CEO Magazine - Volume 19

The Rise and Rise of

Online Education 5 Magnificent Ways you can Lead Like Google CEO19_OFC_Cover.indd 1

C-Suite Engagement via Social: Why it’s not a Choice Anymore

INTRODUCING Kent State University’s Robert Hisrich 01/08/2015 13:07

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CONTENTS

Table of Contents 10

Five Magnificent Ways you can Lead like Google without spending a Dime on Perks

Mark C. Crowley

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14

Global MBA Rankings CEO Magazine

How to Simplify Your Life in 5 Minutes a Day Greg McKeown

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18 20 22

Online Education: Future Shock or Powershift in the 21st Century George Iliev

C-Suite Engagement via Social: Why it’s not a choice anymore Ted Rubin

When Job Hunting, Pick up the Phone Dee Gill

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25 29 34

Should You Fear — or Praise — the Office Snitch?

Knowledge@Wharton

A Passion for Excellence Curtin University

So, You’re Considering an Executive MBA...

Fordham University

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CONTENTS

36 38 41

Why Sustainability Meant Opportunity to Innovate for Nike Jan van der Kaaij

10 Ways an MBA Degree can Help Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Emad Rahim

Jugs, Junctures, Hoped-for Juice and Judicious Learners – The Four Ages of Online Executive Education The Open University Business School

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CONTENTS

42 45 48

How Thinking of Yourself as a Business can Boost Your Career Professor Albrecht Enders, Jean-Louis Barsoux and Andreas Kรถnig

5 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your MBA Australian Institute of Business

List of Contributors

45

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CONTENTS

Published by the International Graduate Forum: Head Office: Communications House, 26 York Street, London W1U 6PZ (UK) Telephone: Fax: Email: Web:

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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.

CEO

Victor J. Callender

Group Editor-in-Chief

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Designer

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Financial Controller

Anthony Gordon

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Steven Whitaker

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LEAD LIKE GOOGLE

MAGNIFICENT WAYS You Can Lead Like

Google

Without Spending a Dime on Perks Mark C. Crowley

A

s research for an article I later wrote for Fast Company Magazine, I travelled to Google's Mountain View, California campus, and spent the day meeting with several of their talent management executives.

Within just my first hour at Google, I saw first-hand all the reasons why so many people in business consider the tech giant to be an incomparable outlier – an organization whose leadership practices bear little relevance to the real world, and to most other organizations:

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1. Make Your Hiring Process Intentionally And Overtly Rigorous

 Staged in the parking lot was a row of luxurious Wi-Fi-outfitted shuttles that transport hundreds of “Googlers” to and from work every day at no cost.  At eleven o’clock in the morning, I saw two young employees unabashedly playing a ‘Dance, Dance Revolution’ arcade game – while others were gearing up to play eight-ball on a nearby billiards table.  I saw the bowling alleys, the laundry-room, the endless snacks, the gym – and I enjoyed one of the 75,000 gourmet meals Google provides its workers free of charge every month.

But Google’s methods for inspiring its 50,000 workers to commit themselves to doing amazing work far transcend the generous perks.

And this is exactly the point that Google’s head of People Operations, Laszlo Bock, makes in his new book, Work Rules! Why Google’s Rules Will Work For You. After reading Bock’s book – twice – I’m convinced that his (and Google’s) understanding of what drives human beings to consistently excel in their jobs is nothing short of brilliant.

I’m also quite certain that many business leaders aren’t yet ready to embrace this thinking, simply because it inherently contradicts longstanding management theory and practices.

But if you are courageous, open to new ways – and have the ambition of creating and sustaining a truly high-performance team – I’ll save you the time of reading Bock’s book by sharing five remarkable ideas you can use to make it happen.

Importantly, all five of these are adoptable within any team, company or industry; you just need the will. And based on the fact that Google’s stock appreciated nearly 1300% in its first ten years as a publicly traded company, you have clear incentive to implement them all:

To the uninitiated, it’s no wonder that Google has been named Fortune Magazine’s ‘Best Company To Work For’ an unprecedented five times. Who wouldn’t want to work at a place like this?

Google’s methods for inspiring its 50,000 workers to commit themselves transcend the generous perks.

Google believes the single greatest mistake they can make is a bad hire, and has painstakingly created a process that prevents the wrong people from being chosen.

More importantly, they believe that by selecting people who have both high talent and high passion for a particular job, each person they hire will have a very strong chance of quickly becoming high-achieving.

To that end, Google will never make an offer to an otherwise qualified candidate if they cannot demonstrate a true cultural fit.

And when I say, “never,” I mean that they will intentionally keep a job open indefinitely rather than ever settle. And just to reinforce the great importance Google places on employee selection, CEO, Larry Page, has the final say on every single candidate – and there’s no rubber stamp.

It’s traditional in business to have a hiring manager interview all the applicants whose resumé matches well to a job description – and to then choose the ‘best’ person on their own.

But, Bock asserts, all hiring decisions must be made by groups. Research shows that people tend

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LEAD LIKE GOOGLE

to like people like themselves – and are therefore inclined to hire people just like themselves.

Because of this and other unconscious biases, oneon-one interviews are a complete waste of time.

The single best indicator of whether someone will excel in a job, Bock tells us, is a work sample.

If someone’s job will be to write code all day, then have them show you code they’ve already produced. During interviews, Google applicants are often asked to create something right on the spot – and the standards are extremely high.

Google has also discovered that four interviews are enough to predict whether someone should be hired (with 86% confidence), and purposely involves employees who will either work with, or for, the person being considered in the selection process. “You make your better hiring decisions by relying on a crowd of people,” says Bock, “and every person in the interview is given an equal vote on who ultimately gets chosen.”

