves in positions all the way up to General Management. Some alumni are involved in general consulting, finance and HR, while we also have others continuing with PhDs in order to pursue academic careers.

Q. Globalisation has been synonymous with the hotel industry for many years. How do you bring this important element into the classroom?

IMI is a truly an International School.

Within the student body we currently have approximately 50 nationalities on campus at any one time, which means that students have to interact and work with cultures from around the world. By the time they finish, they will have friends on all continents and these friends will become ambassadors and their point of reference when venturing out into the world’s marketplace.

Our team are also very diverse: they come from 20 countries and teach across continents ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

as part of their regular activities. This creates a varied and multicultural learning environment with respect to individuality and cultural diversity.

Q. How accessible is the hospitality management sector to career-change professionals at the middle and senior management level?

We seem to increasingly attract students from different backgrounds: lawyers, engineers, bankers and even language specialists. This is another indication of the current attractiveness of hospitality as an employment option.

Hospitality has learned how to bounce back from crisis situations, representing a stable and promising career option in a rather uncertain world. Our MBA programmes are specially designed to attract students from all educational backgrounds and this contributes significantly in the creation of a stimulating and vibrant classroom experience.

“Interpersonal skills are indeed an absolute must for our industry and our students can grasp the true meaning of this through their studies, not to mention their stay at IMI campus.”

Q. Students have the option of a sixmonth, paid internship on the Swiss Hotel Management Operations MBA. Can you expand upon this?

Our MBA programmes are always connected to the fact that we desire our students to have working experience. However, we also recognise that current market conditions lead students to seek postgraduate education as soon as they finish their undergraduate education. To provide a compromise, we have embedded an internship here in Switzerland as an integral part of the programme. This means that students without the requisite experience will need to do this to be able to earn their MBA. This component has proven to be very attractive as it exposes students to the Swiss hospitality market, which is a great plus on the C.V. Further, the internship payment packages are very attractive here in Switzerland. The outcome is that all of our students will have working experience at the end of the programme.

Q. Today, leaders need to have an entrepreneurial mindset, regardless of industry. How do you integrate this important element into the MBA curriculum?

Providing students with a strong set of entrepreneurial skills has always been at the core of our MBA programme. The programme’s curriculum has a dominant focus on solutions for business problems through creative thinking and critical approaches. More specifically, one of our MBA core units “Leadership, Entrepreneurship & Innovation in Hospitality” provides students with an international, strategic view on entrepreneurial challenges in different cultures through a group-based learning experience.

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Hospitality Management

BIOGRAPHY Theodore Benetatos is the CEO and Academic Dean of the International Management Institute, IMI in Luzern Switzerland.

In line with the booming trend of start-ups, students must create a concept for a hospitality start-up and pitch their ideas in front of a panel of international investors to attract funding. This unit draws theory and practice from strategy, finance, and operations management. Moreover, it applies academic theories for product development, competition, market analysis, organisation design and financial planning in the development of a viable concept business plan.

Q. Given that the hospitality industry is all about comfort and service, how much emphasis do you place upon soft skills?

Interpersonal skills are indeed an absolute must for our industry and our students can grasp the true meaning of this through their studies, not to mention their stay at IMI campus.

In a truly international environment with approximately 50 nationalities and cultural backgrounds, inter-cultural communication is an everyday practice. Meanwhile, empathy, teamwork, time management and emotional intelligence are practiced through student social activities, sports days and cultural events.

The family nature of IMI also guarantees that personal coaching and attention is given to every individual, while safeguarding and

encouraging inter-cultural diversity.

Q. When taking into consideration the changing landscape of the hotel industry, with major chains competing with shared accommodation brands like Airbnb and Homestay.com, not to mention boutique hotels, how transferable are the skills students derive from the Hotel Management MBA, for example?

Our industry is currently undergoing major structural changes with traditional players and institutions strongly challenged by fierce competition and market changes.

Since the business landscape is always changing, our MBA has always been focused on the internationalisation of hospitality companies. This is truly ref lected by our contemporary curriculum design, learning style and activities, and by the spectrum of employment positions our graduates achieve after their studies at IMI. Given that our students are exposed to major international brands through study visits, real case scenarios, and specialised training assessments, they are equipped with a very strong set of theoretical and practical skills applicable to a wide array of service industries and sectors.

Hospitality Management

WHEN THE NAME OF A HOTEL MATTERS

Pradeep Chintagunta finds that rebranding can benefit some hotels

A

lthough approximately 12,000 US hotels have changed their brands in the past three decades, the question of whether or not an outlet benefits f rom rebra nd i ng h a s u nt i l now la rgely been left unanswered by hotel owners and academics. Chicago Booth Professor Pradeep K. Chintagunta, along with Yi-Lin Tsai of AIG and Chekitan Dev of Cornell University, demonstrates that overall change in demand for a hotel room is close to five percent after rebranding in the US lodging industry, but that some properties aren't helped by a rebranding.

In their paper, "Assessing the Impact of Rebranding in the Hospitality Industry," the researchers use a unique dataset amassed by PKF Hospitality Research of individual hotels across the country from 1994 to 2009, which allows them to observe at least five years of data for every hotel property in the sample. While controlling for several variables, including hotel fixed effects such as location and size, and unobservable factors relating to varying economic conditions over time and geography, the team analyzes occupancy rates, number of rooms occupied, total room revenue, total hotel revenues, and revenue per room available.

