CEO Magazine - Issue 12

CEO Victor J. Callender

Group Editor-in-Chief

Designer

Production

Financial Controller

Head of Production

Head of New Media

Alexandra Skinner

Matt Dettmar

Will Dobson

Anthony Gordon

Steven Whitaker

Silvio Ferrero

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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.

International Graduate Forum MBA Rankings Autumn 2013

The International Graduate Forum’s (IGF) 2013 Autumn MBA Rankings have been compiled based upon key performance indicators considered to be of interest and value to potential students. Thus, international diversity, class sizes, student work experience, facultyto-student ratios, and faculty qualifications – both academic and professional – have been given considerable weight. With competition between business schools continuing to increase, it is important for schools to understand what students really want. Schools ranked highly by the IGF in CEO Magazine have been successful in this goal.

NORTH AMERICAN MBA RANKINGS EUROPEAN MBA RANKINGS

Tier One

Appalachian State University, Walker

California State University, Northridge

California State University, San Bernardino

Colorado Technical University

Columbia Business School

Fordham University, GSB

Georgetown University, McDonough

Jacksonville University, Davis

kennesaw State University, Coles

Kent State University

La Salle University

Le Moyne College, Madden

Lynchburg College

Millsaps College

Niagara University

Northwest Missouri State University

Queens University of Charlotte, McColl

The University of Memphis

University of Alabama in Huntsville

University of California Irvine, Merage

University of Rochester, Simon

University of the Sciences

Wake Forest University

Willamette University, Atkinson

Tier Two

Berry College, Campbell*

Boston College, Carroll*

Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper

Georgia Southern University

Grand Valley State University, Seidman

McNeese State University

Roosevelt University, Heller

University of California San Diego, Rady

University of Denver, Daniels

University of Texas at Austin, McCombs *

University of Washington, Foster

Washington University in St Louis, Olin*

Tier One

Ashridge Business School

Audencia Nantes

Birmingham Business School

Brunel Business School

CEU Business School

Copenhagen Business School

Cranfield School of Management

Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences

EADA

EIPM

ENPC School of International Management

ESADE Business School

ESMT

European University

HHL Leipzig

IE Business School

IESE

International University of Monaco

ISCTE

ISEG

Lancaster Management School

Lorange Institute of Business Zurich

Mannheim Business School

MIP Politecnico di Milano

Paris School of Business

Porto Business School

Reims Management School

Reykjavik University

Rochester-Bern

SBS Swiss Business School

The Lisbon MBA (Nova and Católica-Lisbon)*

University of Strathclyde

Warsaw School of Economics

AUTUMN 2013 GLOBAL EMBA RANKINGS

AUSTRALIAN MBA RANKINGS

Tier One

1University of Wollongong Sydney Business School

2Macquarie University Graduate School of Management

3Australian Institute of Business

= 4The University of Queensland Business School

= 4University of Sydney Business School

= 4Melbourne Business School

7Australian Catholic University

8The University of Adelaide

9Queensland University of Technology Graduate School of Business

10University of Ballarat

11University of Western Australia Graduate School of Management

12Swinburn University of Technology Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship

13RMIT University Graduate School of Business and law

14Monash University

15Victoria University Graduate School of Business

Tier Two

16University of Technology Sydney

17Deakin University

18University of Western Sydney

19Murdoch University Business School

“The IGF’s aim is to strip away elements such assalary increases, career progression, international/gender diversity in academic boards, number of doctoral graduates from the school (and how many then return to teach at said school) and so on. We want to keep the IGF MBA Rankings simple and look atwhat is on offer to the student once they get to the business school of their choice. Some ‘lesser-known’ schools, that would often otherwise be marginalised, are very well positioned to service postgraduates, and our aim is to highlight this level of quality and value for future students.”

Alexnadra

Tier One

Ashridge Business School Europe

Audencia Nantes School of Management Europe

California State Univeristy, San Bernardo North America

CENTRUM Catolica Peru

Cranfield School of Management Europe

EADA Europe

ENPC Europe

ESADE Europe

Euromed Europe

Fordham University, GSB North America

HHL Leipzig Europe

ICN Business School Europe

Jacksonville University, Davis North America

Lancaster University Europe

Millsaps College North America

Porto Business School Europe

Queens University of Charlotte, McColl North America

Reykjavick University Europe

The University of Memphis North America

University of Rochester, Simon North America

University of Strathclyde Europe

University of Sydney Australia

University of Wollongong Australia

Warsaw School of Economics Europe

Tier Two

American University of Beirut Asia

Australian Catholic University Australia

Carnegie Mellon, Tepper North America

CEU Business School Europe

Columbia Business School* North America

Concordia University, John Molson Canada

EIPM Europe

ESMT Europe

European University Europe

Georgetown University, McDonough North America

IfM-Institut für Management Europe

ISCTE Europe

Kennesaw State University, Coles North America

Kent State University North America

Lorange Institute of Business Zurich Europe

Mannheim Business School Europe

MIP Politecnico di Milano Europe

Queensland University of Technology Australia

Reims Management School Europe

RMIT Australia

Saint Mary's University, Sobey Canada

University of California, Irvine North America

University of California, San Diego Rady North America

University of Regina Canada

University of Texas at Austin, McCombs* North America

University of Washington, Foster North America

Washington University in St Louis, Olin* North America

*Incomplete data

Skinner, Group Editor-in-Chief, CEO Magazine

DEADLY SINS

The of Management

What is it about bad bosses that we find so fascinating? Perhaps, like every anti-hero, we find the bad manager a ripe target for criticism or, at least, extensive discussion. Julian Birkinshaw, however, says that bad bosses can change for the better. It all starts with knowing what needs changing.

We all know bad managers — be they ambitious and aggressive; doing whatever it takes to move up the corporate ladder, or the opposite; managers thrust into their position without the skill or the will to do the job properly.

I continue to be a little puzzled about why so many managers do such a poor job. We have known what 'good management' looks like for decades, and enormous sums have been spent on programmes to help managers manage better. And yet the problem endures: in a recent survey I conducted, less than a quarter of respondents would encourage others to work for their manager.

Perhaps the problem is that we’ve relied on the education of positive practices. We point to the things managers should be doing, which tends to get bogged down in platitudes.

Figure out which of these sins you are most prone to and then commit to changing them to virtues.

For example, when Google launched a big data-driven programme to identify what separated its top managers from the rest, it ended up with bromides such as ‘be a good coach’, ‘empower your team’ and ‘be a good communicator’. Such clichés are not very original, nor authentic.

So, let’s try the opposite approach — to focus on the bad behaviours we are trying to get rid of. Here is my stab at defining what bad management looks like, using those old favourites, the Seven Deadly Sins. I developed these ideas during seminars with executives in which we discussed their experiences of good and bad management. Of course, a bit of artistic licence is necessary here, to adapt words like ‘greed’ and ‘lust’ to corporate life; but, on the whole, I think this list works pretty well.

I have even put a little questionnaire together to help office workers rate their line manager. Does your boss succumb to only one or two of these sins? Or are they a seven-star sinner? I have also illustrated some of the sins with examples of famous chief executives, because these are stories we are all familiar with. But, of course, the sins apply at all management levels in the organisation — they are as relevant to the first-line supervisor as they are to the big boss.

Julian Birkinshaw

1. GREED

A greedy boss pursues wealth, status and growth to get himself noticed. In short, he is an empire builder; and we don’t have to look far to find examples of empire-building bosses. Perhaps the standout example today is Eike Batista, the Brazilian entrepreneur who has turned the EBX Group (energy, mining and logistics) into Brazil’s fastest-growing company and him into the eighth-richest person in the world. Formerly married to a Playboy cover girl, and an ex-champion powerboat racer, he has now set his sights on becoming the first person in the world to amass a $100 billion fortune.

2. LUST

Lust is also about vanity projects — investments or acquisitions that make no rational sense but play to the manager’s desires. Edgar Bronfman, heir to the Seagram empire, leaps to mind in this regard. To the widespread astonishment of the business world, he traded in the company’s valuable holding in chemical giant Du Pont in order to buy up Universal Studios. A quick glimpse at his vitae helps explain his motives — even in his teens he was dabbling in song-writing and movie making.

3. WRATH

Wrath doesn’t need a whole lot of explanation. ‘Chainsaw’ Al Dunlap, Fred ‘The Shred’ Goodwin, and ‘Neutron’ Jack Welch were all famous for losing their cool. We see this at all levels in the hierarchy. My first boss would turn bright red and start shaking before he yelled at some poor soul for failing to debug a piece of software properly.

4. GLUTTONY

Gluttony in the business world occurs when a manager puts too much on his proverbial plate. He needs to get involved in all decisions. He needs to be continuously updated. He never rests. We call this micromanaging. Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown did it during his brief stay at Number 10 Downing Street, where he insisted on reviewing even minor departmental decisions and expenditures. It’s not much fun working for such bosses because they have a tendency, in Charles Handy’s famous phrase, to ‘steal’ the decisions of others. There is also a risk that decisionmaking will get stuck: Lego CEO, Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, notes that companies are far more likely to fail through ‘indigestion’ than through ‘starvation’, as Gordon Brown’s Labour government discovered.

Usually, a bad manager evinces more than one of these management sins. And woe be to anyone who has to work for the boss who exhibits all seven.

5. PRIDE

Healthy pride quickly tips over into hubris — an overestimation of your own abilities. In all the recent corporate crises — News International, Nokia, BP, even Toyota — there was tangible evidence of hubris in the manner and words of the executives at the top. Pride does, indeed, go before a fall. Perhaps the biggest tale of misplaced pride in recent years was Enron — its executives liked to think of themselves as the ‘smartest guys in the room’, and they shortened the company’s vision from becoming the ‘world’s leading energy company’ to becoming ‘the world’s leading company’. And we all know what happened there.

6. ENVY

Envy manifests itself most clearly when a manager takes credit for the achievements of others. But envy also rears its head in less obvious ways: when a manager chooses not to promote a rising star, for fear of showing up his own limitations; or when a manager keeps important information to himself rather than sharing it with his team.

7. SLOTH

Sloth is workplace apathy — the managers who fall prey to sloth are simply not doing their job. They are inattentive, they don’t communicate effectively, and they have no interest in their team’s needs. Instead, they focus on their own comforts and, quite often, on personal interests outside of the workplace. We have all seen glimpses of sloth in the workplace: the boss who takes long lunch breaks but is ‘too busy’ to sit down with a group of workers who need his guidance or inspiration; the colleague who doesn’t deliver on his part of a proposal; the executive who promises to get back to you on something, but never does. Although sloth rarely makes it to the headlines, I suspect there are shades of sloth in most managers. The cost of sloth can be very high when management fails to make necessary strategic adjustments when the business is in crisis.

Greed. Lust. Wrath. Gluttony. Pride. Envy. Sloth. Usually, a bad manager evinces more than one of these management sins. And woe be to anyone who has to work for the boss who exhibits all seven. If you are a boss (and most of us are), take some time and do a self-assessment via my quick ‘Rate the Boss’ exercise. Figure out which of these sins you are most prone to and then commit to changing them to virtues. Hesitant to look in this management mirror? Remember: no one is perfect, and chances are you are guilty of at least one of these sins. Be brave and ask your own team to rate you, as a one-off exercise or as part of a broader 360-degree assessment process. The most challenging part of my suggestion will be acting on the information you receive. But the advantage of this approach, compared to other similar exercises, is that at least we can now put a label on what you are trying to avoid.

Rate the Boss

Answer the following seven questions, either evaluating yourself as a manager or evaluating your current boss. Answer each question on a 1–5 scale (1 = not at all; 5 = to a very large extent). For every question that merits a ‘4’ or ‘5’ score, consider it a management sin that you or your boss is prone to.

Q1 To what extent do you/your boss seek growth for growth’s sake?

Q2 To what extent do you/your boss pursue ‘pet’ projects, regardless of whether they fit with the organisation’s goals?

Q3 To what extent do you/your boss become visibly angry at work when relatively small mistakes are made?

Q4 To what extent do you/your boss get heavily involved in the minute details of all projects?

Q5 To what extent do you/your boss seek out recognition, plaudits and praise?

Q6 To what extent do you/your boss try to take credit for the good work of others?

