the
BIZ Lord Ashcroft International Business School Magazine | issue 16
Tricia Pirali, Vice President of Finance & Governance and Nigel Fulchan, Director, Chief Academic Officer of the School of Accounting and Management (SAM), with the Graduation Team
2013 in review at SAM | page 3 www.anglia.ac.uk/laibs
Dean’s welcome
Contents
Welcome to the 16th issue of our staff and student magazine. You will find in this edition both interesting and inspirational stories of our staff and students, as well as news of our partner institutions which I hope you enjoy reading. I was particularly delighted to learn that our enterprise centre, CEDAR, have become the first university enterprise centre in England to be awarded the prestigious IOEE status – see article on page 8.
NEWS
At the beginning of this Semester, we were delighted to welcome a new group of students to the Business School and hope that you by now have settled in and enjoying being part of our community. There are two stories here from our graduates that I think current students will find particularly encouraging, as well as inspirational and demonstrate the positive impact of higher education on the individual and their careers. I hope that you will take advantage of the numerous opportunities available to you during your time here; these include, guest lectures, trips to businesses, business competitions, student mentoring, study abroad, work-experience and internship opportunities. As we approach the end of 2013 I would like to thank all colleagues for their support and commitment to the Business School and to me personally during the past year. We have a top quality teaching faculty as well as internationally recognised researchers who work hard to continue to build the reputation of our Business School, and the University. I look forward to working with you in 2014 in what I trust will be another exciting fulfilling year. I would like to wish all our students and colleagues a very Happy Christmas and New Year. I look forward to seeing you in the New Year. With all best wishes, Dr Trevor Bolton Pro Vice Chancellor and Dean, Lord Ashcroft International Business School
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2013 in review at SAM
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ARU gifts to Kenya
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Enterprising education in Romania – The Antreman Project
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First Graduation Ceremony for ABM Botswana
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CEDAR Enterprise Fellowship Scheme 2013
STUDENT NEWS 6
HRM student thrown in at the deep end during Camp America placement
11 Student business networking initiative set to expand
SUCCESS STORIES 5
ARU have their first Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
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Hat trick award for Barclays’ work-based degree
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CEDAR win the first IORR Centre of Excellence Award
EVENTS 9
Quid Pro Quo 3013: another year, another success
10 ‘Meet Brand Leaders’ event Cambridge
RESEARCH
Editorial Welcome to Issue 16 of ‘The Biz’, Lord the Ashcroft International Business School’s staff and student magazine aimed at keeping you abreast of developments and opportunities in our Faculty. We hope you enjoy reading it. The magazine is produced four times a year and distributed via issuu.com. Alternatively you can access copies of this and previous issues on the News and Events page of our website: www.anglia. ac.uk/laibs Contact us: Thank you to those of you who have submitted articles for this issue, please keep the good news stories coming. If you would like to offer us your news or ideas to us please contact christine.durrant@anglia.ac.uk. We look forward to hearing from you. Topics of interest could include those related to: o Good news stories o Personal and academic achievements o Events o Research o International visits o Diary dates, etc. …… or anything else you think may be of interest to your fellow students and/or colleagues. We would also welcome your feedback on the magazine, particularly on ways of improving it.
12 Lecturer interviewed on global leadership study for ‘Ideas for Leaders’ online magazine 12 Researcher X-change 2nd Programme 13 PhD student invited to present at Dubai HR conference 14 Paper presented at the annual conference of the America Accounting Association 15 How do mega-events and local festivals impact on local businesses? – University of Cambridge, Festival of Ideas Talk
ALUMNI 14 Graduate puts learning into practice in business adviser role 16 SAM Caribbean MBA graduate shares her inspirational story
INNOVATION 16 Lord Ashcroft International Business School is to lead EU Project on Healthy Ageing
NEWS
2013 in review at SAM The School of Accounting and Management also known as SAM Caribbean Limited or just simply SAM, Anglia Ruskin University’s Caribbean associate, has had a dynamic year and is looking forward to an even more remarkable year ahead.
SAM has undertaken the DBA programme via ARU and has just admitted its second cohort of the programme. The first intake of this programme was in 2010 and focused on staff development with a cohort of just seven lecturers and staff members of the institution. The aim of the programme was to develop reflective knowledge that bridges the gap between professional practitioners and academia. In this its second intake of the DBA programme, SAM has since opened the course to their former graduates and some members of the wider community. The second intake of the programme kicked off in November of 2013 with a cohort of fourteen students. The two day workshop was facilitated by Dr Rob Willis and consisted of requirements for year 1, structure of the DBA programme, developing thesis title, ethics training and several other pertinent topics.
SAM recently had its September intake for both undergraduate and postgraduate business programmes. There was quite a substantial amount of bachelor students and a large Master’s class. Orientation went smoothly and there were two induction week concerts featuring Trinidadian band 5 miles to midnight, artistes Mark Hardy and Young Rudd. Many companies were also onboard for the event, offering their products, services and prizes to both new and continuing students.
We will have to wait to see what new and great things come out of SAM in 2014 as the school will be celebrating its 30th year of existence. Many plans are in the works for commemorating this auspicious occasion like The 2nd Conference of the Institute of International Management Practice (IIMP): Caribbean in collaboration with ARU, the unveiling of a new postgraduate facility, improved student support and activities, and continued professional development for its alumni.