The analysis overall suggests that the effect of rebranding is positive. Mid-scale hotels that rebrand seem to benefit more than upscale hotels.

Additionally, rebranding across "umbrellas" seems to have a bigger impact than rebranding within the same umbrella, for example changing a Starwood-owned hotel (such as a Westin) to a Marriott-owned one (such as a Fairfield Inn) has a bigger impact than rebranding to a different Starwood-owned hotel (such as a Sheraton). Further, when looking at the longerterm effect of rebranding, beyond the first two years, the researchers find that an increase in occupancy is driven more by whether the specific property better matches a brand than by the brand itself. The authors recognize that these longer-term implications are only suggestive, since properties

ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

whose rebranding efforts were unsuccessful would likely have rebranded again rather than stay with the brand for more than two years.

The study also looks at the differences between branded and independent hotels. The authors note that branded hotel franchisees benefit from brand value, managerial advice, and prominence (because they are listed on branded websites, among other reasons).

However, they lose flexibility in setting prices, running marketing campaigns, and selecting operational and service options. Nonetheless, the results show that on average, branded hotels attract more travelers than independent hotels.

While the paper concentrates on the effect of rebranding from the perspective of the hotel owner, the authors say more research into rebranding is needed, especially from the point of view of the brand owner and the owner's decisions on price, capacity, and marketing.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Courtesy of the Chicago Booth Review.

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Corporate Partnerships

“Corporate partnerships add value to the overall academic experience of a student.”

CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS – SYNERGIES FOR SUCCESS EU BUSINESS SCHOOL

C

orporate partnerships are vital to any business school that wants to prepare its students for success. They allow students to get a foot in the door with a potential employer. They’re also a great opportunity for students to feel, explore and investigate what it’s really like to work for a company in a specific business sector. Although theory is vital to learning, the ability to put this theory into practice is the real mark of a successful and comprehensive education.

Corporate partnerships provide students with the opportunity to utilise their skills in real situations.

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Students shouldn’t leave university without having made contacts within their field of interest. Connections need to be made by students during their studies in order for them to take true advantage of their time in school.

Needless to say, a university which already has an established network of contacts, locally and internationally, is critical. Corporate partnerships add value to the overall academic experience of a student, while also providing enormous benef its to the university and company itself.

Creating Value Together Big busi nesses a re now beg i n n i ng to recognise the value of corporate partnerships with higher education institutions. Brands like IBM and Apple are already partnered with universities worldwide, offering free resources and full training programmes for US schools such as Johns Hopkins University and Arizona State University. BMW has also formed strategic partnership agreements in order to expand its own knowledge and resources, one such partnership has successfully developed automotive engineering specialists. The collective skills of a student team eager to learn and put new ideas into practice, like the engineering students for BMW, should not be underestimated.

A further example is the longstanding partnership between EU Business School (EU) and the Geneva Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Services (CCIG). Recently, CCIG and EU organised an exclusive leadership seminar which was free for EU students to attend.

The three-day seminar, titled Leadership 3.0: Managing in a World of Complexity, featured guest talks from proven and successful business leaders, such as the former prime minister of Switzerland, Adolf Ogi. The seminar gave students the opportunity to interact with corporate leaders in an intimate setting for a truly rewarding experience - learning about real life business practice beyond the ordinary classroom lecture.

Vincent Subilia, deputy director and head of international affairs at CCIG, also notes the importance of such an arrangement; “In today’s globalised business environment, corporate partnerships play a key role in generating reciprocal gains; by aligning objectives, said agreements serve common purposes… At CCIG, it is our belief that walking hand-in-hand with members of the business community, whose voice we advocate on a daily basis, allows us to achieve mutual milestones. CCIG has been honored to be associated with initiatives crafted by EU with a view to promote winwin scenarios; this holds particularly true in the academic environment, where a hands-on approach, together with an economic actor such as CCIG, can be just as beneficial to students ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

as the dynamism of EU can be for Geneva entrepreneurs.”

Seek Out The Right Connections However, it’s not always about forming corporate partnerships with the biggest or the most profitable names in business. For example, EU also partners with lesser known organisations such as the Toastmasters’ Effective Communicators Club in Munich.

Although the organisation may not be as instantly recognizable as TEDx, another EU partner, its network covers 75 per cent of the world’s countries and the opportunities it offers for personal development are enormous. This has been recognised by other companies, such as eBay and Bank of America, who have also chosen to sponsor Toastmaster clubs. Much like EU, they enjoy a mutually beneficial partnership with Toastmasters, as place where employees can strengthen their communication skills.

As Reda Kaiser, former president of the Effective Communicators Club states; “We benefit from this partnership because we get new, young members from EU, and students benef it from this because they have the opportunity to develop their leadership and public speaking skills.”

The Classroom Meets The Boardroom For a well-rounded education, a blend of theoretical and practical knowledge is crucial.

A corporate partnership imparts practical knowledge that simply can’t be gained in the classroom. It fulfills objectives for both the school and the company: students gain practical knowledge and work on real-life projects for top-tier businesses, while future employers are given access to valuable talent and resources before t hei r competitors. T he practica l experience that students gain from corporate partnerships should not be undervalued - it can lead to internships and will help to heighten a student’s job prospects afterward. For students, i’s not just an assignment, it’s a project with money behind it and real applications to the business world.