Q7 To what extent do you/your boss organise things for his/her own convenience rather than taking care of the needs and interests of others?

Biography

Ø Julian Birkinshaw is Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School. He is author of ‘Reinventing Management’ (2012, Wiley) and ‘Becoming a Better Boss’ (2013, Wiley).

I developed these ideas during seminars with executives in which we discussed their experiences of good and bad management.

START-UP FOCUS: Sumo Drinks

Alexandra Skinner speaks to Richard Baister, Founder of Sumo Drinks

You launched Sumo Drinks two years ago, in October 2011. Please can you explain the concept to CEO Magazine readers?

Essentially Sumo Drinks is a calorie burning, thermogenic product, which raises the metabolic rate. Each individual’s metabolism works at different rates during the day, depending on how active they are at any given time, and the body’s need to call on energy. The natural, functional ingredients in Sumo have been blended in a way so as to spike the metabolic rate whilst it is in your system, which is for two to three hours after consumption, to essentially help the metabolism work at the higher end of the scale.

I think it’s no surprise that, given the fact that we are more sedentary than perhaps we were in decades past, and with less wholesome foods in our diet, we are seeing higher instances of obesity. We, therefore, felt that if we could develop a soft drink that could help people in this area, then that would be something worth having.

The other side of the challenge was to take natural ingredients which, by their nature, can be quite astringent in their taste, and blend them in a natural way to make them palatable and enjoyable. We’re not a medicine and we’re not a dietary supplement; we are a soft drink with an additional benefit.

Given the ‘negative calorie’ element of your product, how important was it to get the science behind Sumo Drinks right, and will you be seeking professional endorsements to strengthen the brand? We already operate in a regulatory environment, that of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA): a European government organisation that effectively police the food and drinks industry in terms of claims made, ingredients used and so on. We are delighted to say that no less than five of our ingredients

are already approved by the EFSA as providing a metabolic stimulus so, in terms of solid integrity for the brand, we’re very much on the front foot. We are pleased that the EFSA supports and endorses the functionality of our product.

There are certain key ingredients that have been widely recognised for some time on the nutritional circuit as having a positive impact on the body’s metabolic rate. However, many of these aren’t naturally found in the average person’s diet in any kind of quantity that

would actually provide any kind of effect. For example, EGCG, which is one of the functional ingredients in our product, is a catechin of green tea, so it’s an extract that you would find very naturally. However, to get a sufficient dosage, you would have to drink a large amount of green tea! It’s about taking these extracts in a high enough dosage level and in a concentrated format, and putting them with other ingredients that catalyse and compliment their function in a way that tastes good, and uses natural flavours.

I felt that if I was going to put that time in then I wanted to be rewarded for it myself.

Prior to this you had successfully startedup and sold Velocity Drinks, another energy drink firm. Why did you choose the soft drinks market?

My background, academically, was law. I went to study at university which, combined with the LPC (the legal practice year), was a four year course. Two years in you do a placement, and that was when I realised that it really wasn’t for me. However, I was enjoying other aspects of university life and decided to continue for the final two years and use it as an opportunity to

discover what I really wanted to do. One of the things that I started doing was supplying denim wear into football clubs. The denim was being contracted out of Pakistan, and the producers approached me about assisting in supplying to high-street retailers and supermarkets, as they had the manufacturing capability, but were having difficulty in making the contacts and getting buy-in. One of the other things that they were doing was bringing soft drinks to the UK, taking advantage of the strong Pound against the Euro, in effectively what was a parallel import, and they asked me to help them get their product into the wholesalers. Whilst trying to open doors, the wholesalers that I was meeting would often ask me about energy drinks – whether I would be able to supply them and how much for. I was fairly familiar with Red Bull at the time, but I didn’t really rate it in terms of its flavour. The other energy drinks on the market at the time were competing on price, and so I thought that perhaps there could be room for a brand that could take the market on in terms of quality, rather than trying to imitate or replicate what was already available. So I came in with what was, at the time (2005), the first flavoured energy drink on the market. We offered lemon and lime, cranberry and an original. They were great sellers for us and we had a good deal of success with them. However, even then the energy drinks market was very crowded and so I planned to exit rather than go through a funding exercise in order to compete with Monster and Relentless, who had by that time joined the sector. At that point I had already spotted what the next thing would be, and I started working on Sumo Drinks in 2008.

Richard’s Tips for Budding Entrepreneurs

able to supply them and how much for. I was fairly

There is a prevalence of energy and ‘diet’ drink products available on the market. Have you found it to be a difficult sector to penetrate?

Yes, there is a prevalence of energy drinks, and this is one of the reasons why I decided to

exit the market with Velocity. Sumo certainly isn’t an energy drink, and the ‘diet’ drinks aren’t negative calorie products. However, we see the prevalence of these products as being indicative of the consumer mentality towards a calorie-conscious intake, and evermore towards ingredient provenance and the shunning of artificial chemicals. We see it as validating a consumer trend and we’re taking it to the next level. It’s a positive, and there is an interest.

What have been the biggest challenges that you have faced so far in bringing Sumo Drinks from concept to market?

In terms of challenges, I suppose that we’ve always tried to see them as opportunities. The product concept required quite a bit of development time. This is something that is quite challenging for an entrepreneurial mentality, because I just wanted to start trading! I had to learn to be patient and understand that we needed to go steadily and methodically through the necessary stages. In terms of challenges since the product has been ready, we’ve been fortunate in terms of distributor appetite. We have had some challenges with people being a little cynical about the function, but we hope that we’ve been able to address those questions with information from the EFSA and nutritional firms. When you bring a product to market there is an educational process in letting people know its function.

How easy, or difficult, was it to get the appropriate funding for Sumo Drinks?

I was able to fund a portion of the development work from the sale of Velocity, but we also had to seek funding. What we found when we went to the angel networks was that there was a great deal of interest and they thought it was a great idea, but then they got cold feet. Very few of them knew about the drinks industry and, therefore, were inclined to gravitate towards markets they were more comfortable with, which is a very reasonable thing to do.

We then took the product to a regional development fund which was backed by the European Investment Bank, and they had a specific remit to invest in science and technology businesses. Immediately, this was right up their street. The fund manager that we initially spoke to had had a previous career and a personal interest in nutritionals, and immediately understood what we were talking about and the process moved very quickly. We received the first round of funding in 2008 and the second in 2011 right after launch. So once we got our feet under the table everything went very smoothly.

What would you consider to be your biggest achievement to date?

It changes every week! There is always something to be done, and hopefully you are able to rise to the challenge. Considering the business environment, I think that being able to sustain myself and my businesses over this period has been my biggest achievement, and that’s what my goal has always been.

Have you always found that you’ve had an entrepreneurial spirit? Do you think that you are born an entrepreneur, or can you develop into one?

I think so; I’ve always been selling one thing or another, and I always thought that I would explore it a bit further after a career in law and that perhaps certain opportunities would open up from that. But I skipped that bit out and got straight to it! I never really liked the idea of working for a ‘firm’. Doing 10-20 years before I could move on, and in the meantime working my way up the ladder. I felt that if I was going to put that time in then I wanted to be rewarded for it myself.

Over the years I have had many people approach me for advice. From this, I would say that there is a certain instinct; a commercial awareness that is innate, and an ability to grasp information that perhaps you don’t already know very well. Some people just aren’t wired that way, and it doesn’t matter how many times you explain it to them, they can’t see the commercial potential. I think that if that’s not inbuilt, then it’s incredibly difficult to turn someone into an entrepreneur. I’m quite sceptical of some of the schemes that try to encourage people to look at being an entrepreneur

as a career option, as I don’t believe that it is for everyone. I don’t consider it as an ‘option’ but more as something that you have the desire to do, something that you almost have to do.

What does the future hold for Sumo Drinks?

We are going to be expanding into new markets in 2013; we’re looking at additional flavour variants, potentially for specific geographical markets, but perhaps for everywhere.

I will also be launching an exciting new product called ‘Brainwave Drinks’ in the last quarter of this year. This is a separate line from Sumo Drinks, and is building upon university research which has identified natural compounds that would appear to reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer’s and dementia in later life. Obviously this is a very interesting market, and we are looking to target the baby boomer generation, some of whom, unfortunately, may have seen their parents suffering from these conditions.

Biography

Ø Richard Baister is Founder and Managing Director of Sumo Drinks. Sumo Drinks has been named as one of the ‘Top 20 UK Startups to Watch in 2013’ (YHP Magazine), a Top 250 UK Business and invited to be a member of Accelerate 250 by Lord Young, Enterprise Adviser to the British Prime Minister, and featured in both ‘Young Guns 2012’ and the ‘Startups 100’ in 2012.

You need to have a plan and, to a reasonable level, you shouldn’t deviate from it.

AIB’s Student Support A Class Above the Rest

interviews the Student Support Manager (Adelaide and pure Distance Learning) at Australian Institute of Business, Kristine Valerio

Why is student support such an important consideration?

AIB has many years of experience in supporting students from all over the world, and has come to understand that MBA students have busy professional and personal lives that need to be understood and considered.

Many institutions treat students like ‘a number’, are inconsistent with their service and inflexible with the support they offer.

We believe that AIB’s student support levels are the best in the industry, and that is one of the reasons why AIB programmes are so popular.

AIB’s Learning Resources

Adelaide-based and pure distance learning students are provided with a fantastic range of learning resources to assist them on their journey with AIB. These include:

 An online forum in which all Adelaide-based and pure distance students are welcome to participate. This is a great place to network, discuss and learn online;

 Customised learning materials – designed to complement the textbook – containing exercises, articles, sample examination questions, and assignment questions;

 Online study skills video and workshop – to introduce or re-introduce students to the AIB approach to learning and academic expectations; and

 EBSCOhost access –complementary access to one of the largest online libraries in the world.

AIB has come to understand that MBA students have busy professional and personal lives that need to be understood and considered.

Where does support start at AIB?

The attentive support offered by AIB starts when an enquiry is made from a prospective student. AIB has a dedicated team of course advisors who will immediately send the appropriate information required via email, and follow this up with a personalised phone call within 48 hours to answer all questions and help determine if the AIB course is the right fit for the prospective student.

What about ongoing student support once a student joins an AIB course?

Once a student joins an AIB course they will be introduced formally to the student support team and receive an individual welcome phone call and introductory course information. Unlike some universities, AIB offers a personalised approach so you will know the names of the support team members and they will be there to help as you progress through your AIB course. Emails and phone calls get responded to promptly and issues resolved as quickly as possible.

What kind of Academic support does AIB offer?

AIB offers two types of academic support – general academic support, and subject specific support.

 General academic support covers areas such as referencing, assessment technique guidance, and other general academic preparation. Many AIB students are returning to study after a long break, and and others have not completed tertiary level study, so some general academic support is particularly useful for these types of students.

 Subject specific support is useful when students need assistance with particular areas of an individual subject or topic. They may not have a complete understanding after reading the textbook, learning materials or articles, and need some additional guidance. Most AIB subject specialists are Doctorate qualified in their specific subject area, and the majority have industry experience too.

WHAT STUDENTS SAY ABOUT AIB’S SUPPORT LEVELS

Milton Burrell CEO, Good Price Pharmacy Warehouse

“I thought the support available was excellent, even though I was studying via distance learning. If I ever had a question, I would always be pointed in the right direction.”

Marie-Anne Colangelo

National Customer Service Centre Manager, Brookfield Johnston Controls

“The support at AIB Is fantastic, as a local Adelaide student not only do you have the chance to meet with your lecturers and contact them, but you get the benefit of work applied learning.”

Bianca Pendrosa

Founder, The Mind Mover

“As I progressed through the course I was never on my own. If I encountered any problems, I could email support and get help. Throughout the programme I would email my queries and problems and the AIB Support team would get right back to me within 24 hours with feedback from the professors.”

Ted Botham

Human Resource and Risk Manager, Kangaroo Island Council

“The support and the communication between myself and AIB was just brilliant.”

Biography

Ø Australian Institute of Business is a 25 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.

AIB students are provided with a fantastic range of learning resources to assist them on their journey.

Kristine Valiero CEO

What Inspires and Motivates

Entrepreneurs?