SAM held its annual graduation ceremony in October 2013 where students from the business bachelor degree programmes graduated and the Master of Business Administration students celebrated the successful completion of their studies at graduation. These graduates lent to SAM’s achievement of a milestone of over 700 MBA graduates since the school started offering the programme in 2009. It was by no coincidence that the feature speaker for the evening was Professor Michael Thorne, Vice Chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University. Professor Thorne was warmly welcomed as he forms quite an essential part of the relationship between the two institutions and is even fondly referred to as an honorary Trinidadian. Professor Thorne went on to motivate students, bringing good news from Anglia Ruskin University, as he understands the local culture he cleverly delivered inspirational dialogue with his Caribbean sense of humour.
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NEWS
Rev Tony Cant giving a laptop to Namuncha Primary School Headmaster, Charles Gikonyo.
ARU Gifts to Kenya Early in September, a combined group of academics and ICE team went to Kenya with a multi-faceted agenda, flowing from a simple concept of growing relationships. The relationships were with the Presbyterian University of East Africa (PUEA) based in Kikuyu, and the Namuncha Primary School in the Rift Valley. The ARU team was a mixture from the Lord Ashcroft International Business School (LAIBS), the Faculty of Health, Social Care, and Education (FHSCE), the Childhood and Youth Research Institute (CYRI), and the International Community Experience (ICE).
Tony Stringer (LAIBS) presenting books to PUEA’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Paul Mungai Mbugua, with Dr Darren Sharpe (CYRI – 2nd from right), and Anna Egan (LAIBS – far right) looking on.
The team was hosted by PUEA at their main campus in Kikuyu where they met with the Senate on two occasions to talk about the possibilities of developing a partnership, and where the gifts of some business textbooks were given to the PUEA library.
Both the school and the university were overjoyed by the gifts we were able to give, and are very much looking forward to developing our relationships further. For more information, please contact the Chaplain, Rev Tony Cant on tony.cant@anglia.ac.uk
The team also visited the Namuncha Primary School with a view to agreeing a workplan that the ICE team would achieve when they visit the school in January. Our 16 strong team will do a mixture of painting and decorating, concreting, repairing and building new desks, teaching students, and working in the school vegetable garden. We were also very pleased to give five laptop computers to the school, given by our University’s IT department.
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NEWS Enterprising education in Romania – The Antreman Project In 2010 Anglia Ruskin University, through the Centre for Enterprise Development and Research (CEDAR) entered into a 3-year partnership with the National Council of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Romania (CNIPMMR) and the Romanian Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. The aim of the project was to establish a new School for Entrepreneurship and Management at the Academy of Economic Studies through the development of a new Masters programme leading to the creation of 123 new start-up businesses. Funded by the Romanian Government through the European Social Fund (ESF), the contract was worth €930,000 to CEDAR.
as ‘a truly fantastic achievement’ by Professor Lester LloydReason, Director of CEDAR, who went on to say, “This project has made a tangible difference not only to the students within the ANTREMAN School, but also the lecturers involved in delivery. It has succeeded in embedding entrepreneurs into an academic programme in Romania for the first time, where the ANTREMAN School sets the standard through embracing alternative ways of delivering entrepreneurship courses.” Our Romanian partners used The Big Pitch to help the ANTREMAN School students start their businesses. In September 2013, at the final of a very successful Romania Big Pitch competition, with Prof. Lester Lloyd-Reason on the judging panel, three excellent business ideas and students were awarded with their prizes – http://www.thebigpitch.ro/
Titled ‘ANTREMAN’, the project used the BA (Hons) Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Management delivered by CEDAR through a mix of leading academics and CEDAR’s Entrepreneur in Residence network as an example of best practice to develop and deliver a new Masters in Entrepreneurial and Management Studies. The first year of the project was used to develop the new course and over 200 students were enrolled onto the Masters programme for delivery over 3 trimesters from October 2011 to February 2013. The main objective of the project was to help as many of the students as possible to start their own sustainable business during 2013. The final number of businesses created by the ANTREMAN School exceeded the project target, with the final number reaching 137, described
The final ANTREMAN Conference took place during September 2013 in Bucharest. Project partners, academics and students all addressed the conference to praise the three year initiative and the impact it has had on the students and staff within Romania. One student commented, ‘This course has changed my life.” At the conclusion of the event, Professor Lester Lloyd-Reason and Professor Ovidiu Nicolescu awarded the certificates to the first cohort of graduates from the ANTREMAN School, bringing this remarkable project to a highly pleasurable conclusion.
Prof Lester Lloyd-Reason at the Antreman Final Conference
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NEWS
Prof Lesley Dobree third from the left, centre Dr Rob Gowers and far right Tony Stringer with the students who won the awards for best performance on each pathway.
First Graduation Ceremony for ABM Botswana On Saturday 2nd November Anglia Ruskin University held it’s first ever graduation ceremony in Botswana. It was a very colourful event with over 100 proud ARU students graduating. It was in June 2010 that the top up degree programme was approved to be delivered by ABM on the Gaborone campus. This top up degree programme enables students from Botswana and other surrounding countries in Southern Africa to study for one year to achieve a BA or BSc (Hons) in Business Management, Tourism Management, HRM, Marketing and Accounting and Finance.