An example of this is EU MBA graduate, Gaston Garcia Blasco, who obtained an internship with the International Boxing Association (AIBA) during his studies; “Ho Kim, ex-CEO of AIBA came to EU Geneva as a guest speaker and gave me the opportunity to work in the company for six months as competition coordinator,” Gaston explains. After completing his studies and gaining valuable work experience, Gaston continued his career in the sports sector, landing the position of match operations assistant at the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) due to his advanced studies and relevant professional work experience.

It is important for a higher education establishment to provide opportunities for their ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

students to connect with the business world. At EU, business leaders interact with students both on and off campus. To share their expertise. Past speakers have ranged from established business professionals to successful entrepreneurs, such as the Director of the Montreux Jazz Festival Matthieu Jaton, who spoke to students about passion and drive in the music business and shared the secret to nurturing creativitiy in the world’s biggest jazz festival. Industrial visits also connect students to local and international enterprises. EU students have visited companies such as retail fashion giant Inditex, BMW, Nestlé and FIBA (International Basketball Federation), among others. These practical additions to the curriculum allow students to experience business from the point-of-view of the people working there. Current employees lead and guide students through a typical workday and inform them about the company’s business strategy, new product launches and the inner workings of different departments.

Both opportunities allow exclusive, personal interaction with industry leaders - experience which is central to all EU Business School programmes.

Nurturing Meaningful, Profitable, Long-Term Relationships A business school’s corporate partnerships, or a lack thereof, can make or break it. In order for such an agreement to be successful, it needs to be to the benefit of all involved. In any new arrangement, it is crucial for all parties to have an open conversation about their expectations and goals. As Vincent Subalia explains of the relationship between CCIG and EU, “The very essence of such partnerships are based on trust, a key factor which constitutes the basis of all robust and long-lasting endeavors.” When an organisation can trust in the quality of a unviersity’s graduates, the university can in turn trust the long-term opportunities that will be presented by the organisation. Universities are therefore assured that their status as an educational institution and their reputation in employability is enhanced, not only within the sphere of international business, but also among prospective students.

It is on the basis of such mutually beneficial arrangements that the lines between classroom theor y a nd rea l cor porate practices a re joined. EU has nurtured relationships with organisations large and small, local and international, in order to offer its students and alumni a competitive advantage in today’s rapidly evolving, globalised business world.

These partnerships, coupled with a world-class business education, have helped graduates to harness their entrepreneurial spirit and excel in roles within stablished corporations, such as Accenture, Credit Suisse, UEFA and Red Bull, and within their own enterprises.

BIOGRAPHY EU Business School is a tripleaccredited, multi-campus, international business school.

EU offers various programmes at the bachelor’s (BBA/BA/ BS), master’s (MBA/ MSc) and doctoral (DBA) levels, all taught in English.

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MBAs

FUTURE PLANNING, GLOBAL THINKING Ralf Schellhase introduces the Darmstadt Full-time MBA

D

armstadt University of Applied Sciences (h_da) is one of the largest universities of applied sciences in Germany, with approximately 16,000 students, 350 professors, and over 50 degree programmes.

The business school at h_da has 1,700 full- and part-time students in seven courses of study, 35 full-time professors and more than 100 lecturers from research institutions and industry. Only 20 minutes’ drive from Frankfurt airport, we are located in the Rhine-Main region, which is well-known as the economic hub of Europe and Germany’s most cosmopolitan area.

Our mission is to develop competent and responsible business leaders who are capable of meeting the challenges of today’s business environment. We focus on competence, of course, but also responsibility, ethics and social responsibility, which are very important in our programmes. Our MBA focuses on a long-term perspective, and I think that differentiates us from many other MBA programmes.

The h_da Full-time MBA Our MBA is an excellent choice for anyone seeking to prepare for a career in management.

The full-time MBA at Darmstadt Business School is designed for young, high-potential employees who require solid management skills in addition to their existing academic qualifications. Graduates from non-business disciplines are as welcome as those who have studied business and who want to give their career a new direction.

We offer a very classical general management MBA following a holistic approach of doing business. We centre the programme around strategy, marketing and general management.

Our MBA provides intensive, relevant and effective preparation for the challenges faced by executives of national and international enterprises. And, of course, we prepare our students to handle current topics such as the digitalisation of industry, the rising importance of networking or challenges of globalisation.

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One of the key values of our MBA is to focus on a long-term perspective. German companies adopt much longer-term thinking than, for example, is the case in the USA. This cognitive horizon in German and European corporations encompasses planning in generations rather than in annual quarters, which is key to success.

We consider it crucial to convey this to our students.

An International Classroom Our programme attracts students from all over the world, bringing people together from different nationalities and backgrounds. In fact, approximately 60 per cent of our students are non-domestic. These students bring their international perspective into the classroom, allowing the class to learn a lot about different cultures and ways of doing business in different regions of the world. Students with different backgrounds, whether culturally or from a business-sense, approach specific topics in very different ways. This enriches discussions in class and broadens the overall learning experience.

Our aim is to be good hosts to our students from abroad. We help them to organise their stay in Germany, and support their personal and professional development. International st udents benef it from ou r net work a nd infrastructure. Our services include a ‘buddy’ system for students from abroad, help in finding accommodation, German language courses, inter-cultural training, application training, advice regarding visas and work permits, and support in finding jobs and internships through our network.