Emad Rahim

Entrepreneurship plays a significant role in the development of jobs and economic growth. However, there has been a lot of discussion and debate on what motivates entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. How do you know if you or someone else is an entrepreneur? Deeply embedded in the practice of entrepreneurship is passion. Many start-up executives have noted that having passion is one of the key drivers for entrepreneurial success. Passion drives some entrepreneurs to assume high levels of risk taking that many may see as being unconventional and even crazy.

First, let us discuss what entrepreneurship is. Entrepreneurs are people that create small businesses and start-up companies. Entrepreneurs tend to be characterized as being risk-takers, innovative thinkers, creative personalities and opportunistic. Successful entrepreneurs discover new solutions to problems, innovate on current products, take advantage of opportunities in the market and know how to sell their vision to investors and customers while also influencing their decisions – getting their buy-in and support. The entrepreneur’s ability to innovate comes from thinking creatively about a business

problem or solution - traits such as extroversion and a tendency for risk-taking spring to mind. They see possibilities and opportunities when everyone else sees a problem.

My mentor, Dr Gene Landrum, founder of Chuck E. Cheese and best-selling author, believes that entrepreneurs tend to be radicals on a mission to sate a deep-seated passion; an obsessive Promethean (intuitive-thinker) willing to sacrifice all for the redemption of a dream. He goes on to say that entrepreneurs tend to leap before they look. That is scary for security-driven traditionalists who tend to see the entrepreneur as some kind of sociopath lost on a misguided venture.

My good friend Arel Moodie, Co-Founder of the Empact Summit and award winning entrepreneur (Black Enterprise Magazine), shared five crucial characteristics of what he believes makes entrepreneurs successful in leading thriving enterprises:

I always tell my entrepreneurship students to think about the profits later. If you develop a sustainable solution to a real business problem, the clients and money will come.

 Humility, or ability to accept a helping hand;

 Honesty, or ability to admit failure and grow from there;

 Decisiveness, or ability to make choices even if though they may involve some risk;

 Empathy, or ability to understand other perspectives; and

 Willingness, or knowing you’ll never be 100 per cent ready, but you’re willing to take the next step anyway.

After teaching entrepreneurship and mentoring business owners and student start-up teams for the past six years, I have found that they are essentially motivated by many of the same things. The need to deliver innovation and creativity is always a motivating factor in an entrepreneurial venture. While new start-up founders and business owners are motivated by revenue and investments, social entrepreneurs are more focused on solving environmental and social problems. But, I believe all entrepreneurs are drawn towards an in-depth understanding of problem-solving and decision-making activities that embrace ambiguity and uncertainty. Are you scratching your head right now wondering what the heck I am talking about? Well then let me break it down for you with clear examples.

 In-depth understanding: Entrepreneurs are curious beings. They want to know how it works, how it is created, what is causing the problem, what the solution is, how will it make money, who the experts are, how many lives it will change and how they can turn this into a business? They want to be able to have a full understanding of what makes things tick.

 In-depth problem-solving: Entrepreneurs are opportunistic. They see opportunity and take advantage of it right away. They believe in the idea that every problem has a solution. I always tell my entrepreneurship students to think about the profits later. If you develop a sustainable solution to a real business problem, the clients and money will come.

 In-depth decision-making: Entrepreneurs want to make or influence the decision. If you spent a significant amount of time trying to understand how something works (in-depth understanding) and researching the cause of the problem and creating a solution (in-depth problem-solving), then you definitely want to be a part of the decision-making process.

While one or two of these bullets might describe a lot of people, I believe the entrepreneur resembles all three of the above. The entrepreneurial spirit has always been characterized by innovation, risktaking, creativity and adaptability, enabling entrepreneurs to succeed in an ever-changing and increasingly competitive marketplace. When an entrepreneur wants to grow an idea or an established small business into a large venture, it will be their passion, motivation and determination for all three of these driving forces that will push them forward.

Biography

Ø Emad Rahim, D.M., PMP, University Dean of Business and Management is a PMI Certified Project Management Professional®. Dr Rahim has more than 10 years experience in business development, nonprofit administration, management consulting and project management. Connect with him on Twitter @DrEmadRahim.

Word The

One journalist, one interviewee, one catch – each response must be answered in 60 words or less. In this issue, Alexandra Skinner speaks to Kent State University’s Don Williams

Tell us about you:

I serve as interim associate dean for graduate and international programs in the College of Business Administration at Kent State University (KSU). I have more than 30 years of higher education experience in teaching, research and administration. My teaching and research deals with global labour market issues, with a focus on European socioeconomic policy. As an administrator, I work to bring about curricular change and provide services and opportunities in a studentfocused environment. In my current role I oversee the EMBA, MBA, PhD and master’s programmes in economics and accounting.

Describe your EMBA vision:

The key objectives of both our EMBA and MBA are to prepare students for management positions through developing their leadership, teamwork, creative problem-solving and applied technology skills, while also developing a global perspective. In addition, the MBA programmes seek to improve the professional and soft skills necessary for career advancement.

Specialisation vs. traditional programme:

Our programmes are generalist in nature, ensuring competence in the functional areas of business, while still offering the possibility of specialisation through a large number of concentrations in the part-time and full-time MBA programmes. These include marketing, entrepreneurship, finance and other specialised areas. On the other hand, our EMBA for Healthcare Professionals provides an integrated learning experience within the healthcare industry.

Focus on core business skills or nurture innovation and entrepreneurship?

An MBA programme must provide coverage of the core, functional areas of business to ensure the breadth of knowledge that will pay off over a graduate’s career. At the same time, we recognise the importance of innovation in the success of any enterprise and encourage students to participate in business plan competitions, for example, to develop their entrepreneurship abilities.

Online learning vs. on-campus learning: Recognising the busy schedules of our EMBA students, we offer hybrid courses in those programmes. I expect we will see a movement in this direction in the full- and part-time MBA programmes over the next few years as well.

Study trips: valuable learning experiences or education vacations?

One of the ways we develop a global perspective in our programmes is to offer international study tours in both the executive and full- and part-time MBA programmes. The required EMBA trip is an integral part of the programme. These trips offer learning experiences that are academic, applied and cultural or historical in nature. Having led many of these trips myself, I have seen the growth in students’ abilities that occurs as a result.

The biggest challenge facing Deans of EMBA programmes is: Convincing students, the business community and the public at large of the value of the master’s degree. This is somewhat easier with specialised programmes, such as the EMBA for Healthcare Professionals, for which there is a clear purpose being served.

A business school’s top three responsibilities are:

1. To provide a high quality education in business and a foundation for lifelong learning.

2. To contribute to both the theory and practice of business through first-class, innovative research.

3. To contribute to regional economic development through outreach to both private and public-sector organisations.

Business schools need to stimulate learning by:

Making classroom experiences relevant to the world outside the university, whether in one’s personal or professional life, and employing active learning teaching techniques, such as highly interactive discussions in class.

A higher education trend that you didn’t see coming is:

The increase in the number of universities offering Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), and the movement to start offering degree programmes in this format.

One that you did is:

Increased competition from online programmes.

Three business skills that are missing from the market are:

Strategic thinking, critical thinking and negotiation skills.

Three ‘soft skills’ a business leader cannot do without are:

Presentation skills (both oral and written), negotiating skills, and the ability to lead teams.

A business school’s role in nurturing these is: One important dimension of this is selfawareness; knowing one’s weaknesses and strengths. These skills are emphasised in our EMBA programme in the ‘beginning residency’, where we focus on emotional intelligence and assess personality types, and students conduct a case analysis and make presentations in teams. Professors work closely with students on team dynamics during this process.

One application or interview do: Be well prepared and reflect on why you want the degree and why this particular programme or college is a good fit for you. Also, be honest and be yourself!

One application or interview don’t: Act as though you think you know more than the interviewer!

The best thing about Kent State University is:

Across the board, I have been impressed by the people (students, faculty and staff), their caring for one another and commitment to excellence and success. This is exemplified in our master’s programmes.

And one improvement that you would like to make would be:

To see greater collaboration with the external community, including businesses and public-sector organisations. The recent collaborative effort between Kent State University and the City of Kent, in terms of revitalising the downtown area, is an example of the great contributions to regional development that can result from regional cooperation and collaboration.

The future for Kent State University will bring:

The greater recognition of our outstanding academic programmes, including the EMBA and MBA. Our innovative faculty and constantly improving student body in the College of Business Administration are building international reputations of excellence. The programmes in the College of Business Administration at Kent State are AACSB accredited and, through processes of continuous improvement, have maintained that accreditation for almost 50 years, and will continue to do so in the decades ahead.

Parting words for would-be EMBAs: Strive for excellence in all that you do. Managing the workschool-home-life balance is difficult while participating in any graduate programme, but maintaining a focus on excellence will help guide you through it all.

Biography

The MBA programmes seek to improve the professional and soft skills necessary for career advancement.

Ø Professor Donald Williams is Interim Associate Dean at Kent State University’s College of Business Administration, Ohio.

18 Months to

have been Warned!”

Paris School of Business

Meet the Programme Dean: Desmond McGetrick

The Paris School of Business International Executive MBA is dedicated to delivering current, cutting edge management principles that are applicable in global and local contexts. The Paris School of Business International Executive MBA combines both theoretical and practical insights that will enable today’s managers to become tomorrow’s business leaders. The size of each cohort is intentionally limited to ensure the highest quality interaction between faculty and programme participants.=

The result: business professionals from diverse backgrounds with outstanding potential learn together how to approach and solve complex business problems.

We wanted to create a programme that was networked internationally from the very beginning, that opened out to business from the very beginning, so that people can have a vision of where they are heading after their MBA and, finally, without having to give up their work to do so.

We’ve been offering an International MBA for three decades, so we’re compacting it into block sessions of Fridays and Saturdays for executives, and including international components; a combination of company visits and business seminars in Shanghai and Bangalore as part of the programme.

Alexandra Skinner speaks to Georges Nurdin and Desmond McGetrick at

The classes will be delivered in a boardroom-style environment, with 12 to 15 people around the table interacting.

“You

Desmond McGetrick

In terms of ties to business, we are partnering with the American Chamber of Commerce, the Franco British Chamber of Commerce and Australian Business in Europe. The idea is that, in addition to targeting toplisted companies, we are also giving our students network opportunities in each of those chambers. We will be offering members of the various chambers of commerce the opportunity to sign up for the courses that are held on location, so that we get the greatest mix of people, backgrounds and talent in the classroom.

This is all supported by our rock-solid curriculum and highly qualified professors. The programme is very much takeaway oriented. When someone leaves work and studies on the Friday and Saturday, they are able to take what they have learnt back into the workplace on Monday. The classes will be delivered in a boardroom-style environment, with 12 to 15 people around the table interacting, rather than as a lecture. Most classes will be in the Paris area, and some in the chambers of commerce themselves, in Paris and London. The Shanghai and Bangalore component will be in the form of a blocked study trip, which is included in the pricing of the programme, but it is an optional element.

The PSB International Executive MBA at Glance

Meet the Professor: Marco Protano

I am blessed to be able to work in a field that blends my two professional passions, marketing and education, together. I train executives and MBAs in marketing around the world at multiple corporations and universities. My students voted me Professor of the Year five times in five years on five continents. I also consult, primarily with high growth ventures, in the areas of brand equity building, competitive marketing strategy and marketing management.

I approached the new dean of the International Executive MBA at Paris School of Business, Desmond McGetrick, who is a graduate of ENPC Paris where I currently teach. I am familiar with his training and background, and I believe that under his leadership, the programme has great potential to train future business leaders.

I will be teaching marketing management, international marketing and strategic brand management. My nearly 28 years of proven managerial and consulting experience in marketing, as well as building/growing entrepreneurial ventures from scratch, will be consistently incorporated in all of the class-session learning that I will lead. In addition, we will use real-life case studies from international business schools. We will also rely on the experiences that our student managers contribute to the classroom. Finally, as a member of faculty, I will endeavour to bring in current market events happening before and during our classes.

Marco Protano is Professor of Marketing and Strategy at Hult International Business School and Visiting Professor of Marketing for the ENCP MBA. Marco will be teaching Marketing for the new International Executive MBA at Paris School of Business.