ABM University College has a mission to be a centre of leadership, entrepreneurship and innovation making it a good partnership match for us. Professor Lesley Dobree, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) was a guest of honour at the event. She gave a speech recognising the importance of the relationship between the two institutions and the significance of the event. The Business School was also represented by Tony Stringer and Dr Rob Gowers.
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NEWS CEDAR Enterprise Fellowship Scheme 2013 Another year brings us another opportunity to run our fantastic Enterprise Fellowship Scheme. The Centre for Enterprise Development and Research (CEDAR), has received a £35,000 donation to invest in local entrepreneurs. When the 2013 Scheme is over we will have distributed over £100,000 to local business people over the three years the Scheme has been running. In this way CEDAR continues to support enterprise within the university and in the region by linking entrepreneurial expertise and new innovative ideas.
The judging panel was made up of Anglia Ruskin University professors and some of CEDAR’s own ‘entrepreneurs in residence’ including: Professor Lester Lloyd-Reason and Lianne Miller, Director and Deputy Director of CEDAR; Peter Taylor, (CEO of The Technology Partnership) Professor Roger Jeynes; Natalie Haywood (Founder Leaf Tea Shop and Bars); Walter Herriot OBE. Professor Lester Lloyd-Reason explains the remaining process,
Walter Herriot (Chair of the Judging Panel) commented, “The competition has gone from strength to strength with this year’s 28 applicants being some of the strongest we have seen.” Thirteen of the initial applicants were moved into Phase 2 where they were invited to visit the university on 17th/18th September to pitch to a panel of judges. Of these, eight have been selected to receive mentoring support on areas such as marketing, finance and business planning as well as receiving advice on how to progress their idea and hone their pitch in time for the final phase of the Scheme on 12 December 2013 which will involve pitching for a share of the funding available.
“The eight successful phase 2 applicants will receive mentoring tailored to their specific needs to develop their idea further for phase 3 when they will be invited back to formally pitch for a share of the funding available to the judging panel on 12 December 2013.” We wish all of our finalists good luck for Phase 3. Check our website – www.anglia.ac.uk/brightidea or contact Dale Coss (dale.coss@anglia.ac.uk). Competition ends on 12th December 2013.
With a prize fund of £35,000 up for grabs and the excellent quality of the business ideas, our panel of esteemed judges had some difficult decisions to make.
SUCCESS STORIES ARU have their first Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy We are delighted that we (ARU) now have our first Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA); Dr Sally Everett, Lord Ashcroft International Business School’s Deputy Dean (Quality and Student Experience). This award is in recognition of Sally’s contribution to the HEA national framework (UKPSF) and her championing of excellence in teaching, learning and assessment through strategic leadership and management. The award is also significant in terms of leading positive change within the Business School in order to improve the quality of our teaching, and for enhancing the student experience. The Higher Education Academy champions excellent learning and teaching in higher education and are a
national and independent organisation, funded by the four UK HE funding bodies and by subscriptions and grants. As a Principal Fellow, Sally will have the opportunity to: • Think deeply about and thereby enhance the quality and effectiveness of her strategic work in the area of teaching and supporting learning in HE; • Model good practice for other staff and be better able to encourage and support them to seek recognition for their own good work in this area; • Increase her influence and impact by gaining national recognition for our sustained and strategic contribution to teaching and the support of learning within the HE context.
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We would like to offer our congratulations to Sally on this terrific achievement.
STUDENT NEWS HRM student thrown in at the deep end during Camp America placement When I started my 2nd year of University, I knew I needed to find a work experience placement for the summer, if I wanted to stand out when it came to applying for graduate schemes and finding employment after I graduate. I was recommended to try applying for a work placement through “Camp America”.
much responsibility I was given and I was determined to do a great job! The funniest memory would have to be the American camp tradition of “colour wars”, we were split into colour teams and literally had to paint ourselves in that colour!
Camp America is a company which sponsors your Visa to work in the USA and allows Camp Directors from various camps across the USA to view your profile online and offer you a job position for the summer. There are various roles available, from working with the kids, working in the kitchens, maintenance or office positions.
It really was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Not only did I gain first-hand experience on how to run an office, I also was able to spend my summer with the amazing staff there and the children who came to the camp. I was able to work in America, gain managerial experience and devote my time to really helping make a difference and on the weekends I was able to travel to New York to sightsee! I would recommend everyone to consider working in America next summer and I look forward to going back there next year!
My application was made “live” in October 2012 and it wasn’t until April 2013 that I was contacted by a Special Needs Camp “Elks Camp Moore” in New Jersey and I was offered a nine week placement at the camp as the office manager! After the offer was made, everything went by so fast, before I knew it, it was June 2013 and I flew out to New Jersey. I arrived at the camp and I literally was thrown in the deep end! I had my own office and it was my job to keep the office running and help with the running of the camp. Each day was completely different! What surprised me the most was how
www.campamerica.co.uk Natali Garcia Rodriguez 3rd Year Human Resource Management Student
Colour wars
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SUCCESS STORIES Hat trick award for Barclays’ work-based degree By receiving the Vice Chancellor’s Award in July, Rachael Hall and Vanessa Knowles, who lead on the Corporate Work Based Learning programmes, have added a third award to their two earlier wins for the Barclays programme – the Best School Leaver Programme/National Target Jobs at the 2013 People Awards, and the Talent Attraction and Management Category at the prestigious CIPD National 2012 People Management Awards. The award, which recognises their innovative design and validation of Corporate Workbased Learning Degrees, was supported by Dr Trevor Bolton. In supporting their nomination he commented:
Rachael and Vanessa are constantly striving to offer the best support and service to our corporate partners. This has resulted not only in repeat business but growing business too. The growth of the work has been because our corporate partners have preferred ‘us’ over other universities with whom they work. This business has been won by hard work, attention to detail and the sheer quality of our courses. External recognition has also been achieved. Two very important and significant national awards have been won in the current academic award recognising the positive impact that the Barclays degree has; namely the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 2012 award for Talent Attraction and Management and the 2013 Target Job Award for Best School Leaver’s programme. Both are wonderful testimony to the quality of the work and won in the face of very fierce competition.’