The h_da Faculty Our MBA lecturers at h_da build bridges between the academic and business worlds.

They are a balanced mix of university professors, management-experienced lecturers and business leaders of various international backgrounds.

This guarantees a scientif ically founded management education, orientated towards the requirements of management practice.

All professors at Darmstadt Business School have at least five years’ experience in industry or consulting. Together with lecturers from industry, they bring their experience directly into the classroom. In addition, we work with case studies and invite guest speakers from the many big companies in the area.

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DR PRITIMA CHAINANI-BARTA (Un iver sit y of Mu m ba i) teaches the module Communication, Negotiation, Mediation on the h_da MBA. Dr Chainani-Barta works as a lecturer at higher academic institutions in the Federal State of Hesse and at international universities.

Furthermore, she coaches first- and middleline managers of multinational companies in developing leadership, communication and conf lict resolution skills. Her core subjects are international management, cross-cultural dialogue and interpersonal communication skills. In her seminars and lectures she places great emphasis on preparing her students for dealing with real-life professional situations.

Dr Chainani-Barta focuses on combining theoretical knowledge with practical and experiential learning activities.

PROFESSOR DR MICHAELA KIERMEIER teaches the module Financial Management. Dr Kiermeier studied economics in Frankfurt, Southampton, and Bonn. She received her PhD at the European University Institute in Florence, where she concentrated in Econometrics, Financial Markets, and Statistics. During that time she was a visiting researcher at Stern Business School in New York. After completing her PhD, she worked in the fields of structured finance and credit analysis, starting as a credit risk manager at DZ Bank in Frankfurt. After that she moved into asset management, where she worked as a credit analyst and a portfolio manager for Credit Suisse in Zurich and Sal. Oppenheim in Cologne. In 2004 she rejoined academia and became professor for financial management at the University of Applied Sciences in Darmstadt. She represents the field of finance in the department of Business Administration.

Her current research interests are modern, statistical methods applied to financial markets, namely term structure of interest rates, forward rates, credit spreads and stock markets.

ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

Modern Day Leaders Our current business world is developing at h ig h speed , a nd huge tech nolog ic a l advancements are being made in the automotive and f inancial industries. In my opinion, leadership and strategic thought, as well as communication and presentation, are the most important skills required of leaders today. More than ever, managers need to be able to consider changes in the environment and develop sustainable strategies for the future. They need to be able to adapt management structures and processes, and impart these changes internally and externally. The specially tailored modules of our programme address these demands, and we weave the themes into the curriculum throughout the course of the programme.

The h_da MBA also includes elements of professional development in the programme, and the unit Communication, Negotiation, Mediation, is solely dedicated to this. The module aims to develop the skills that are required to overcome barriers and gaps in effective communication and negotiation.

Through training activities, practical exercises and discussions, students learn to adopt methods such as assertive communication, active listening and conf lict resolution in stressful conversations and negotiations, and when working in an international environment.

BIOGRAPHY Professor Dr Ralf Schellhase is the Academic Director of the MBA programme at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences.

Into the Future…

For me, the most important trends are the increasing speed of technological change and innovation, the increasing globalisation of business and the digitalisation of industry.

At h_da we are constantly developing our curriculum. We have already integrated these topics into our core courses, and we are planning dedicated, elective courses focussing on these areas in future.

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MBAs

6 WORDS THAT CHANGED THIS MBA STUDENT’S ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT WHARTON

“

I’m not applying – it’s a f inance school.”

This was what, at the time, I believed to be a totally legitimate response to the question of why I had not included Wharton in my list of business school targets. Up until that point, I was under the assumption – which I know now to be categorically false – that Wharton placed its students into investment banks, hedge funds, private equity firms, and little else. I thought success out of Wharton meant Wall Street or bust.

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ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

“Actually, it’s just a smart school.”

And with that single response, a colleague threw my entire belief system into question.

This random interaction opened my eyes and compelled me to do a bit more research; after perusing the website, I found a list of Fortune 500 companies with opportunities in operations, strategy and most importantly for me, marketing, as I wanted to transition postMBA to become a brand manager. In an instant, I threw my initial assumptions out the window and put Wharton at the top of my list.

When I f irst showed up to Pre-Term, I admit that I still had a bit of anxiety. Would my classmates judge me for pursuing marketing?

Would they consider me “less than” for not pushing for that consulting or banking offer?

With these fears still brewing, I continued full speed ahead, knowing that if I was ever going to pursue a career of genuine interest, business school was the time to do it.

And what I found in the classroom was something that allayed any and all concerns: Ma rketing proved to be one of the most quantitative-driven majors at Wharton. We may not run DCF models in the traditional sense, but Pete Fader’s Customer Lifetime Value class employs the same DCF mechanics to measure customers over time and then use their purchase behavior as an input when calculating firm valuation. I’ve spent hours culling through data on consumers and reviewing regressions results to discern which product components are the most critical, and how to adequately price that product to gain the optimal market share. I’ve run conjoint analyses and set up A/B tests, two tools I didn’t even know existed until business school.

That’s what makes marketing at Wharton unique – my professors aren’t former advertising execs, they’re statisticians. I’ve benefited from Wharton’s proprietary research conducted in the Customer Analytics Initiative and the Baker Retailing Center, both of which garner enough data from multinational corporations to keep any nerd busy. Sure, our marketing classes discuss TV and digital campaigns, but we focus far more of our attention on the science and metrics behind marketing decisions.