Programme Format

 Programme orientation (2 days/16 hrs)

 18 month programme duration

 5 programme terms of 3 months

 Management consulting project in term two

Class Schedule

 Classes are held on alternate Fridays and Saturdays

 Four 4-hour classes per weekend

International Study Trip (optional)

 In-depth exposure to international business perspectives

 Company visits in Shanghai, China and Bangalore, India

 Business seminars at a Paris School of Business’ partner university

 Meetings with local managers, academics and government officials

The well-known phrase, ‘no pain, no gain’ certainly applies when taking the step towards an Executive MBA.

Why embark on a part-time Executive International MBA?

Georges Nurdin

This is a recurrent question from candidates. The answer, however, is not generic; it is in fact very personal. There are a range of key incentives that may assist candidates in this important decision-making process.

The first being that, given today’s economic and sociodemographic conditions, part-time Executive MBAs offer the best return on investment. Though this may not be a common way to look at it, nor a typical criterion assessed when selecting an MBA programme, it is however of upmost importance when you (or your company) decide to invest a sizeable amount of money. The healthy question is (or should be); “If I invest €24 000 or €100 000, what do I get back and by when?” This is a particularly crucial question when you are in your mid-thirties to late-forties, as financing an MBA is in direct competition with other projects that you may also be considering at the same time.

An Executive MBA provides you with the perfect balance; the opportunity to embark upon a prestigious business degree without having to resign and leave your current job. This means that; you secure your position; you do not forfeit 18 months’ salary, you do not ‘lose’ your job, and thus do not have to phase back into a very competitive job market after 18 months of study. In addition, the company that currently employs you may fund (totally or partially, in 75 per cent of the cases) your part-time Executive MBA, and may even promote you upon completion of the programme. Simply put, there is no better match. Where is the catch, you may ask?

The Paris School of Business Scholarship

The scholarship is a personal pet project. One of the things I feel, on a societal level, is that not everyone can access these types of programmes due to the cost component. I believe that it would be good to offer a certain number of full scholarships to our programmes from our portfolio at Paris School of Business. Why 100 per cent? I feel that people tend to believe that anything less than 100 per cent implies that there is a catch. We really wanted to offer the full opportunity and a complete discount. This will be done in partnership with the chambers of commerce for full transparency, and so applicants will be chosen in association with them.

Desmond McGetrick

There are three points to watch out for:

1. The part-time Executive MBA you choose (or that chooses you – the admissions process at MBA level assists schools in selecting high calibre students) must be accredited by either CHEA (AASCB, IACBE, or ACBSP), Equis, or AMBA. Accreditation is a guarantee of world-class standard education which you, your current employer and prospective employers will care about.

2. The part-time Executive MBA must include significant exposure to international subjects and literally ‘walk the talk’ when it comes to international faculty, business cases, capstone seminars and masterclasses abroad.

3. Be ready for schizophrenia! You will need to live at least three lives at the same time: you must continue to carry out your current job (and excel in it), you must follow a highly demanding academic programme (the MBA is never a ‘given’ degree), which means investing weekends and long nights (project work, collaborative subjects, presentations etc.), and still maintain a healthy personal life.

In other words, the choice to study an Executive MBA is not a decision to be taken lightly. It must be seriously discussed with (and accepted by) your employer and your beloved ones.

The well-known phrase, ‘no pain, no gain’ certainly applies when taking the step towards an Executive MBA, but the reward is great... You have been warned!

Biographies

Ø Dr Georges Nurdin is Dean of the Paris School of Business.

Ø Desmond McGetrick is Dean of the International Executive MBA at Paris School of Business.

Georges Nurdin

I used my EMBA to... Grow, Follow my Heart and Explore

Luke Carrière

From English Lit Undergrad to EMBA Student

I pursued my EMBA for three main reasons: to grow my qualifications, to relocate into a new region of the country and gain a network of like-minded professionals there, and to transition my career from nonprofit to start-ups.

My mother was an inspiration. She started her undergrad after I had begun mine and finished her MBA before I had even started mine! Seeing that she valued education and could earn it while taking care of a family made me realize it was something I wanted to, and was able to, attain.

Unlike most of my classmates, I flew across country from Houston to New York City (NYC) to attend class. Despite majoring in English literature in my undergrad at Fordham University, I’ve always loved business. After five years in business I was drawn to the nonprofit sector because of the meaningfulness of their missions. However, they are not always the most efficient operations from a business perspective, and I found that frustrating.

I decided to pursue an EMBA at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Business so that I could marry my mission-driven career with business models that worked. This led me to start-ups. Start-ups, like nonprofits, are trying to improve the world but, unlike nonprofits, they aren’t dependent on charity. As soon as I enrolled in business school I began volunteering for 3 Day Startup, a nonprofit dedicated to educating students on how to really be entrepreneurs. This led me to a position with Austin Technology Incubator, where I helped to host events that connected founders with investors. By this point I had gotten to know my cohort well and they had seen my passion in moving from nonprofits to start-ups. One classmate had a data consulting company, View B.I. Inc., which was building a software product. He invited me to join him in developing and marketing the software.

The (In)Valuable Aspects of my EMBA

The EMBA has given me skills and knowledge that are helping me to take the less-travelled path, and it has given me the confidence that I am doing the right thing by not taking the typical corporate route. It has taught me the time-value of money versus the value of time. Let me explain – those in finance will be familiar with the concept of the time-value of money. However, Fordham taught me that there is much more to one’s career than calculating the present value of your earnings. It taught me that time is valuable and I shouldn’t waste it pursuing someone else’s dream.

The EMBA has also exposed me to new industries via classmates and their experiences. The extra-curricular activities, such as yoga, taught me work-life balance, and I volunteered to be a mentor to undergrad students, which was a great way to give back to the Fordham University community. I also joined a local social club called the Princeton Club that hosts lecture series and fun parties. I have also travelled extensively during the program (more than at any other point in my life); with classes in London and Turkey; business trips to Romania; volunteer trips to Barcelona and Israel, and vacations to Mexico.

Furthermore, the EMBA taught me the difference between uncertainty and risk, which has resulted in me being more inclined towards professional risk taking. I am more comfortable taking calculated risks now that I understand the risk of not doing something – I am confident in my decision-making skills.

The EMBA taught me the difference between uncertainty and risk, which has resulted in me being more inclined towards professional risk taking.

Three Major Takeaways from my EMBA Experience

1. It certified and validated my seven years of professional experience. Since graduating from my undergrad in 2004 with a degree in English, I have put myself on a rotational program – learning about different industries in a wide variety of positions. I wanted to learn business from the inside out, from customer service, to sales, to marketing, to forensic auditing, relationship management, business development, strategic partnerships, to real estate and nonprofits. However, I still felt that my experience was not garnering the respect it merited. I completed the EMBA to obtain that respect.

Through Profits’, in which he makes a business case for companies to address many of the developing world’s most pressing needs. At that point I knew I was in the right program for my personal journey. All too often, diverse business models and revenue models are not used in the nonprofit world. The EMBA, and the people that I met through it, have enabled me to transition from working at meaningful nonprofits to meaningful start-ups – disrupting industries using technology and business principals.

2. It allowed me to switch careers. I was frustrated at nonprofit inefficiencies and the lack of business approach. I got into nonprofits during my ‘quarter-life crisis’ at the age of 28 in 2009. I had volunteered since childhood and even served abroad in high school in Mexico and Nicaragua. I even found myself auditing financial statements in the wake of the global financial crisis. When the earthquake hit Haiti in 2008 I quit my job and vowed to do something more meaningful. I found an opportunity with the same nonprofit I had been with; AMIGOS, and I went to work at their International Office in Houston, Texas. However, when I met my classmates at the beginning of my program I hesitated to tell them I was working at a nonprofit – because I was not a ‘nonprofit type of person’. I needed some time to reflect philosophically on where I wanted to work; to be satisfied. A good indicator came at the beginning of the first class. We had a retreat in the rolling green hills of Tarrytown Estate and the assigned reading was C.K. Prahalad‘s ‘The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty

3. It helped me to build a network that enabled me to feel confident in relocating across the country. On a personal level, here is my story: my girlfriend began law school at the same time I began business school. We wanted to plan to end up somewhere where we would both be happy. We had both lived in NYC before and knew we liked it, so we decided to aim for there. I lived in Austin for the first year of my studies and commuted to NYC, staying in a classmate’s guest room on the upper west side during my weekend trips. I then moved to NYC in my second and my girlfriend and I managed long-distance for a year. I was able to get to know everyone pretty well during class and group projects. A classmate and I were interested in startups and data, so I consulted for his business in the area of marketing in order to grow his services and help develop a new software product that improves search query time using massive parallel processing. My girlfriend got an associate-ship at a law firm and spent the summer in NYC with me. She is studying at NYU School of Law this semester as a visiting student. Our relocation plan truly succeeded when she got an offer from a white shoe firm and, as a result, she will be moving permanently after graduating from The University of Texas School of Law.

Other classmates and I have gone on to create a social club of like-minded entrepreneurs who meet monthly and share resources, ideas and ‘needs’ that we can help each other with – whether that is introductions, practical advice, business partnerships, funding sources or anything else. It has turned out to be quite a support system and has opened up many opportunities to launch new companies with others in the club. I am currently co-founding a company that will supply a technology-based baby product to the market before this holiday season – so look out for it!

I chose Fordham University for my EMBA for the same reasons that I chose it at undergrad. The Jesuits have a spiritual mission to educate. They are sharp scholars who are dedicated to teaching. I would recommend it to anyone seeking more business knowledge, a strong network, or a career switch.

Biography

Ø Luke Carrière is a Business Analytics Consultant at VIEW B.I., Founder of 3 Day Startup NYC and an AMIGOS NYC Board Member. Luke Graduated with an EMBA from Fordham University’s Graduate School of Business in 2013.

It taught me that time is valuable and I shouldn’t waste it pursuing someone else’s dream.

in Decision-making

SBS Swiss Business School in 2013

Last year you described MBAs as “Masters of Brilliant Adaptation”. How important do you feel it is for business schools to create leaders that are able to adapt?

Leadership and the MBA are interrelated. Leadership is decision-making in action. All of us are concerned with this issue. There are several forms of leadership and hundreds of leadership theories. Leadership is needed for innovation and in a change environment. Management is looking for order and consistency. Therefore, adaptation is a natural process for leaders. Leaders should primarily have two qualities; be flexible and remain humble.

In a study conducted by SBS, almost 30 per cent of students in your EMBA 2008 – 2011 classes are employed in self-owned businesses/start-ups. Do you feel that (E)MBA programmes are able to successfully equip professionals who are looking to take an entrepreneurial career path?

We have an MBA programme specialising in entrepreneurship, so that is not an issue for us. In all of our other MBA and EMBA programmes, during the 10 core courses, participants have to write a business plan and are confronted with venture capital and private equity. An MBA is in fact a toolbox, and the participants learn how to use the different tools during the programme, as we are a very practically-driven business school. The advantage of our programme is

that students can fail with their start-up during the MBA – there are no financial consequences. When they are setting up a business in real-life, failure is not allowed anymore. I think it is good for students to fail in their start-up during the MBA, as it makes them stronger afterwards. More importantly, we need to urgently change the perception of entrepreneurship in Europe. We want continued prosperity on this continent, but we don’t cultivate a culture of entrepreneurs. These are the drivers of change, and are urgently needed if we want to maintain our standards of living in Europe.

Do you offer additional support for such individuals?

Yes, we do. It is called Help After Start-up. I am currently coaching one of our MBA students who has started his own venture in medical writing. It is an exciting experience for me and it helps me to improve my classes on new venture creation. I can bring more stories and anecdotes to the classroom.

Your EMBA programme includes a Leadership Skills Speaker Series. Please can you tell CEO Magazine readers about what this involves, and some of the speakers that have come to SBS?

The Leadership Skills Speaker Series is a programme which fits into our andragogical philosophy. Leaders come and share their experiences with our students. We have had several CEOs of Swiss SMEs, specialists in social media, and the head of communications from Novartis, to give you some examples.

You have a focus on real-life application across your programmes. How do you ensure that you are reviewing and evolving your programmes in order to keep their content relevant?

An MBA is in fact a toolbox, and the participants learn how to use the different tools during the programme.