‘The work of Rachael and Vanessa has made a hugely significant contribution to not only our Business School’s targets, but also those of our university too. Indeed, the earnings which come as a result of their work contributes over 13% of our University non-research third stream income (CP Goal 12), 20% of our University work based students (CP Goal 8), 100% in Employment and earning above average graduate salaries (81% earn above £26k) (CP Goal 2), satisfaction and recommend to a friend rates way above our university targets (CP Goal 1), excellent reports from External Examiners (CP Goal 3), delivered and managed by outstanding staff (CP Goal 4).
Rachael and Vanessa commented; ‘We are delighted to have received this award which demonstrates that the University genuinely values the significant progress made to date in Corporate Degree Programmes and how they contribute to the University corporate objectives. Moreover, it is a fantastic note on which to end the current academic year. The team look forward to another successful year in 2013/14 with current income projections of £1.4 million and over 200 students, which will continue to make a significant contribution to the University’s Corporate Objectives.’
In summary, this work contributes very significantly to our university Corporate Plan targets and therefore is well worthy of recognition and celebration via the Vice Chancellor’s Award.
Rachael Hall Principal Lecturer – Corporate Education Lord Ashcroft International Business School Cambridge Tel: 07515 068292 Email: rachael.hall@anglia.ac.uk
The work of the team is significant not only in terms of helping us to achieve our Corporate Plan objectives, but also because it demonstrates we can do outstanding work with very prestigious corporate partners. In very significant part, this is because
Vanessa (left) and Rachael (right) having received their Award from the Vice Chancellor, Prof Michael Thorne
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SUCCESS STORIES
Back (left to right: Leigh Sear, John Mabhegede, Lianne Miller, Dale Coss Front (left to right): Peter Taylor, Magda Partac, Professor Lester Lloyd-Reason, Dr Brynn Deprey, Walter Herriot
CEDAR win the first IOEE Centre of Excellence Award “The activities of CEDAR show a clear commitment to promoting and developing enterprising learning and skills amongst different groups of learners, both within the UK and internationally. The IOEE Advisory Council was keen to recognise CEDAR’s achievements in this area and is delighted to recognise the centre as the first IOEE Centre of Excellence.”
Anglia Ruskin University’s Centre for Enterprise Development and Research (CEDAR) become the first university enterprise centre in the UK to be awarded the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs (IOEE) Centre of Excellence status at an event at the House of Commons. SFEDI, the government-recognised sector skills body for enterprise and enterprise support, and the IOEE brought together key figures from the small business, enterprise and skills sector in the UK to celebrate the very best in enterprise learning and skills. Toni Mascolo OBE, co-founder of the Toni & Guy hairdressing chain, picked up the IOEE Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony.
Professor Lloyd-Reason accepted the award on behalf of the CEDAR team saying, “It is a great honour to receive this award and be nationally recognised for the work we do; this means a lot to us. We always try and push the boundaries in order to achieve the best outcomes and without the fantastic CEDAR team, which includes internationally recognised entrepreneurs, we could not achieve such great things.”
Ruth Lowbridge, Executive Chair of the SFEDI Group, said: “CEDAR has done an extraordinary job of embedding enterprise into Anglia Ruskin’s curriculum and post-curricula activity, and has demonstrated best practice when it comes to engaging entrepreneurs and business owners from their local business community.
Dale Coss Research Project Co-ordinator, CEDAR E: dale.coss@anglia.ac.uk T: 0845 196 2344
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EVENTS Quid Pro Quo 2013: Another year, another success Quid Pro Quo, the conference exploring finance and funding for charities and social enterprises, took place last month, organised by 3rd Sector Futures, the specialist unit in Lord Ashcroft International Business School, Anglia Ruskin University.
The afternoon plenary saw Nick O’Donohoe, Chief Executive, Big Society Capital, and Helen Heap, Social Investment Analyst, taking the floor to discuss social investment and social finance which propted a good deal of discussion amongst the guests at question and answer time.
Quid Pro Quo is the latest in a series of third sector conferences which take place every year and demonstrated the continued commitment of the University and Business School to working with external organisations from various sectors.
Between the plenary sessions participants took the opportunity to participate in workshops, including Alternative Funding, Managing Finance, Resource Efficiency, Social Investment, Social Media Marketing and a Third Sector Leadership Forum. The day culminated in a frank and thought-provoking keynote speech by Craig Dearden-Phillips, CEO of Stepping Out. Craig discussed finance and the social entrepreneur demonstrating how to succeed (and fail!) when it comes to financing a third sector organisation.