After two years, I fully appreciate that Wharton is not a finance school; above all else, Wharton is a quantitative school. Whether you want to be a CMO, CFO, COO or CEO, the curriculum is geared toward preparing you for any role, building your comfort both with numbers and with the other critical part of the equation: managing people.

At some point during my first semester, I stopped questioning whether I would get the most out of what Wharton had to offer. I knew I would, and with graduation on the horizon, I can say that I did. ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

“I stopped questioning whether I would get the most out of what Wharton had to offer.

I knew I would.”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Republished with permission from Knowledge@Wharton (http://knowledge. wharton.upenn.edu), the online research and business analysis journal of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

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THE ONLINE MBA TAILORED TO YOU

The AIB Online MBA authenticates your work experience and provides a proven, flexible framework for study. It also offers industry recognition and academic support that is second to none.

Cindy Hales School Engagement Advisor, Rio Tinto AIB MBA Graduate

Start the AIB Online MBA today.

Contact an experienced Course Advisor to find out more.

courseadvisor@aib.edu.au www.aib.edu.au

HOW TO NAVIGATE YOUR CAREER POST-MBA Australian Institute of Business

C

ompleting an MBA often brings a plethora of opportunity, marking the beginning of an exciting career change, a rise to a leadership position, or even the start of a new business.

Today the average business school graduate recoups their investment in less than four years (GMAC 2016), and with planning and hard work, the return on investment for graduates can be even faster.

With results that speak for themselves, how exactly do graduates recoup their investment post-MBA?

ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

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Careers

1. PROMOTION

N

ot only does an MBA train you on all aspects of business, but every part of the programme is designed to help you facilitate company growth.

This puts an MBA graduate in perfect stead to rise through the ranks with their new qualification, applying the new knowledge to their role, and using it to deliver both short and long term improvements for their company.

Even before promotion, the MBA g raduate ca n use their new found communication, problem-solving, team leadership, risk management and critical thinking skills to take their current role to the next level.

This was the case for AIB MBA Graduate Dina Kotsopoulos, who used her MBA to gain a role she had long been aiming for.

TIPS TO GAIN A PROMOTION POST-MBA: “I was successful in my promotion because the MBA demonstrated my commitment to study and learning, and shows I have the discipline to continuously challenge myself,” she said.

“The MBA absolutely opened up doors for me, and I think moving forward it will continue to give me that sense of courage and resilience, both in my professional career and personal life.”

Chart your career milestones and promote your accomplishments Demonstrate how you’re applying your MBA skills to your role Speak to your manager about your options for advancement Find a mentor to collaborate with and provide guidance throughout your career Network through in- and outof-office events to build rapport and influence Determine a career progression plan including milestones with your manager

2. PAY RISE

A

pay rise is one of the prima r y reasons students go back to business school. While the rule generally applies that the more education you have, the more pay you can demand, remember that your level of work experience and the financial state of the company will have an impact on your salary as well.

Some companies will choose to offer MBA graduates a pay rise as recognition of the recipient’s new knowledge. It’s also an incentive for the graduate to continue working for the company, as salaries usually increase faster on the open job market than they do by staying in a job without a promotion.

TIPS TO NEGOTIATE A PAY RISE POST-MBA: For MBA Graduate Gary Rayment, a demonstrated change in his ability to lead, manage and motivate his team post-MBA resulted in improvement to his salary and role.

“The formal structure I achieved as a result of my MBA has been very positive, resulting in me gaining a number of promotions within the company and significant improvements to my salary as well.”

Pay rises must be asked for face-to-face, so schedule a meeting with your manager Undertake industry research and benchmark your salary Email your pay rise pitch to your manager a few days before your meeting Use the meeting to demonstrate how your MBA has had a positive impact on your role and the organisation Be prepared for both a positive and negative response If the company can’t afford a pay rise, consider negotiating non-financial rewards instead

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ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

3. CAREER CHANGE

F

or those itching to switch industries, an MBA can be a good option as it gives students a great overview of business and allows students to tailor their subject choices to your interests.

Completing the progra m me gives students the ability to learn from others in different industries.

However, when considering a career change, it’s best to take the move one step at a time, as you need to ensure you have enough transferrable skills to get noticed by hiring managers. Ensure there’s enough crossover of industry knowledge, skills or experience to change career paths, or enter into consulting, which accepts graduates from every industry.

AIB MBA Graduate Zoe Kammas entered into consulting, and said the main reason she completed the MBA was because she wanted to specialise and work in human resources management.

“The MBA has benefitted me in my current role in that I have moved up the ranks a lot faster, I’m very sought after in the market. I have a lot of people poaching me and approaching me from other companies. It’s opened up a lot of doors, and I’ve also branched out into a different area, so it’s helped me venture into another field that I’m really interested in.”

ome would consider leadership to be the most important skill an MBA provides. Within the degree, it’s often bolstered by other key leadership skills including communication, problemsolving, teamwork, and time management.

P rog ra m mes such a s t he M BA benefit both employer and employee, as the employer gains a worker with improved leadership skills, and the employee gains knowledge, confidence and support for career advancement.

For some, completing the programme is a n oppor t u n it y to move i nto a leadership position, whereas for others like AIB MBA Graduate Chris Cowley, it was a way to upskill himself for his new leadership role.

ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

Put in the time to learn about your new industry before you take the leap Demonstrate that you understand the new industry in practical terms Openly address the challenges you expect to face as a newcomer to the industry in the interview Draw on your skills from your current industry and how they will benefit you in your new career Share how your ‘outsider’ knowledge will benefit you in your new role

4. GAIN A LEADERSHIP POSITION

S

TIPS TO CHANGE CAREERS POST-MBA:

“ My new role was my motivation for studying an MBA, as I quickly realised I didn’t have the full skill-set to complete the tasks as a manager,” he said.

“Every one of the units that I studied, I took something from and applied at work, or found that we were already doing something that was considered best practice. I’m now a more complete Managing Director thanks to my MBA, and can understand the business from a far more holistic perspective.”

TIPS TO GAIN A PROMOTION POST-MBA: Seek leadership opportunities in your current role to gain more experience Prepare a case for yourself to move into the leadership role and present it to your manager Prove to your boss that you’re management material Start with small leadership opportunities and work your way up

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Careers

5. START OR GROW YOUR BUSINESS

T

hose aiming to complete an MBA to start up a business might be best placed to specialise their MBA in Entrepreneurship. This programme is desig ned to teach students key entrepreneurial skills including how to identify opportunities in the market, how to source capital and minimise risk, and how to write and develop a business plan.

While some people thin k entrepreneurial instincts can’t be taught, you can still bolster your innate abilities with several of the key learning cr iter ia del ivered t h roug h A I B ’s specialised MBA in Entrepreneurship.

You will learn in-depth skills about taking a new product from conception to development, to launch; identifying t h e c h a l le n g e s a s s o c i a t e d w it h each phase in the life-cycle of an entrepreneurial business; and most importantly, applying the knowledge and skills you’ve gained to an actual

entrepreneurial organisation – whether your own or another’s.

AIB MBA Graduate Leanne Lenassi shared how the skills she learnt through the MBA allowed her to start her own business as a consultant.

“The MBA has taught me how to businesses from a bird’s eye perspective.

Now I can go into organisations, take a view of their whole operation, move their business forward and increase their return on investment.”

TIPS TO USE YOUR MBA TO START OR GROW YOUR BUSINESS: Draw from the case studies you learnt in your MBA as lessons for success Research the market and dig into areas previously untapped Draw on and practice your MBA skills like communication, project management and leadership Use your new professional marketing skills to build a marketing plan Lean on your MBA network for help and advice throughout

USE YOUR MBA TO DELIVER RESULTS FOR YOU!

R

egardless of where you’re planning on taking your MBA following graduation, remember that the completion of a master’s-level degree is a huge achievement that will distinguish you from the competition in a crowded marketplace and provide you with transferrable skills that will set up your career for years to come.

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BIOGRAPHY Australian Institute of Business is a 30-year-old business school based in Australia, offering degrees, undertaking research, and providing consultancy services globally. AIB was the first, and remains the only, private institution in Australia to be government approved to confer the full suite of business degrees, including the prestigious PhD.

ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

THE FUTURE OF THE CORPORATE UNIVERSITY BENJAMIN KESSLER

How firms can maximise the impact – and profitability – of inhouse management training.

L

ast year marked the 60th anniversary of America’s first corporate university, GE’s Crotonville. Although the paradigm is nothing new, only in recent years has it been seriously suggested that firms’ inhouse training and development offerings could suppla nt traditiona l business education. Corporate universities (CUs), some say, are better suited than academia to deliver the targeted, strategy-focused programmes today’s executives need.

ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

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Corporate Universities

“The simplest way for CUs to generate revenue is to open their doors to paying customers beyond company walls.”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Courtesy of INSEAD Knowledge.

BIOGRAPHY Phil Parker is an INSEAD Professor of Marketing and the Chaired Professor of Management Science.

He is the programme director for Business Strategy for HR Leaders, an Executive Education programme at INSEAD.

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Phil Parker, INSEAD Chaired Professor of THE PROBLEM OF SCALE Management Science, sees things differently.

The “multiplier effect” of value chain education becomes even more powerful, He envisions a future where digital technology P a rker s ay s , w hen com bi ne d w it h t he enables B-schools and corporate universities, working together, to expand their combined scalability of online platforms. Digitisation reach as never before. “On [agriculture] projects a lso solves the problem of a ffordability, I have been working on with the Bill and Melinda especially for players with fewer resources Gates Foundation, we have been very interested at their disposal. “What if you want to affect in educating, for example, the smallholder farmer 500,000 farmers or hundreds of retailers to agri-dealers to wholesalers, up and down the or resellers? A typical person in emerging value chain,” Parker says. Training value chain markets will not be able to afford the airfare, players both upstream (suppliers, dealers, etc.) hotel, and all the costs associated with an and downstream (retailers and distributors) to INSEAD executive education programme,” improve their performance is a priority shared says Parker. Online courses, by contrast, can