Alexandra Skinner speaks to Bert Wolfs at SBS Swiss Business School

That is a very good question and indeed a challenging activity. Within SBS we have established a Business Advisory Board. This board consists of members from different industries and companies of different sizes. We have representatives of transnational corporations as well as from small and medium-sized enterprises. The board is also very international, so we know what the new trends and important issues are. One of the issues discussed was how to continue to improve presentation skills among students.

The quality of a business school’s faculty is often high up on the priority list of those students who are considering an MBA. Are you able to talk about the faculty that teach on your MBA programmes?

Quality of faculty is of vital importance. We have several different faculty meetings a year where we discuss not only common topics, but also andragogical issues; we talked about the functioning of the brain during the last faculty meeting and how it affects adults in their learning process.

Our faculty come from industry, but also have doctoral degrees. We have a small percentage of full-time faculty, as I strongly believe that part-time faculty bring greater value to our students. With all due respect to tenured faculty, over time things can become difficult and they are less willing to make changes. Organisations change,

including business schools, and if we want to remain excellent we need to adapt to the requests of the industry that hires our graduates.

The Wider MBA Landscape

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 one of the driving forces of globalisation and cannot stay outside of an MBA programme. Technology is a big help in relation to the delivery of course materials, and is changing the educational landscape. If you talk to book publishers, you can see the changes. The so-called MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are also bringing education to rural regions and large audiences. So far though, MOOCs are more hype; I haven’t seen a valuable MOOC with a great business model. But we use a Learning Management System (LMS) for our courses, so students can learn additional things, and get inputs from other specialists in the field.

The global war for talent is not limited to corporations – business schools also want the very best students attending their institutions. With this in mind, have you been tempted to offer specialised MBAs in order to differentiate yourselves from the competition?

We have been offering specialisations for a while. We have a very successful MBA in Entrepreneurship, we also offer an MBA in

If we want to remain excellent we need to adapt to the requests of the industry that hires our graduates.

Tourism Management and Human Resource Management.

The MBA in Marketing is also doing well, but the MBA in Global Finance and Banking has experienced a little dip. This is due to the fact that people have lost their confidence in banks, and that the banking world went through a restructuring. Once it picks up again, student interest in this programme will grow.

Improving one’s knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA) is certainly a motivating factor for MBA candidates. However, in your opinion, is KSA acquisition second to career progression? KSA and career progression are linked. They always ask you three questions in life if you want to progress your career: where did you study (in other words, what are your KSAs), which languages do you know (KSA) and who do you know. So, if people want to enhance their leadership skills, improve their financial and accounting knowledge and learn the global way of conducting business, an MBA remains a good investment. Investing in yourself for lifelong learning can only bear fruits for your career.

The modern business world is becoming increasingly focused on the value of Corporate Social Responsibility. What is SBS’s perspective on this element of contemporary business?

People, planet and profit are equal to corporate social responsibility. As you know, we were the first business school to introduce an ethics and business values module into our MBA programme. At that time, I received a lot of criticism from

different stakeholders, as they did not see the value in the course. Today, perception is different. As the world continues to become more complex and business cycles shorten, these values will last. Despite the fact that our students obtain an MBA or EMBA, I always recommend to them that they remain humble and recognise those who aren’t so lucky.

SBS Swiss Business School and the Future

In January of this year, you made seven predictions in an article entitled ‘A Year of 5 Cs!’. In this you discussed a shift to a more modular and personal approach to education. Is this something that you will continue to include, and grow, at SBS?

Yes, it is. Education will become more personalised and more mobile. We have the technology to provide this to our students and we will continue to focus on that. Obtaining new knowledge and improving skills and attitudes will remain a big issue for global industry, and we need to offer state-of-the-art technology for that.

What exciting new innovations can we expect from SBS Swiss Business School, either in terms of the programmes on offer, or within the business school itself?

The most exciting is the introduction of the different Master of Science programmes. These are focused on students who don’t have work experience but want to continue to learn. The latest intake just started in October, and I feel that this was the right step for SBS.

Biography

Ø Bert Wolfs, Ph.D., MDP, (Harvard GSE) is Professor of Entrepreneurship and the Academic Dean of SBS Swiss Business School, Zurich, Switzerland.

Bridging the Gap

Between

EUROPE & SOUTH ASIA

The Suliman S. Olayan School of Business was established 12 years ago. What would you say have been the school’s biggest contributions to the business world, both locally and nationally?

Even though the School was established 12 years ago, business education at AUB started more than 100 years ago as part of the University’s Faculty of Arts and Science, and AUB business graduates have for decades been among the ranks of international business organisations. Since its establishment, the School has stayed the course and made several contributions in this regard:

 Contributions to research on the global scene in different discipline areas;

 Being a leading organisation in the region; others normally follow OSB’s lead; we are a model for our peers in the region

 Contributing to and promoting best-practice business standards;

 Graduating students who are well sought after by top organisations in business and higher education in Lebanon, the region, and abroad

At the American University of Beirut (AUB) you follow the American model of education. Please can you further expand upon your pedagogical approach for our readers?

The education model at AUB is considered to be a global standard of excellence. We believe it provides students with needed spaces to exchange ideas, and express themselves freely and responsibly. Students are exposed

to an in-depth learning experience in their chosen field of specialisation, and are given the chance to broaden and nurture their intellectual growth through general education courses which normally make up one third to one-half of the programme.

The MBA Value Proposition

You offer an MBA and an EMBA programme. Whom are these programmes designed for, and what are the learning objectives of each? Perhaps I can answer your question by reading part of the School’s mission statement which says: The Executive MBA Programme has a

distinct leadership and strategy orientation, while The MBA Programme imparts globally current, regionally relevant general management competencies to the next generation of business leaders, and the specialised masters programmes are designed to graduate expert practitioners. As you can see, the focus here is on leaders regardless of the programme of study. On learning goals, back in 2006, the School spent one year formulating six learning themes, which are used as the basis for the learning goals of each programme. The six themes include: Business Professional Competence, Decision-Making in Business and Finance, Ethics, Leadership, Business Communication Proficiency and Global Business Environment.

Salim Chahine

Student Services at night

Your integrative Pre-MBA Foundation Module is designed to give students a foundational understanding of the fundamentals of business. Is this a compulsory module?

The integrative period is not a compulsory module. Students admitted to the programme are required to take six credits of pre-MBA foundation courses (or to pass a related exemption test upon the approval of the programme director). Normally, students with business undergraduate degrees are able to pass the exam. The integrative pre-MBA foundation module is an intensive, level-setting suite of courses designed to create a common platform of business fundamentals and tools across key business disciplines.

Your MBA programme is a ‘robust general management orientation which combines integrative thinking with analytical rigor’. Do you feel that generalist programmes offer more to a student than those with a specialisation?

A generalist programme broadens student knowledge and enhances business acumen. It allows students to pursue and step into a general management position. Perhaps a specialist graduate will not be able to manage and lead an organisation, but a generalist can, and from this perspective I can say that a generalist programme offers more, especially when it comes to managing or launching a business. Having said this, our MBA students can still take the elective courses in specialised areas such as corporate finance or marketing and develop their expertise.

Your EMBA programme aims to create global leaders.

How do you create a global experience and focus for your EMBA students?

1. The business environment of the region is subject to a lot of global influences. A majority of our participants already come with a worldly view as they typically:

 Are educated in Anglo-Saxon or European Universities in their home countries and/or abroad;

 Have lived in several countries (typically, North America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East);

 Have worked for multinationals in various countries or for regional players interacting frequently with international companies.

 Have interacted with extremely diverse workforces. The nature of the workforce in the region is such that a typical manager has to manage a workforce of a dozen or more different nationalities, perhaps in an American company in Saudi Arabia.

 Have been exposed to different cultures through media, advertising, literature and foreign travel.

2. The EMBA seeks to develop global managers and hence emphasises global issues, and transfers a “global” business culture and body of knowledge (including various tools and case studies ) which were developed by studying Western organisations, and which incorporate a lot of Western culture.

3. The EMBA emphasises regional relevance encouraging participants to apply the (mostly Western) frameworks and tools to their own (regional) environment and apply the concepts in the contexts of their own organisations. We also discuss regional case studies.

4. In the capstone strategic management course, executives are expected to analyse global industries, and companies and acquisitions, and are encouraged to describe how global trends affect their regional or local businesses.

5. We attempt to move away from the concept of homogeneity as is sometimes implied in “global management” towards emphasising and expressing our own beliefs, styles, culture, origins and roots.

How important is it for leaders to have a global outlook?

If by global we expect people to ignore their differences and simply blend in, to become “modern” or “contemporary”; then NO, this is not what we seek. Rather, we want people to be able to adapt to different cultures, to understand their logic and be able to operate effectively in different cultures. We hope that they will learn more about their own culture after being exposed to different cultures through travel, work experiences, reflections...To paraphrase T.S. Eliot: managers should be exploring ceaselessly in order to return home and know the place for the first time.

The education model at AUB is considered to be a global standard of excellence.

Suliman S. Olayan School

of Business

The school aims to offer students a balance between a ‘top-down strategic mind-set and a bottom-up operational orientation’. How is this done in practice?

At an operational level, coursework in discipline areas reaffirms student understanding of basic concepts and principles and provides students with a chance to think critically and in-depth while applying their understanding of those concepts through case studies and project work. At a strategic level, a capstone course using simulation gives students the chance to make strategic decisions and observe their impact,

Entrepreneurship and innovation modules are commonplace in MBA curriculums, and could be deemed as particularly important in the Arab world. How much emphasis do you place on these dynamics? Yes, entrepreneurship and innovation are deemed particularly important in the Arab world. In addition to addressing such areas in various courses throughout the programme, we also offer two courses which focus on entrepreneurship and a third which focuses on innovation. The topics receive deserved attention due to their relevance in the Arab world, where many graduates opt to launch their own business or manage their family business.

Continuous improvement is a fundamental part of OSB’s mission. What methods do you use to measure the effectiveness, relevancy and ROI of your MBA and EMBA programmes and their content?

OSB continues to improve its assessment tools, methodologies and processes in its MBA and EMBA programmes, and has ensured the implementation of learning assessment in its newly launched Masters in Finance and Masters in HRM.

OSB uses direct and indirect measures of assessment. Direct measures include course-embedded assessment rubrics, stand-alone tests like the ETS Major Field Test or an internally developed test (EMBA), and CAPSIM COMP-XM simulation results. Indirect measures such as student exit surveys (which include employment data) and corporate focus groups are also implemented, in addition to a host of university administered surveys.

The surveys assess student career prospects and their overall learning experiences at OSB. I would like to mention here that survey results over the last two years revealed that about 90 per cent of graduating students are very proud and fond of their AUB degree and have indicated that they would like to stay connected with OSB after their graduation.

Topics Pertinent to the MBA Landscape

Business schools have a responsibility to learn from the mistakes of the recent past in order to shape the leaders of the future. How do you ensure that you are teaching your students the skills and qualities that businesses need? By maintaining a world-class faculty that remain current with research agendas and promote pedagogical innovation, as well as developing and fostering close relationships

with business and industry leaders, thus enabling said leaders to become active participants in the shaping of educational programmes.

The Future

What can we expect from the American University of Beirut over the next 12-18 months?

To continue the tradition of generating business leaders, and to build on its efforts of making the School a global business education institution recognised for its solid contributions to the business world. You can expect OSB to:

 Maintain a leading position in the region in producing quality research

 Form alliances with top academic institutions in the USA and Europe

 Continue to make educational and process improvements across all programmes

 Increase graduate enrolment numbers despite external challenges

 Maintain the quality of admitted students in all our programmes

Biography

Ø Dr Salim Chahine is Professor of Finance and Acting Dean of the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business at The American University of Beirut, Lebanon.

A generalist program broadens student knowledge and enhances business acumen. It allows students to pursue and step into a general management position.

Maamari

Inside the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business

Understanding Online MBAs

Professor Sascha Liebhardt

No! It's not long-distance learning. Although it might be a long distance." This statement best describes the biggest misunderstanding, or rather misconception, about online education. Although it is location independent, it has nothing to do with the eremite, entirely self-study based long-distance learning of the analog world of the past.

Online education, and especially online MBA programs, deliver a broad and interactive learning experience that can be considered a viable alternative to location based traditional education.