Andy Brady, Programme Manager, 3rd Sector Futures, Lord Ashcroft International Business School, welcomed around 150 delegates, mainly from third sector organisations such as charities, social enterprises, co-operatives and voluntary and community organisations.
Post-event, Andy Brady expressed his satisfaction, stating: The day kicked off with coffee and an exhibition of support organisations, which welcomed delegates to browse the stalls, interact with exhibitors and network with their fellow delegates. Plenary sessions discussing real issues faced by practitioners today, attracted a large crowd, all keen to learn more from the distinguished guest speakers. In the morning, Michael O’Toole, Crown Representative for the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector, and Karl Wilding, Director of Public Policy, National Council for Voluntary Organisations, spoke to a captivated audience outlining the general financial outlook for charities and social enterprise in the UK.
“Our work with the third sector continues to be a vital resource for the region’s charities and social enterprises. Feedback from the event has been fantastic and conferences like this – the biggest in the region for this sector – celebrate our other activities, most notably the Cert HE in Charity and Social Enterprise which has recruited over 100 students since launching in 2011.” Andy Brady, Programme Manager, 3rd Sector Futures E: andrew.brady@anglia.ac.uk T: 0845 196 6888
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EVENTS “Meet Brand Leaders” event Cambridge On Friday 8th November the Brand Leaders event in Cambridge was opened by our VC Prof Michael Thorne and our Deputy Dean Prof Gary Packham who warmly welcomed students to an afternoon of career guidance and advice delivered by visiting Alumni speakers and by Karen Hester, Operations Director of Adnams plc. The idea for the day was born at an Alumni reunion in the summer and was jointly organised and promoted by the Student Experience & Placements Team, Employability Services and Alumni Relations. The VC’s message to students was that they had made the “right choice” by investing their Friday afternoon in learning about career opportunities and preparation for the work place from successful business professionals.
Walentowski (BA International Business) from the Storck confectionary company (most famous in the UK for the Werthers brand) explored the importance of “selling stories” in Category Management in confectionary retail.
Over the course of the day 120 students took part in lectures, seminars and networking events designed to provide careers insight and advice on enhancing employability skills and employment prospects.
Nevena Zorova (MA Marketing and Innovation), currently Events Manager at ProQuest and formerly Chair of our student business society EBAC stressed the importance for students of “getting involved” not only in the classroom but also by taking advantage of the many extra-curricular activities that are provided in LAIBS, referring specifically to the ABInbev Best Beer competition.
Karen Hester, Operations Director of Adnams plc and winner of the Lloyds Banking Group First Women Businesswoman of the Year Award, delivered an inspirational address around the themes of people skills, the importance of organisational values, overcoming challenges, determination and knowing your worth in the market place. Our visiting Alumni speakers were drawn from a variety of career backgrounds and Anglia Ruskin courses. Lydia
Aline Gehring (MA Marketing and Innovation), Project Manager at Bosch, explained how her Masters thesis had led directly to an offer of employment and the creation of a new business team at Bosch exploring how business models can be reconfigured to generate additional revenue streams. Aline challenged students to think of themselves as “business models” and how their skills and expertise might be configured to create value for potential employers.
The first 3 presentations were followed by pre-booked breakout sessions where students could quiz our speakers about their careers, about preparing for the workplace and gain specific advice on application and interview techniques. These sessions were also supported by excellent presentations from the Alumni and Employability Services Teams.
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EVENTS Anneka Haak from BMW motorcycles division and a graduate of the MA Marketing and Innovation programme kicked off the afternoon with an in-depth analysis of the creation of a visitor attraction at the BMW plant designed to promote electric mobility – a highly topical and thought provoking theme. All student delegates were keen to learn answers to the question “how to get hired?” and Rebekka Spalek (BA International Business) and Recruitment Director of IQPC provided valuable insights from the recruiter’s perspective of how to present your job application in the best possible light, the importance of proactive job search and of building an on-line profile. Our final two formal sessions of the day had marketing themes. Nicole Boroczinski (BA International Business and MA Global Communications) Product Manager at Volkswagen explained her role in managing a portfolio of automotive brands throughout their life cycles and how product managers must not be afraid to deliver the “last rites” to under-performing brands. This stimulating presentation brought to life a well known theoretical model in an exciting industry context. The final presentation was delivered by the most recent of our graduates Alena Linhartova (BA International Business Strategy) who, via the ABInbev Best Beer competition, was recruited as a Global Management trainee and is now Inbev’s Regional Development Manager for Southern England. Alena’s engaging session explored how to promote responsible drinking whilst driving sales growth and her key employability message again stressed the importance of “getting involved” but also of having an open mind to possible career directions. A networking session began at 6pm which allowed students to mix with our alumni speakers and with Business School, Employability Services, Alumni Office colleagues and committee members from our student business society EBAC. We were