by NGOs and major multinationals. Indeed, be delivered on a theoretically unlimited scale INSEAD’s Fortune 500 executive at low incremental cost. education cl ients have been Mary Kwan, INSEAD’s Asia clamouring for exactly that sort of Pacif ic Executive Education training, according to Parker. Now, director, says the school’s latest the pieces are in place to make it online courses have cracked the happen, tha n ks to I NSEA D’s retention problem that stymied recent success at co-creating ea rly MOOCs, by deploying curricula, and the economies of bespoke content packages that “He envisions scale made possible by online might include TED-inspired a future where education platforms. videos, gamification and group interactions. digital technology An online module INSEAD MONETISING THE CORPORATE designed for salespeople at a UNIVERSITY enables B-schools This concept, which Parker household-name tech company and corporate calls “value chain education”, has a completion rate of more than 80 percent; course-taker has emerged at a moment when universities, self-repor ts have attributed corporate universities are under working together, €15 million in increased sales increasing pressure to prove their profitability. The simplest way for revenue to the course so far. to expand their CUs to generate revenue is to open combined reach as their doors to paying customers THE BIG PICTURE beyond company walls. Existing In Parker’s view, corporate never before.” value chain partners are lowuniversities and business schools hanging fruit for CUs looking to have different but complementary monetise, but the overall market strengths, making them natural potential is much broader. pa r tners rather tha n riva ls.

Parker explains, “A corporate Collaborating with CUs occurs university could go directly to in several stages: “The first step a business unit and say, ‘If your is to identify key players in the suppliers could be improved by value chain,” Parker says. “We having them go through a course on production work with them to come up with the highestor strategy, what could we do with them?’” impact curriculum, which is then tested on Partnering with a prestigious B-school such smaller groups of people and then, together as INSEAD serves a dual purpose: smoothing with the corporate university, we roll it out…We CUs’ transition from internal-facing to outwardtake learnings from that and then we augment it and scale it.” facing providers, while lending academic gloss to their certification programmes. INSEAD has I f done r ig ht , va lue ch a i n educat ion already collaborated with leading companies represents the ideal format for both CUs and on similar projects – for example, running a B-schools to maximize their impact. “The yearly “CMO workshop” for a major internet ripple effects are felt across the entire corporate company as well as annual day-long courses ecosystem,” Parker says. “What one notices is for valued institutional clients of one of the that by using corporate universities, the interworld’s biggest banks. Host companies say linkages between upstream and downstream the enhanced stakeholder relationships that players have actually increased. There is much resulted from the courses were more than worth more of a customer relationship at that point the investment of working with INSEAD. and the entire value chain benefits.”

ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

Talent Index

THE WORLD’S MOST TALENT COMPETITIVE COUNTRIES, 2017

While technology is eliminating jobs, it is also creating them. But filling these new roles is the next talent challenge.

PAUL EVANS AND BRUNO LANVIN

ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

M

uch has been made of the potential of recent leaps in technolog y to automate many jobs out of existence. From taxi drivers to accountants, some studies suggest that as many as half of existing jobs could be automated. Routine work is clearly disappearing, but the fears of mass unemployment at the hands of machines could be overblown. For example, research by the McKinsey Global Institute suggests that approximately 20 per cent of occupations could see around 70 per cent of their activities automated, meaning a slightly less worrying future, where automation is more likely to take the form of augmentation.

But this doesn’t mean technology and talent development should be approached with any less urgency.

While technology is creating jobs as well as destroying them, there is often a disconnect between the skills

needed and the skills that employees and graduates currently have. It’s a massive challenge for our educational systems currently based on the factory model, turning out young adults who are equipped for routine jobs that are fast disappearing. And the workplace is taking on different forms, evidenced in new models of employment, such as contingent and project-based work. In Europe and the United States, as much as 30 percent of the population earns all or part of their income as free agents in the gig economy, offering their skills to multiple employers through collaborative computerbased platforms.

As we observe in this year’s Global Ta lent Compet it iveness I ndex report, countries that lead the way in talent competitiveness have taken a multipronged approach to dealing with recent advances in technology and fostering the talent necessary to leverage it.

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Talent Index

THE WINNERS The index, which measures the extent to which countries attract, grow and retain talent and how they translate their efforts into output, puts Switzerland on top, followed by Singapore and the United Kingdom. While Switzerland excels at offering an ideal economic environment and retaining domesticallydeveloped talent, Singapore leads the way in attracting and enabling its global talent pool.

GTCI 2017 TOP 10

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

“Both for cities and nations, connectivity will be crucial, along with a workforce educated to suit the new economy, facilitated by government, business and educational institutions.”

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Country Switzerland Singapore United Kingdom United States Sweden Austalia Luxemburg Denmark Finland Norway

Singapore is a particularly relevant case study in this year’s report because it takes an ecosystem approach to talent development in the face of technological change. Its regular “learning journeys”, organised by the Ministry of Manpower, along with relevant agencies such as the Workforce Development Agency and the Infocomm Development Agency, aim to enlighten small businesses to new possibilities in automation to enhance productivity and reduce dependence on foreign labour. One of its most recent journeys introduced smart technologies in the cleaning and services sector, e.g. robotic floor cleaners and droids that can fold napkins to speed up the work of hotel staff. The learning journeys are only the beginning. They are accompanied by various

government grants and incentive schemes, such as the Lean Enterprise Development Scheme: a cross-agency taskforce that makes resources and funding available to small local companies looking to augment their workers with technology.

Another box Singapore ticks in the GTCI is education. Its recent PISA scores – which put Singaporean children three years ahead of their American peers in mathematics – reflect Singapore’s forward-looking education system.