To explain the virtues of online education, it is best to look at the intangible expectations and thus challenges posed to an online MBA. Reputation and networking spring to mind immediately – will an online MBA have the same value in the eyes of my employer or my potential employer, and will an online MBA give me access to a network?

When examined closely, both are rather irrelevant. According to the 2010 Sloan Survey of Internet Education, 66 per cent of academic leaders consider online education as good as or better than traditional education. Furthermore, the chances are great that someone doing an online MBA is working at the same time, thus not only taking the burden of work but also of studying on their shoulders. What better signal of a highly motivated individual is there to the employer or potential employer? Concerning networking, well apart from very few exceptional business schools, choosing your B-school based on the possibility of joining a network seems rather outdated. First of all, those people you’re studying with must graduate in order to use the network and, second of all, what about the existing networks – educational or professional –you have access to? How much are you making use of them? Well, if you are not, it’s questionable that the MBA network will make the difference.

Now that we have ruled out this dilemma, it is best to take a short look at how an online MBA is structured. There are basically two types of programs being offered;

All Online Programs These make all of the course content available online, which means that students never have to attend classes on a physical campus.

Combination Programs Are a mixture of distance learning coupled with classroom learning. Various courses can be completed entirely online, while other courses must be taken in a campus-based classroom.

What are the Pros and Cons of an Online Degree?

Pros

` Online MBAs are normally cheaper, but they too can range from as little as $3,000 per annum to as much as $30,000, or even more in some cases. Looking on the bright side, scholarships, lowinterest student loans and financial aid – from employers – are all readily available.

` Flexibility is also another great advantage, especially for students who are currently employed. Students can study at any time from any location without having to quit their jobs or spend precious hours commuting or sitting in classrooms.

` Lectures can be accessed 24/7, which means that very little time is wasted waiting for professors or traveling through rush-hour traffic. Most institutions offer an electronic mentoring program of sorts, which makes it easy to communicate with lecturers and administration staff should problems or questions arise.

It has nothing to do with the eremite, entirely self-study based long-distance learning of the analog world of the past.

Cons

 Even though there are still some employers who prefer candidates with campus-based degrees, this number is definitely declining. On the other hand, the reputation of providers and the value perception of online MBAs is certainly on the increase.

 It goes without saying that the online student must possess a high level of self discipline. After working for ten hours the student comes home, the sun is shining, all their friends are going to the Biergarten to have a good time and this poor soul must stay indoors and work on the computer. This can be very frustrating at times.

 The high acceptance level for online degrees and the networking possibilities which were covered earlier.

 Some potential students are put off by the possibility of technical problems arising during online studies. However, these are very rare. If the student invests in quality computing equipment, technical problems rarely occur.

In conclusion here are the top ten advantages to completing an online MBA compared to a campus-based one:

1. A lot of online providers offer exactly the same curriculum as their campus-based competitors.

2. Courses can be taken from any location in the world, even when traveling or on holiday.

3. Financial support is readily available, and on the increase.

4. The learning pace is regulated by the student. You can learn as slowly or quickly as you like, or even join an accelerated program.

5. There are significant cost savings such as, no traveling, study while you work and lower fees.

6. Studying online helps you to improve your time management and self-discipline skills.

7. The only things you require are a computer and a good internet connection.

8. Most online programs allow the students to take open-book exams.

9. Online classes are generally designed to support multiple learning styles.

10. You can study in your pajamas.

Biography

Ø Professor Sascha Liebhardt is Dean of the European University, Munich Campus.

IS KING

Understanding ‘Hybrid’

MBA Study Modes at NWMSU

What led the school to identify the need for an online mode of study?

CLL: Northwest Missouri State University had always been a pioneer in adopting and incorporating technology into its delivery of education. As early as 1987, Northwest prided itself in being the ‘electronic campus’, and a former Provost had the vision of Northwest being a leader in the country in the delivery of online completion programmes.

How does the hybrid nature of the NWMSU programme work in practice?

DT: The hybrid nature of the Northwest MBA programme works pretty seamlessly; allowing working individuals the time upfront to prepare for classes, whist working toward a specific goal, enables the students to prepare their own schedule. Classes alternate between Thursday evenings

Alexandra Skinner talks to Chi-Lo Lim

and Deborah Toomey at Northwest Missouri State University

Northwest campus

Northwest Missouri State University had always been a pioneer in adopting and incorporating technology into its delivery of education.

and Saturdays, giving the students the important faceto-face interaction with the faculty member and other students. Each course has been analysed to determine what should be completed prior to instruction, what should be presented in the live (classroom) format, and what can be submitted after class meetings. This model is very similar to my own doctoral courses and allows individual students the option of fully optimising their own strengths.

Although there are multiple methods of delivery, students in the St. Joseph and Kansas Ci-ty centers take courses that are taught at those locations. Some of the Kansas City students have chosen to attend courses in St. Joseph or online when the schedule is more conducive to their specific life events; however, as a whole, students complete their courses ‘at home’ in their selected locations. That may be due to the comfort of working with the other students in the programme or the ease of following the programme as it has been established.

Deborah, you teach a graduate marketing course on the MBA. How does the course/instruction alter, if at all, across the different modes of delivery?

DT: Although there are many technologies that allow for online students to be more connected, the two methods are definitely different. Each delivery mode has its strengths and weaknesses. For instance, in-person coursework in the classroom format allows for realtime feedback, live presentations, and a synchronous delivery of content. Online courses allow students to take advantage of free opportunities to work on the course in an asynchronous format, but direct communication to all students is harder to gauge. The blended method allows for the best of both worlds.

How have you seen the online delivery develop over the years?

CLL: The business department was one of three departments selected to develop courses for online delivery in 1998. To date, we offer two undergraduate business programmes, and the online MBA in collaboration with Missouri Southern. To ascertain that the online delivery was viable, the department embarked on a journey to have the online courses accredited by an external agency, Quality Matters. All of the undergraduate management and marketing courses will achieve Quality Matters certification by the end of the current academic year. One of the graduate courses has achieved the Quality Matters certification and three more courses are in progress. The MBA faculty is committed to having all of the courses Quality Matters certified within the next two years.

To what extent is technology a driving force in your MBA offering?

CLL: As a business programme, our administrators and faculty members continuously monitor changes in academia and industry to ensure that our students obtain

Dr Terry Coalter talks Human Resource Management and the MBA

I advocated for the HR course precisely because those soft skills are underdeveloped, especially in new managers. How do we know that? We know that because that’s what business leaders have been telling us for years. It’s fairly easy to teach technical skills – how to do something specific – but it’s more difficult to understand the softer skills, the people skills. When I proposed the HR course, I was in a fortuitous situation in that the department had just completed a survey of recent graduates where we asked, among other things, what was missing. The elements covered in the HR class were at the top of the list. Why is that? It’s because tomorrow’s competitive advantage is in people! A hundred years ago the most valuable asset a company had was locked inside the factory at night – it was the tools and machines of production. Because we live in a knowledge-based economy, today the ‘tools and machinery’ of production are people. The most valuable asset a company has goes home every night – the people. Businesses of the future will have access to all the same physical, tangible assets. They will have the same tools, the same machines, the same external environment, the same break-even formulas, and operate under the same rules, but every company has its own unique people. A new factory with updated tools, great policies, a state-of-the-art accounting system, a brilliant marketing plan, but poor people is likely to fail, because when problems happen, and they will, the people won’t be able to overcome them. But an old factory with outdated tools, bad policies, a weak accounting system, a poor understanding of the market, and good people with the right skill-set has a chance at success because the right people can overcome all those other issues.

The Importance of Student Interaction

This is a main goal, and maybe the main goal, on the first meeting of a graduate class. It is absolutely essential to create a warm, accepting environment in the first class meeting that places the responsibility for learning on the student and then having confidence that the student can, and will, rise to the occasion.

During that first meeting, we talk about education and how as an undergraduate the standard model of learning is for the professor to be ‘the expert’ and the class to act as academic sponges soaking up the knowledge professed from the front of the room. Then I explain how graduate education is different; as students master the material, they, and not the professor, each become the experts in their own area. I use that to introduce the structure of a graduate seminar where students are expected to do most of the talking, interacting, and even some of the teaching. During most classes, I take a seat in the back of the class and become an observer, usually speaking only to respond to a specific question, or more likely to wrap-up a discussion, making sure main points of an article or issue are covered. Individual students are assigned specific articles or topics to cover during each class meeting in a series of brief, but low-stake (low point value) interactions. The environment is purposeful, but still light-hearted at times. I act more as a facilitator than a professor or instructor. Sometimes it is difficult to not interject the ‘correct answer’, but I find that if given a little time, the right environment and enough independence to explore, students surprise you. Sometimes, learning is less about the answer and more about the path to the answer.

Faculty Experience

In students’ minds, experience outside academia gives an instructor the academic equivalent of ‘street credit’. Models, theories, and frameworks are met with suspicion unless you can show how they relate to what students like to call ‘the real-world’. Those outside experiences provide that connection. Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory is at best mildly interesting by itself, but it comes to life when I provide a real-world example where a client and I used the theory to define a problem and suggest a potential solution that ultimately added a million dollars to the bottom line of a small company. Models and theories are tools, and just like any tool, sometimes a specific tool fits the problem at hand, and sometimes it doesn’t. When a tool (or theory) doesn’t fit the problem, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad tool (or theory), it’s just the wrong tool for that particular situation. My experience as a small business owner, consultant, and attorney provides a powerful set of narratives, which help to students apply those tools.

Dr Terry Coulter, JD, PhD is Associate Professor and Editor of the Regional Business Review, Business Department, Northwest Missouri State University.

Dr James Walker: Strategic Marketing –a ‘Customer Immersion Course’

viable experiences in their programmes in order to give them an advantage in their current and future careers. Technology plays an integral part of the business world today, hence all of the business courses are infused with technology in one form or another. Courses offered in the classroom utilise an electronic learning platform to supplement students’ learning. All online courses are designed to mirror classroom offerings. The majority of us have benefited from the online experience and that has helped us to improve our classroom delivery.

You also act as student advisors. What are some of the common questions that you are faced with from students?

Customer focus is woven throughout the entire semester. From day one, content and exercises are developed to help students see things from a customer lens –how what the firm does impacts the customer. Many American students believe that approaching business decisions through a ‘financial-lens’ (a ‘profit-focused’ lens) is correct, without regard or notion that a different possibility exists. In fact, most have never questioned that belief; it just ‘is’. My course shows students how having everyone in the organisation focused around customers (rather than profits) can be beneficial. Profits are the result of satisfying customers, and how an organisation chooses to focus its resources (on profits or on customers) makes a huge difference in the decisions made. Creating an organisational culture with a customer-first focus (note, this does not mean solely, but first) is what my strategic marketing course is about. I’ll estimate that we read and discuss 30 to 35 academic/business journal articles throughout a semester, along with one contemporary marketing book (a popular press book), that in one way or another are designed to help students see what ‘customer focus’ can look like.

Customer Needs Vs Short-term Profits

The American business system rewards short-term profits and that’s what American businesses have been focused on for a long time (of course not EVERY single business, but the majority – especially publicly traded firms). Until the business system changes, short-term profits will be the focus. My course, in a small, microcosm way, is designed to help students be part of the system change –a lofty goal indeed, but that’s what we academicians do!

My hope is that in recent years (the last three to five) the opposite has occurred (at the very least, it should have). Businesses (and societies/economies) have lived through what an overwhelmingly ‘short-term profit’ focus can do – and it wasn’t pretty. As I argue to my students; “if not now, when?”. The marketplace realities we’ve seen over the past 10 to 12 years (bank failures, governmental bailouts, organisational greed) lead me to hope that now is the time for change. Now, is that really happening? Are today’s businesses placing customer needs at the forefront? In other words, did we (businesses) learn something from past mistakes? The power of Wall-Street and the corporate world’s emphasis on short-term (quarterly) earnings makes such a change difficult (see The Earnings Game, HBR, Collingwood and Harris). In the end, I would like to believe that the economic difficulties we’ve experienced over the past decade have helped business practitioners see the need for customer focus rather than spur them to focus even more on short-term profits. Of course, inherent in this is the notion that when businesses fall on hard times (which, of course, they have in recent years), some resort to shifting primary attention to managing their financials. An unfortunate truism is that when businesses are about to go under, the reality is they need to focus on making money to meet financial needs (payroll, vendor bills, etc.), and that can mean putting customers on the back seat.