all able to sample the Becks Blue (alcohol free beer) kindly donated by Alena from ABInbev. At 7.30 we drew the event to a close with some students still in deep conversation with our guests some six and a half hours after the event began! This was the first time such a multiple stakeholder event had been attempted in LAIBS. It was an outstanding success with more than 120 students attending some part of the event. For LAIBS we were able to showcase the outstanding success of our graduates to current students and connect classroom lessons with real-life practical applications. Our speakers reinforced key messages delivered by the Employability Services team. Laura Sinclair, Faculty Employability Adviser commented: “it shows how impactful events can be when we all work together.” For our Alumni Relations team also it was an opportunity to showcase their important role as David Abbott explained: “Speaking to students in person allowed us to explain first-hand exactly why they should be excited at the opportunity to connect with the alumni in our network and how creating a professional network of contacts can help shape their future careers.” Vicky Dodd Student Experience & Placements Manager for LAIBS commented “It has reinforced to students how valuable it is to participate in extra-curricular events, competitions & societies to improve their networking skills and most importantly have fun!” So, “Brand Leaders 2013” hopefully creates a template for future events to be rolled out in both Cambridge and Chelmsford. Huge thanks and congratulations to everyone involved in the planning and execution of this high impact event. Tim Froggett, Senior Marketing Lecturer, Cambridge E: tim.froggett@anglia.ac.uk T: 0845 196 2212
STUDENT NEWS Student business networking initiative set to expand I set up Braintree Hour, and then Chelmsford Hour a few weeks later, as a way to get local businesses to network and promote themselves. It started off slowly with only a dozen businesses taking part, since then however it has grown rapidly with over 100 businesses taking part on average across both hours. Taking part is easy.Businesses simply tweet using #BraintreeHour, 4–5pm on Wednesdays or #ChelmsfordHour, 4–5pm on Thursdays While they initially began as networking hours with the idea of also helping the businesses promote themselves to customers, they have evolved over time to become a lot more insular. They’re now very focused on networking, sharing advice and best practice and allowing businesses to showcase what they are doing.
The first week of November saw a fantastic first with Birkett Long, a legal firm based in Chelmsford and Colchester, providing entirely free legal advice to businesses who were taking part in Braintree Hour over twitter. Since launching, the ‘hours’ have generated some great media coverage across a range of local and regional newspapers exclaiming the benefits of networking and social media to businesses. It’s also led to my hosting a retailer training morning on the use of Twitter in Braintree. I’m currently working on replicating the same concept in Southend as part of plan to try and spread the ‘hours’ concept across the county. A brilliant initiative Stephen; congratulations! Stephen Canning
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RESEARCH Lecturer interviewed on global leadership study for ‘Ideas for Leaders’ online magazine Caroline Rook, Lecturer in HRM & Leadership, was recently interviewed by IEDP’s (International Executive Development Program) online magazine ‘Ideas for Leaders’ that brings management research to a wider manager community. Together with Anupam Agrawal from College of Business at Illinois University, USA, Caroline conducted a global leadership study. They analysed a large pool of data on global leadership capacities from leaders across the world to explore whether global leaders who have followers from different cultures do in fact adapt their leadership behavior to the situation and people, and whether nationality influences the behavioral patterns of leaders. The study used data collected via the Global Executive Leadership Inventory (GELI; Kets de Vries, 2005), which measures global leadership behavior across twelve dimensions, to derive insight into whether ratings of global leaders differ on the basis of their cultural origins. The 360-degree feedback data in GELI allowed to evaluate global leadership behaviors from multiple perspectives: Multilevel modeling analysis was used to analyse self-ratings
of 1,748 global leaders themselves and ratings from observers (superiors, peers, and subordinates). Caroline and Anupam found that while global leaders across the world display similar patterns of leadership behavior, there are significant differences in some leadership dimensions that can be attributed to the leaders’ cultural origins. It seems that global leaders adapt their behavior to the country in which they are doing business or engaging in leadership since cultural differences are present. For example, visioning is an important leadership capability in all countries, but leaders from South-East Asian countries showed visioning behavior more than leaders from a country of the Anglo-cluster, which seems to indicate a greater expectation for this behavior. Indeed, the global business environment poses specific criteria for effectiveness of leaders in order to deal with the global environment characterized by complexity, change, and ambiguity. However, as also outlined by the GLOBE study (Dorfman et al., 2012), different cultures place different values on certain leadership behaviors and styles. Therefore it seems that cultural
sensitivity and a holistic approach to individuals are necessary qualities, in addition to enacting the twelve global leadership skills, when a global leader has followers from different countries. Caroline Rook Lecturer, HRM Leadership E: caroline.rook@anglia.ac.uk T: 0845 196 5746
Researcher X-change 2nd Programme The Research X-change, inaugurated and launched by LAIBS on the 5 June 2013, ran for the second time on the 6 November earlier this month – presenting an opportunity for both Cambridge and Chelmsford PhD’s to seek expert advice from the business school’s academics. This programme played host to four discussions; Irina Popova, Roman Eliassen, Eze Ogbonnia and Saeed Sadighi, presenting in front of a 25 strong audience, including Prof Simon Down, Dr Alison Hirst and Dr Noah Karley on the expert panel. The benefits for those involved? Well, apart from the specific pockets of advice provided by our expert panel, the peer-to-peer questioning and wisdom from our business PhD audience provided a raft of complementary advice too.
The programme was prepared in mind of those PhDs at any part of their research journey, either: • At the beginning of their research, looking for expert guidance • Wishing to facilitate conversations with other academics, in order to share academic expertise, literature sources and research ideas • Considering OR preparing to present at a conference, or in preparation for the Viva • Hoping to submit an article on their research findings • Wishing to develop their presentation and communication skills • Hoping to develop their academic presence and potential for academic collaboration both internally and externally
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RESEARCH Roman Eliassen, PhD speaker at the Researcher X-change, 6 November (2013): “The researcher x-change made me do what I otherwise might not have done. It provides an excellent and much needed opportunity for conveying the gist of your research and attain expert scholarly advice on how to improve on it.”