Singaporean children don’t start primary school until age 6, spending their early years in playbased kindergartens. At school, the curriculum encourages students to ask questions about things they see around them and to maintain that curiosity, which aids lifelong learning. The school system also offers coding classes at a very early age, adopts many digital delivery channels and gives teachers 100 hours a year for training.

The importance of ecosystems, which runs consistently throughout our report, cannot be underestimated. The standouts of the GTCI use public-private partnerships to surmount and exploit the challenges of building the new economy.

URBAN ADVANTAGE For the first time, this year’s report also includes an index on cities (Global City Talent Competitiveness Index), because talented individuals tend to focus less on which country to go to and more on which city to live in.

Cities are, therefore, increasingly engaging in their own means to attract, retain and develop talent, making them a crucial part of talent competitiveness. Following a similar methodology to the GTCI ranking, the GCTCI ranking tells us that the leaders, Copenhagen, Zurich and Helsinki, in addition to being

ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

consistently high performers in quality-of-life indicators, have strong physical and information infrastructures and strong international links.

GCTCI 2017 TOP 10

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

City Copenhagen (Denmark) Zurich (Switzerland) Helsinki (Finland) San Francisco (United States) Gothenburg (Sweden) Madrid (Spain) Paris (France) Eindhoven (Netherlands) Los Angeles (United States) Dublin (Ireland)

Another interesting finding is that despite the presence of the big metropolises, such as Paris and Los Angeles in the leading group, the average population of the top 10 cities is around 400,000, demonstrating that the trend of highly educated individuals gravitating to large cities is changing.

As talented individuals can increasingly operate from anywhere, physical and technical connectivity and quality of life are competitive advantages for smaller cities. The importance of clusters cannot be underestimated. Ireland’s ICT clusters are a distinct advantage; so is Eindhoven, which is home to Philips.

MOVING UP THE VALUE CURVE One consistent finding we see across every annual edition of the report is that the top positions of the GTCI continue to be filled by high-income countries. Those able to deploy capital in innovation, entrepreneurship and collaboration lead the index. Countries that continue to rely on labour-intensive industries

at the expense of high-value industries and talent will struggle to move up the index. The BRICS countries are not getting stronger with scores declining all round this year, shown first in Brazil (81st). China (54th) puts in a good showing in formal education, but lets itself down in attraction. India (92nd out of 118) too is not able to retain, let alone attract, talent.

The rise of technology brings new challenges to emerging markets as rich countries become more self-sufficient with robots and automation.

Adidas is about to do something unheard of in the clothing and shoes business for some time: bring shoe production back to Germany.

With advances in robotics, it can make a pair of trainers in five hours, much less than the seven weeks it currently takes in its Asian supply chain.

As advanced economies struggle to cope with immigration, the ability to “reshore” jobs is a blessing for policymakers, as shown by certain announcements made by President Donald Trump in the U.S. With resources and financing channelled to innovation in developed economies, emerging countries may lose their main source of competitive advantage, namely cheap labour for outsourcing. Even China is waking up to robotics and is set to lose more jobs to automation than to competition from cheaper countries. But not all manufacturing jobs will head back home to developed economies.

Policymakers here, as in the developed world, also need to think beyond automation as labour advantage gives way to digital advantage.

Digital tools enable people any where to participate in global trade, which is carried less by ship and more by the internet. Both for cities and nations, connectivity will be crucial, along with a workforce educated to suit the new economy, facilitated by government, business and educational institutions.

“As talented individuals can increasingly operate from anywhere, physical and technical connectivity and quality of life are competitive advantages for smaller cities.”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Courtesy of INSEAD Knowledge.

BIOGRAPHIES Paul Evans is the Academic Director of the INSEAD Global Talent Competitiveness Index, Emeritus Professor of Organisational Behaviour and the Shell Chair of Human Resources and Organisational Development Emeritus at INSEAD. Bruno Lanvin is the Executive Director for Global Indices at INSEAD. ceo-mag.com / Rankings Edition 2017

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Contributors

n Australian Institute of Business

n Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS n Fordham University – GSB n IMD Business School n IMI International Management School, Switzerland n INSEAD

n EU Business School n EuroMBA n Executive MBA Council

n Kent State University

n Mark Crowley n Oakland University

n University of Chicago – Booth n University of Pennsylvania – Wharton 56

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the one planet

MBA

Change – for good

n Study an MBA at a

Global Top 100 University n The One Planet MBA n Change – for good n Progressive Management

Education n APPLY NOW

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Viktor Göhlin Founder, Nokadi Alumnus 2006

Emilija Petrova Managing Director, Trade Resource GmbH Alumna 2002

Bart van Straten General Manager, Van Straten Medical Alumnus 1996

YOU!

Roxana Flores Founder, BeCaridad Alumna 2011 Peter von Fortsner Managing Director, Häusler Automobiles Alumnus 2010

Supareak Charlie Chomchan

Managing Director, Pacific Rim Rich Group Co., Ltd. Alumnus 2003

At EU Business School, you don’t just learn from entrepreneurs, you become one!

Business school is where you build good habits, learn the theory, pick up practical skills and obtain the knowledge necessary to put your ideas into action. You need a business school

that will help you develop both as a businessperson and an entrepreneur. At EU Business School we make a difference in students’ lives and propel them to success.

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PEOPLE HAVE IDEAS. ENTREPRENEURS MAKE THEM HAPPEN. ceomag.co.uk / Spring 2016