A very interesting article was published in 2010 called ‘The Age of Customer Capitalism’ (HBR, Martin). In part, it argues that the time has come and passed for shareholder capitalism, and that our business model needs to evolve beyond maximising shareholder value to maximising customer value – something we’ve been learning about for years in the strategic marketing course.

CLL: The majority, if not all, of the online MBA students are professionals who work full-time. A common challenge is the ability to find a balance between work, family, and school. Self-discipline is vital to a student’s success in achieving their educational goals, and taking courses online requires significant discipline from the students as there are no weekly face-to-face interactions.

DT: I often have questions about postponing a scheduled course due to a life event, such as a wedding, birth of a child, or work-related travel. The beauty of having a variety of delivery methods is that it provides my advisees with options in these cases.

Biographies

Ø Dr Chi-Lo Lim is Associate Professor and MBA Coordinator, Department of Business, Northwest Missouri State University.

Ø Dr Deborah Toomey is Assistant Professor of Marketing, Department of Business, Northwest Missouri State University.

Although there are many technologies that allow for online students to be more connected, the two methods are definitely different.

Dr James Walker is Associate Professor, Business Department, Northwest Missouri State University.

Dr. Walker

Dr. Chi-Lo Lim

Learning How to Manage Stress

Stress is a growing problem in the UK, with more and more working professionals forced to take extended sick leave in order to recover from the pressures of everyday life. In fact, according to UK government statistics, there were a staggering 428,000 cases of stress in 2011/12 alone, making up 40 per cent of all work-related illnesses.

Did you know?

The annual cost of sickness absence in the UK is £17 billion.

Among students, stress is also a major issue, particularly around May and June, when the pressure of exams and essays and dissertation deadlines reaches a peak leaving many students frazzled from all-nighters and long days in the library.

Stress can come from any number of sources, whether it’s financial pressure, study, a hectic family life or simply a bad day at the office, but our bodies have failed to adapt to 21st century life resorting to the exact same centuries-old response: fight or flight.

The stress response

Our liver controls the release of cortisol, which is emitted to combat stressful situations by accessing energy from the body’s reserves and stimulating the brain by providing it with extra glucose. If you suffer from chronic stress, however, the liver becomes unable to monitor its cortisol output, resulting in an excess of the hormone. Unfortunately, surplus cortisol can lead to weight gain, especially around the abdominal area. Researchers have highlighted three ways in which this occurs:

1. Cortisol will slow your metabolism down, meaning energy will be burned at a decreased rate.

2. It causes increased cravings of the unhealthy variety; muffins, chocolate, coffee – all of which are high on the Glycemic Index and will trigger the secretion of excess insulin (which will be stored as fat).

3. The excess cortisol gradually creates fat stores around the abdominal area, which has been linked to a greater risk of heart disease and other conditions.

Cardiovascular exercise for around 30 minutes a day is a must for anyone experiencing high levels of stress.

Dealing with stress

There are a number of healthy ways to help combat stress and reduce your cortisol levels, including:

1. Exercise

Cardiovascular exercise for around 30 minutes a day is a must for anyone experiencing high levels of stress. Exercise is thought to increase the levels of serotonin in the brain, resulting in an ‘elevated mood’. Try visiting your local gym for half an hour before or after work, where you can swim, jog or box your way to less stress and a healthier body.

2. Meditation or yoga

Another effective way to lower stress is to take time out to empty your mind of all of life’s distractions. Try sitting comfortably in a quiet space by yourself and begin breathing deeply. Focus completely on your breathing and try to empty your mind of any other thoughts. If you like to keep active, book yourself in for a yoga class, which combines the calming atmosphere of meditation with an effective strength building workout.

3.Sleeping routine

Your body craves a regular sleep routine, and sleep deprivation can increase your susceptibility to stress, as well as contributing to a number of other health problems. Make your bedroom a sanctuary of relaxation (avoid working in it if you can) and avoid watching TV for at least 30 minutes before sleeping, as this stimulates your brain and keeps you awake. Try to get into a regular sleeping pattern, going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time every day.

4. Green tea

Green tea is a naturally rich source of antioxidants, and a number of experts believe it can offer anxiety relief by providing your body with the amino acid L-theanine, which is known for calming the brain and enhancing concentration.

Biography

Ø LA Fitness is one of the leading health and fitness operators in the U.K. with over 80 clubs across the U.K. and Ireland. In 2011 they were voted the ‘U.K.’s No.1 Health and Fitness brand’ by the Fitness Industry Association.

How stress can effect organisations

 Physical inactivity is a primary contributor to a broad range of chronic diseases including stroke, diabetes, heart disease and even some cancers. A 30 minute workout from as little as twice a week has significant health benefits, resulting in less absenteeism at work and savings to your payroll budget.

DepartmentofHealth,PhysicalActivity, HealthImprovementandPrevention

 Many employees don’t take sick leave but continue working at lower productivity levels. Presenteeism compromises quality of output and attention to safety – 38 per cent of employers report that this is a significant problem in their organisations. Healthy Work: evidence in Action 2010

 Research shows that by exercising more, employees take less sick days and return to work from illness sooner. Confederation of British Industry. On the path to recovery: Absence and workplace health survey 2010

 The financial benefit of having a healthy workforce is that healthier employees are absent less. Healthy employees have a stronger resistance to stress/emotional health concerns. This is significant, because stress is the second biggest cause of short-term absence in workers and the number one cause of long-term absence.

Did you know?

The average level of absence per employee per year is 7.4 days in the UK, costing an average of £692 per employee, per year.

Certain foods are beneficial to brain power, boosting shortterm memory and providing lots of energy to help students stay switched on.

Brain-boosting recipes

Exams are a stressful business, and the pressure to knuckle down and study may outweigh other priorities, such as eating well and exercising. Certain foods are beneficial to brainpower, boosting short-term memory and providing lots of energy to help students stay switched on and able to concentrate throughout the day. We’ve put together a quick guide of brain-boosting super-foods to help you eat well through exam time – and beyond.

Greens

Dark, leafy greens are packed full of vitamin A, which is essential for boosting your immune system as well as being high in vitamin K (an antioxidant), which is important for maintaining the white matter in our brains – the part responsible for quick processing of brain signals.

Eat: spinach, broccoli, kale, savoy cabbage and rocket.

Recipe: Eat-your-greens smoothie

 Half a cup of packed spinach

 Half a cup of packed kale

 A banana, chopped

 One cup of blueberries

 Half a cup of strawberries

 Half a cup of apple juice

It may sound bizarre to add spinach or kale to a smoothie, but don’t worry – the flavour is incredibly mild (you’ll barely taste it) and the greens provide a creamy texture. Blend everything until smooth and enjoy cold. Frozen berries will give this ultra-healthy, brainboosting smoothie a more indulgent sorbet texture – great for hot days. Pour into ice-lolly moulds for a sweet treat without the calories.

Oily fish

Omega-3 is brilliant for aiding memory. Oily fish, like sardines and kippers, are packed with naturally occurring omega-3 and are therefore the ideal brain food for busy professionals. Aim to eat a meal containing oily fish at least once a week. Eat: herring, kippers, mackerel, pilchards, salmon, sardines, trout, or tuna. Vegetarians can swap oily fish for pumpkin seeds, walnuts or soya beans.

Recipe: Open sushi salad

This is a filling lunch or light dinner and can be adjusted depending on which vegetables are in season.

Ingredients:

 Handful of shredded lettuce

 Half a cup of cooked and seasoned sushi rice

 A portion of your favourite oily fish –tuna or salmon work best – or a third of a cup of soya (edamame) beans

 Quarter avocado, sliced

 A spring onion, sliced

 A quarter of a cup of sweetcorn

 Half a red pepper, sliced

 A sheet of nori seaweed, shredded

 Sesame seeds

Layer the lettuce in the bottom of a bowl and top with the rice and the fish (or beans). Surround with the raw veg, then garnish with shredded seaweed and sesame seeds. Eat with a little wasabi and a splash of soy sauce.

Wholegrains

Energy-boosting whole grains are essential for slowrelease energy throughout the day. Whether you’re hitting the library, the gym or the boardroom, energy levels can be lacking during exam time. Opt for whole grains with a low GI (Glycemic Index) to enjoy the benefits of slow-release energy. These types of grains are also a great source of Vitamin B6, and B vitamins are thought to be good for improving memory.

brown rice, whole wheat pasta, brown quinoa, bran flakes and brown bread.

LEARNING GETS

Please can you provide our readers with an overview of your MBA value proposition?

The University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNC Pembroke) MBA is designed for both full-time and part-time students with undergraduate degrees in any academic field. For non-business graduates, we offer

foundation courses to prepare them for the MBA programme. Our classes are available online and in a traditional classroom setting. Both options offer small classes taught by full-time UNC Pembroke professors with a doctorate degree. Our campus is located in Pembroke, North Carolina, and we also offer the MBA programme in Pinehurst, NC, a favourite golf destination and the home of the 2014 men’s and women’s US Open. We are one of the most affordable programmes for North Carolina residents, and are reasonably priced for non-residents. Finally, we are among the six per cent of business schools worldwide who are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business –AACSB International.

We are a great value investment for the MBA participants.

A key part of your offering is the provision of a ‘personal learning environment’. How do you ensure that you are meeting the many needs of your students?

What we mean by a ‘personal learning environment’ is that our classes are small and always taught by full-time faculty members without assistance from graduate students. Hence, our faculty actually get to know the students and tailor the class activities to their needs. We have assembled an international team of MBA faculty members, all with terminal doctorate degrees in their fields of specialisation. They are very active in scholarship and always up-to-date on the latest theoretical and practical issues related to the subject matters that they teach.

The most important reason they are at UNC Pembroke, however, is that they love to teach, so we always say: ‘learning gets personal at UNC Pembroke’.

You also offer your MBA programme in an online format. What steps have you taken to ensure that this option offers the same high levels of quality, support and learning experience as your on-campus programme? We do offer classes online to meet the needs of busy students who cannot always attend classes on campus. Online teaching is evolving rapidly and we are investing heavily in training, course design and support for our faculty in order to provide the student with the highest possible educational value.

MBA faculty members have been trained based on the principles of Quality Matters (QM)—the national benchmark for online course design. Many of them have completed the advanced QM Peer Reviewer Course, and are certified to evaluate the design of online classes at other institutions for consistency and compliance with the QM Rubric –and they are often invited to do so.

Additionally, all faculty members teaching MBA classes attend pedagogical regional and national conferences, as well as regular in-house workshops to ensure they are always up-to-date on the latest methods of online teaching and learning.

UNC Pembroke also benefits from the resources of the University of North Carolina System, such as the online proctoring network, to assure the students in our online classes receive the highest standards in terms of course design and delivery.

At UNC Pembroke you place emphasis and value on internationalisation.

Why do you feel that internationalisation is such an important component in modern MBA programmes?

MBA stands for Master of Business Administration, and today every business in every country is affected by global events. It is a global world and business education needs

Alexandra Skinner speaks to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke’s Ramin Maysami

to be global in its focus as well. Understanding the demands placed upon the international manager and the opportunities presented around the world are no longer optional. It is a requirement for business success.

How do you bring the concept of internationalisation into the classroom and your pedagogical approach?

We incorporate international content in every one of our classes. The MBA faculty are truly international, both in terms of heritage and expertise. We have faculty members with origins in Canada, China, Iran, Lebanon, Pakistan, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States. Many of our faculty have worked overseas, and the majority of them are well travelled. Each brings an interesting perspective to our global classroom International students also provide firsthand accounts of culture in other countries, which inevitably affects the way businesses operate in those countries.

Do you offer a study abroad option as part of your MBA programme?

International study abroad can be accomplished in a variety of ways. Our students can transfer up to six credits from an accredited institution from another country or within the USA. Additionally, they can participate in a customised international study aboard programme, which they plan and design with assistance from their academic advisor and the school’s director of international affairs.