Pre-Researcher X-change Talk – “The Principles every PhD needs to know”
So what next for the programme? Well, we are already planning the third event to take place approx March/April 2014, so watch this space, and for further information and videos from the event; please visit LAIBS Doctoral VLE Portal here: http://vle.anglia.ac.uk/sites/2012/Research/student/Pages/ Home.aspx
The event, in collaboration with Anglia’s Graduate Society (‘Grad Soc’), was also host to the Author and Creator of the ‘ThreeMonthThesis.com’, where Dr James Hayton joined us to share insights on ‘The Principles every PhD needs to know”. He shared insights not only from his research but a number of tips and techniques PhD’s should consider when writing and planning for elements of the PhD. The video and full overview of James’ talk, will be made available on the LAIBS Doctoral VLE Portal on the link above around the beginning/ mid-December. Michael Duignan Associate Lecturer and PhD Researcher (Olympic Studies) E: michael.duignan@anglia.ac.uk T: 0845 196 5691
PhD student invited to present at Dubai HR Conference Ross Kemble, a PhD student at the Business School, has been formally invited by the Scientific Committee of the 43rd International Federation of Training and Development Organisations (FTDO) Annual conference to speak at their next conference which has been scheduled for 10th-12th March 2014 and is being held at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The IFTDO was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in 1972 in order to develop and maintain a worldwide network committed to identify, develop and transfer knowledge, skills and technology to enhance personal growth, human performance, productivity and sustainable development Accredited as a non-Government Organisation by the UN Department of Public Information and the ILO, it helps to ensure that members’ voices are heard by international policy makers influencing outcomes in human development. This, the 43rd edition of its annual conference, will be hosted by the Dubai Police Organisation between 10th–12th
March, 2014 and is under the patronage of H.H Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Office of Dubai. Under the engaging theme “The Leadership Impact On Human Resource”, the conference scientific committee has put together a very robust and interactive program involving over 50 internationally recognised speakers and presenters to interact with delegates over the 3 days of the conference. Ross will be speaking on the topic of Conceptual analysis of post global credit crunch leader communications and possible impact upon employee engagement. Ross recently delivered a presentation at the festival of ideas with Dr Diane Keeble-Ramsay based on their research ‘The changing nature of work in the UK post 2008 – the ‘baby ceiling’ through the lived experiences of female employees’ and are currently co-authoring an article which they plan to present at an upcoming conference. From 2015, mothers and fathers will be able to divide the 52 weeks up between maternity and paternity leave and take
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turns at home and at work as they see fit. There is limited discussion in terms of HRD initiatives which might embrace any gaps in current provisions for flexible working practices. The research will attempt to highlight the gaps in provision. Ross Kemble, PhD student E: ross.kemble@anglia.ac.uk T: 0845 196 6744
RESEARCH Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Accounting Association On 3–7 August 2013, I travelled to Anaheim in the USA to attend the annual conference of the American Accounting Association and to present my accepted paper “Serving Global Clients within Regulatory Challenges: How Do the Big 4 Firms Work?” The theme for the 2013 Annual Meeting was “Brilliantly Disguised Opportunities” – focusing on understanding the many challenges on higher education’s horizon and seeing them as opportunities in disguise. How will Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and the growing global demand for education change our lives as teachers? How will disappearing print journals, open access models, and other advances in scholarly publishing change our lives as researchers? How will the increasing demand for accountability and related financial pressures on tuition levels, student loan debt, state tax support and philanthropy change our colleges and universities? How can we help invent a better future? It was my first time in America and I greatly enjoyed the highest profile conference in accounting in the world. My presentation was during the last session of the final day of the conference, and normally at the end of the conference the closing drawing of prizes takes place with items such prizes as an iPad, portable hard disk, USBs etc. being won. I was delighted to be the winner of an iPad! I will always remember my first trip to the USA and my first ever prize which happened to be on my wife’s birthday; a wonderful gift for her and one we can share, although our lovely son Ahmed (3 years old) has claimed it as his own!
Professor Mary Barth the current president of the American Accounting Association with Professor Mohamed Eldaly
Dr Mohamed Khaled Eldaly E: mohamed.eldaly@anglia.ac.uk T: 0845 196 6852
ALUMNI Graduate puts learning into practice in business adviser role Claire Johnsen, graduate of the Business School’s BA (Hons) Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Management course, has recently joined the Norfolk & Waveney Enterprise Services (NWES). This is the UK’s largest enterprise agency whose focus is to provide business support, boost self-employment and encourage entrepreneurial skills throughout the region. NWES, in partnership with other organisations, offers business advice, training, and access to finance, premises and virtual office services to those wishing to start and grow a business.
the BA Enterprise course at LAIBS gave her valuable insight to the behaviours and drivers impacting a business and a sound understanding of the motivational theories that influence management. Claire is looking forward to putting her experience and learning in practice with her new role as a business adviser providing services offered by NWES to help regional businesses grow. For more information regarding NWES please visit www.nwes.org.uk or telephone 0845 6099991.
Claire came to study at Anglia Ruskin in 2009 after running her own design and manufacturing business. She found
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RESEARCH How do mega-events and local festivals impact on local businesses? University of Cambridge, Festival of Ideas Talk (23 October, 2013) The London 2012 Games project has passed for those organising and delivering its logistics. However, stories of immediate impact and potential longer-term ‘Olympic Legacy’ for local communities and traders are starting to unfold. Will the utopian futures of ‘Olympic Legacy’ hold true for local business? This Cambridge Festival of Ideas talk debated the potential ways such mega-event and local festival projects (from London 2012 to EAT Cambridge 2013) can impact on local businesses, through highlighting the potential opportunities and uncertainties that entrepreneurs can face, and discuss some of the key arguments and dichotomies that exist within event delivery. Informed through a mix of primary research, historical case study analysis and on the ground local experiences (from Greenwich). Starting off the talk, I provided an overview and introduction to the types of impacts, opportunities and controversies that local businesses can face in light of hosting a mega-event in their communities, then introduced specific case study perspectives from both mega-event and local festival level: • Lorraine Turton (Chair, East Greenwich Business Association) to talk about their local experiences pre, during and post-Games, • Dr Ilaria Pappalepore (Senior Lecturer in Tourism, ARU) to present some of the research she has conducted on the impact of mega-events (Torino 2006 and London 2012 case studies) on local creative businesses • Ceri Littlechild (Mill Road Coordinator, Cambridge City Council) to give a local perspective of how our very own Mill Road Winter Fair and other events can impact on local businesses in Cambridge. To find more about this research, both the talk recording and an outcomes report will be released mid-December with some of the key impact themes discussed from the talk, on Michael’s research blog: www.OlympicResearcher.wordpress.com Michael Duignan MBA Doctoral Researcher and Associate Lecturer Blog: Olympicresearcher E: michael.duignan@anglia.ac.uk E: 0845 196 5691
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ALUMNI SAM Caribbean MBA graduate shares her inspirational story I would like to thank the staff at SAM Caribbean Ltd for the life changing experience I had at this institution. I have been employed at TSTT (the largest local telecommunication company) for the past 18 years and throughout my career I began, and subsequently withdrew from several courses of study, many times owing to personal circumstances.
gentleman by the name of Ian and I was able to switch from the BA to the MBA class. At first it was a struggle not having the foundation of an undergraduate degree, but with the help of the lecturers and support of staff and students I am so proud to proclaim that I crossed the stage on Saturday 12th October, 2013 to celebrate my success.
I remember sitting in meetings at work and feeling very inferior amongst my sharper, more qualified colleagues and I knew deep down I needed to get myself qualified. It was at that point I decided to sign up at SAM’s and the decision was made to do my BA (Hons) Marketing. As I sat in my first class, I became even more depressed sitting in a room of very young people; I was immediately filled with regret for not having completed my studies at a younger age.
My story is an amazing one! I completed my dissertation in 10 days. No lie! I am proud to say that I have learnt so many life changing lessons from having a full time job, a family and a daughter who at the time was preparing for the Secondary Entrance Assessment, to opening my own business and completing a Masters all in 15 months! I wish to share my story to more people and to inspire and empower others to do the same. I am very grateful to have been awarded an opportunity such as this and I thank Anglia Ruskin University and SAM Caribbean Ltd for making it all possible.
A week later I found out that I qualified to gain entry into the MBA programme via the mature entry route, because I had over 3 years managerial experience. I was overjoyed and immediately enquired at the office. There, I met with a helpful
Melissa Figuero (MBA)
INNOVATION Lord Ashcroft International Business School is to Lead EU project on Healthy Ageing The Lord Ashcroft International Business School has been awarded 463,000 Euros to lead an 18 month European project on Business Opportunities for Healthy Ageing (Biz4Age). The Principal Investigator is Dr Ruth McNally, Principal Lecturer in Innovation and Technology Development and Departmental Director of Business Engagement and Research in the Department of Economics, International Business and Operations Management. The Co-Investigators are Professor Chris Ivory from the Institute of International Management Practice and Dr Greg O’Shea from the Department of Marketing, Strategy and Enterprise. Funded by the INTERREG IVA 2 Seas Programme Cluster Initiative, Biz4Age brings together two existing projects: 2SeasTrade and CURA-B (a 3 year, €2.6m project LAIBS is participating in www.cura-b.eu ). Biz4Age will draw on both projects’ findings and networks to help find solutions for some of Europe’s most important challenges: Ageing populations,
a shrinking workforce, reductions in public spending and economic competitiveness. This exciting new project builds on LAIBS’ growing expertise on innovation in the healthcare sector, with a particular focus on ageing, and strengthens our networks in Europe: our project partners are based in the Netherlands and Belgium as well as other parts of the UK. Biz4Age aims to identify ways to improve economic competitiveness by raising awareness of new business opportunities for SMEs through innovations that contribute to healthy ageing. The project will start on 1st April 2014. If you would like to know more about the project, please contact: Dr Ruth McNally, Project Director E: ruth.mcnally@anglia.ac.uk T: 0845 196 5666
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BIZ
Christine Durrant Marketing, Communications & External Relations E: christine.durrant@anglia.ac.uk T: +44 (0) 1245 493131 (Ext 6882)
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