The quality of a business school’s faculty, both from an academic and business experience perspective, is an important consideration for students. With this in mind, please can you tell us more about the UNC Pembroke MBA faculty?

We have assembled an international team of MBA faculty members, all with terminal doctorate degrees in their fields of specialisation.

Our MBA faculty come from a variety of backgrounds. As an AACSB-accredited school of business, we employ only our most scholarly elite faculty members in the MBA programme. They need to have achieved academically qualified status at the graduate teaching level through more demanding research and scholarship requirements. Many of these faculty members have had business careers before becoming university professors.

Within our school of business, we also have many professionally qualified faculty members who are called upon to guest lecture and work with the MBA students in various capacities. We also involve people from the business community and engage our students in internships and project work with local businesses.

UNC Pembroke and the Business Market

There is an expectation from the market that business schools should be creating responsible leaders. How much emphasis do you place on this in you MBA programme, and on dynamics such as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development?

We take CSR seriously and imbed it in many of our courses. We also teach courses in law and ethics and a recently developed stand-alone course on corporate social responsibility. Additionally, we have several courses designated as ‘service learning’ through a carefully-evaluated process. These courses have CSR at the heart of them.

In your opinion, what are the three most important skills the market requires from business leaders?

Leadership requires many skills. The ability to plan, quality control, and organisation are among the most important.

To what extent do you liaise with local and national businesses in order to understand the ROI expectations of employers, and how much influence do these businesses have on the structure of your MBA offering?

The dean’s board of business advisors consists of top business people from the local area, across the state and around the globe. They provide advice to me as dean, and to other leaders within the school of business, on a wide range of topics, including the expectations of the business community.

UNC Pembroke and the Future

What exciting programme innovations can we expect from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke over the next 12 to 18 months?

Over the next 12 to 18 months we plan to expand our online offering to allow students anywhere in the world to complete the UNC Pembroke MBA. This is our highest priority. This effort will be accompanied by redesigning and refreshing the MBA curriculum to address the most current needs of global business and the most important challenges facing business leaders.

Additionally, we will identify niche opportunities for our programme where we can offer students education in specialty areas not normally covered by a general MBA programme.

Biography

Ø Dr Ramin Cooper Maysami is Dean of the School of Business, University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Understanding the demands placed upon the international manager and the opportunities presented around the world are no longer optional.

Starting your Career Search: A Guide for Graduates

Congratulations on having made it through three years of lectures, exams, parties and hangovers. Now the real fun begins in finding the right career.

Kat Excell

As a recent graduate, you will no doubt find many recruiters advertising positions on behalf of their clients; a recruiter will act as an intermediary between you, the graduate, and their client, the business you are interviewing with.

The benefits of using the services of a specialist graduate recruitment agency are threefold. First, most reputable agencies have excellent networks and longstanding relationships with prospective employers, so are extremely well-placed to secure an interview for their candidates. When I meet exceptional candidates, I am able to line up a number of meetings on their behalf quite swiftly as a result of the strong relationships I have built with hiring managers and HR directors. In contrast, when sending an application through an online portal or website, your CV can remain in a company’s ‘recruitment’ inbox for days and sometimes weeks while your application is sifted alongside hundreds of others.

The second advantage is that a good recruiter knows their clients’ businesses in great depth and, therefore, can offer you insight into the company and your interviewer ahead of any meetings; this will give you a head start over other candidates who are less familiar with the history of the organisation, the background of the interviewer, exactly what the role entails, the prospects for progression and the company’s plans for expansion. I prep my candidates before each and every interview, giving them an extra level of detail so they feel confident in being able to make a positive first impression and build rapport easily.

Finally, your recruiter will be able to obtain valuable and honest feedback following interviews. Most feedback given as a result of direct submissions tends to be fairly generic and somewhat vague. Your representative will be able to let you know what your interviewer liked about you, where you might need to improve or why you ultimately weren’t offered the job.

It is important to do your background research when selecting an agency to represent you during your career search. You will usually be able to establish what sort of roles and industries each agency specialise in by visiting the company website, however, if you are unsure or want further clarification I would recommend giving them a call to have an initial chat about what you are looking for from your career. Every recruiter will have a LinkedIn profile. You can connect with your recruiter and take a look at recommendations from previous candidates and their clients. If you haven’t already set up your own LinkedIn profile – DO IT NOW. For useful tips, please visit – http:// www.wikihow.com/Create-an-Account-on-LinkedIn.

The best time to approach an agency to make initial introductions is immediately after completing your final exams/coursework. I always suggest sending a CV via email and following up with a call to ensure it has been received and given due attention.

A good recruiter knows their clients’ businesses in great depth and, therefore, can offer you insight into the company and your interviewer ahead of any meetings.

Please spend time on your CV; this is the first impression a recruiter and potential employer will have of you. In my experience CVs which include a personal statement or a paragraph detailing career objectives, specifically tailored for a particular industry sector, tend to get better recognition than those without. This is a two-way process – recruiters will choose to represent the best candidates, so you need to ensure it’s as well-constructed as possible (and ideally two pages long). For assistance, please visit – https://nationalcareersservice.direct. gov.uk/advice/getajob/cvs/Pages/default.aspx

Most agencies, alongside direct employers, will become inundated with responses to the adverts they have posted and it’s worth being aware that not every agency will have time to respond to each applicant individually. If you haven’t been contacted within a week of submitting your CV (and are still firmly focussed on pursuing the role you applied for) then I would encourage you to ring the recruiter and ask them to look into your application, let them know you are very serious about your career search and find out whether you can improve on your submission in any way. If I come across a graduate’s CV which I feel is relevant but perhaps poorly formatted then I will always make that individual aware; unfortunately, I can’t speak on behalf of all agencies.

Application and Interview DOs and DON’Ts DO:

✔ Give examples to back up the skills you have acquired throughout various jobs/internships during your interviews.

✔ Tailor your CV/personal statement to the job you are applying for.

✔ Change your Facebook security settings. You don’t want your potential employer coming across compromising photos.

DON’T:

✘ Lie in your application or interview. The truth has a habit of revealing itself. It’s important to be honest and upfront.

✘ Rely purely on your recruiter’s interview advice – your own research is equally as vital.

✘ Turn up late or scruffy to any interview. First impressions count!

Biography

Ø Kat Excell is Head of Graduate Sales, Holland & Tisdall Ltd. Kat specialises in placing graduates and second jobbers into a variety of sectors within the sales market including FX, IT, Property, Recruitment and Media/Advertising. www.HollandandTisdall.com

The best time to approach an agency to make initial introductions is immediately after completing your final exams/coursework.

Innovation Myths

The notion that innovation starts with a sudden flash of insight, an electric light bulb or Archimedes in the bathtub moment, is far from accurate. Innovation takes time and effort. It's less an idea and more a process. Here are the four big myths which, more often than not, act as barriers to innovation and the development of new concepts and designs.

Myth 1: It’s about a BIG idea

Perhaps the most widespread misconception is that innovation comes from one big, brilliant idea. The odds are that you’re more likely to be struck down by lightning while waiting. Finding an idea is like hunting for buried treasure in a desert. You can wander around hoping to stumble on the treasure or start digging in one spot and trust you’ll get lucky. A more systematic approach is to dig many holes – in other words to come up with lots of quick, short, descriptions of ideas and work from there.

If you look deeper into the creative process of people or industries that make their mark, there is rarely one defining moment. In the pharmaceutical industry for example, people don’t say “Let me come up with the smartest idea for the newest drug”, they come up with hundreds of thousands of compounds and what follows is a systematic iterative process to finally get to a drug that works.

An example of a business that has done very well is Pixar, the computer animation film company responsible for many innovative and

financially successful movies. If you look at their creative process, it’s not one person that comes in and pitches a film. There will be dozens of people pitching hundreds of ideas about cars, birds, superheroes. They will select a number of ideas and work on them, developing characters, expanding on the subject before moving onto a plot. The whole process can take three to five years to become a feature film.

Companies and individuals thinking about innovation need to encourage a pool of ideas and adopt a systematic selection and refinement process; a funnel approach converging the multitude of ideas down to a handful of projects that can be pushed to rapid completion.

The challenge in this approach is to broaden the mouth of the funnel, expanding access to new ideas and information, and to narrow the neck through stringent screening processes so limited resources can be spent on selected projects with the highest expected result.

Myth 2: Innovation is about new products or technology

It can be, but innovation can also be focused on improving processes and systems within the company. Business model innovation looks at disrupting the way things are done and bringing in new approaches that contribute to a business’s success.

There’s no argument that Henry Ford made an impact on the car industry, but he didn’t really come up with any new technology. What he developed was a new way of making cars – the assembly line or standardised business model which revolutionised the car industry. Similarly Toyota became famous for introducing the ground-breaking “just-in-time” production approach completely changing management philosophy and practices.

Sitting under an apple tree may have played a part in Isaac Newton’s law of universal gravitation, but it takes more than an epiphany to innovate.

The bottom line is, innovation takes more than brilliance. It takes courage, it takes time, it takes tenacity and, first and foremost, it takes action.

Karan Girotra

And then there’s Dell Inc. The multinational computer technology firm’s success didn’t come from inventing better computers but from the introduction of a new model of online selling and its “build–to-order” model of manufacturing.

Business model innovation entails relatively lower degrees of difficulty and uncertainty than traditional forms of product innovation and demands neither a new breakthrough technology nor the creation of a new brand market. It delivers existing products based on existing technologies to existing markets. As such, it’s inherently less risky than product innovation and can be introduced in both small and large companies and in sectors where other types of innovation often fail. It often involves changes that are invisible to the outside world, bringing advantages that are harder to copy and easier to sustain.

Myth 3: A good idea is instantly recognisable

It isn’t. If you look at data measuring the predictability of a successful idea, it’s surprisingly low, even amongst people who know the industry well.

Nobody knows how the market will respond to a new product or system. It’s a matter of looking at and testing all the ideas, developing those that look the most promising and slowly weeding out those that don’t. As part of the funnel mechanism mentioned earlier, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of concepts are put through hurdles. Does the idea make sense? Is it financially feasible? Assumptions must be tested and ideas taken through market studies and competitive analysis. Along the way ideas are best judged by a diverse group of targets.

Myth 4: Get funding ASAP

Once an idea’s been identified the next step is finding the big money to develop it. The conventional approach if you have a big idea is to go ‘all in’. This may be the case if you’re pressed for time but, chances are, if you take this path you will lose a lot of money along the way.

Going big makes sense if you know a good idea from a bad one but, as noted, a lot of testing needs to be done before this can be assured. Low cost processes have the ability to change and refine ideas through every step of the funnel process, weeding out ideas that don’t work so resources can be focused on the most attractive opportunities. This process is known as “pivoting” and implies the need to stay flexible and let the business model evolve.

There’s a lot of quick, cheap testing that can be done to gather information about what will work and what won’t. A new product to come out of one of the Identifying New Business Models MBA module at INSEAD was Knixwear – sweat resistant, absorbent and odour reducing underwear for women, which shows how fundamental and low-cost testing can be. Variants of the idea were explored using data about women post-pregnancy, and by surveying the student population. The product was tested on campus using simple simulations such as moistening the prototype and asking students to wear it and judge its comfort level. Another involved getting people to hold the test fabric on their hand and test how dry it felt and for how long.

The product was later launched through the crowd-funding platform Indiegogo, raising $60,450, more than one and a half times the target.

The bottom line is, innovation takes more than brilliance. It takes courage, it takes time, it takes tenacity and, first and foremost, it takes action. Courtesy of INSEAD Knowledge.

Biography

Ø Karan Girotra is an Assistant Professor of Technology and Operations Management at INSEAD. He teaches the Identifying New Business Models module, part of INSEAD’s MBA programme, and the EMBA module called Key Management Challenges where classes engage in experimental workshops combining approaches to entrepreneurship and innovation.

List of Contributors

American University of Beirut Australian Institute of Business

C

Chicago: Booth Columbia Business School

E Emad Rahim

H

Holland & Tisdall Ltd I

INSEAD Knowledge

J

Julian Birkinshaw

K

Kent State University

L LA Fitness Luke Carrière

N

Northwest Missouri State University

P

Paris School of Business

R

Richard Baister S

Sascha Liebhardt SBS Swiss Business School

University of North Carolina at Pembroke