Perhaps the greatest piece of understanding Bock has to offer is that the top performers are very rare. The cost of building a truly great team, therefore, is that you must interview many people for every open position.

2. Give Employees Perks – The Ones That Won’t Cost You Bock says that Google believes “it is easy to be penny wise and pound foolish with respect to benefits that can save employees considerable time and improve their health and productivity.”

Very clearly, the company knows for a fact that the very extensive offerings of perks they provide all have a direct and positive impact on employee satisfaction – and on the bottom-line.

But while things like food, shuttles and discounted day-care most definitely carry a direct expense to the company, it may surprise you to learn that most of the perks Google makes available actually cost them nothing.

By reaching out to very willing (and vetted) vendors, Google now has ATMs on all its campuses. Without ever leaving work, employees can get their bike repaired, their car washed, their oil changed and their dry-cleaning done. The local library brings a bookmobile on a scheduled basis, as do grocers who deliver organic produce and meats. Even salon treatments like haircuts and manicures can be done while people are still on the job – and Google pays nothing to provide them.

Like any company, Google could just as well not bother providing any of these conveniences – who of us hasn’t planned a weekend around grocery shopping, haircuts and car repairs?

But Google’s deep intelligence is lodged in both their minds and their hearts.

They know their people work very hard and purposely seek to minimize the seemingly trivial pressures of life that have a way of eating up a lot of their time. And who of us wouldn’t feel valued, cared for – even nurtured – by an organization that schedules a ‘Take Your Parents To Work Day?’ Google employees most surely feel the intentional

thoughtfulness that goes into experiences like this – and Google execs surely know that making people feel that they matter has a profound influence on loyalty and commitment.

3. Provide More Experiential Awards Ask most people what they would like as an award for doing exceptional work and they will tell you “cash.” No doubt surveys in your own company have you convinced that money is always the best incentive.

But Bock says that cash awards get evaluated on a cognitive level (e.g. “What can I buy?” or “What percentage of my salary does the bonus represent?”) whereas experiences (e.g. trips to Hawaii or Disneyland) trigger a deep emotional response in people.

Because Google analyzes every decision they make, they’ve learned that experiential awards make people happier. They’re perceived to be 28% more fun, 28% more memorable – and 15% more thoughtful.

“The joy of money is fleeting,” says Bock, “but memories last forever.”

4. Manage With Transparency The idea that people should not be trusted with important and ‘sensitive’ information leads many managers in business to keep their knowledge close to the vest – and to share it only on a ‘need to know’ basis.

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But since Google’s founding, it has fully subverted this thinking by “assuming that all information can be shared.”

As illustration, Google Chairman, Eric Schmidt, takes employees through the same presentations he delivers to the company’s Board of Directors.

According to Bock, this kind of openness ensures every employee knows what’s going on. And it also clearly demonstrates to people that they’re seen as being both trustworthy and having good judgment. But, once again, Google does nothing without the conviction that it will be good for results: “One of the serendipitous benefits of transparency,” Bock writes, “is that simply by sharing data, performance improves.”

If you’re still queasy about trusting your people this much, Bock says that it’s only about one time per year – company-wide – that an employee makes a major leak. And regardless of the circumstances, they are fired.

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But despite this risk, Google prefers to put its faith in the far majority of employees who honor it, and put their intimate company knowledge to great use.

5. Give Your Employees A Voice – A Real Say In How Things Get Run It’s simply easier for organizations to make decisions at the top, and to disseminate them down through the ranks of their workers. But, once again, Google has thrown the old-school rules out the door.

Googlers are routinely asked to contribute their thinking – in myriad ways – to ensure that they’re not merely aware of the direction of the company – but are directly vested in it. They leverage the work of Ethan Burris, professor at the University of Texas, Austin, who found that getting employees to voice ideas has long been a key driver of highquality decisions and effectiveness.

Bock makes clear that giving workers a voice can be time-consuming inasmuch as they must solicit feedback, consider it and report back on

the outcomes. But few things drive employees to act like company owners than knowing their thoughts and feelings can shape its future success.

Conclusion In his book, Laszlo Bock tells us that “over the coming decades, the most gifted and hardest working people on the planet will gravitate to places where they can do meaningful work and help shape the destiny of organizations.

Perhaps wanting to extend the huge competitive advantage his company holds on attracting great talent, Bock suggests this date is way out in the future. The truth is that day is already here.

Biography  Mark C. Crowley is the author of Lead From The Heart: Transformational Leadership For The 21st Century. His work has been published by Reuters, LinkedIn and the Huffington Post; he’s also a frequent contributor to Fast Company Magazine. Connect with Mark through his website: www.markccrowley.com, Facebook: www.Facebook.com/leadfromtheheart or Twitter: @markccrowley.

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ESSENTIALISM: SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE

How to

Simplify your life in 5 MINUTES A DAY

Greg McKeown

T

he situation for many of us is that life is fast and full of opportunity.

The complication is we think we have to do everything. The implication of this is that we make a millimeter progress in a million directions. My position is we can make a different choice. We can learn to recognize what is essential and eliminate nonessentials.

If we do this then we can operate at a higher point of contribution. Below are five simple ways to simplify your life so you can focus on what is most essential.

1

The Priority Game

When the word priority came into the English language in the 1400s, it was singular. Think for a moment: What did it mean?

The answer is the prior or very first thing. What’s interesting is it stayed singular for the next 500 years. It wasn’t until the 1900s that we came up with the pluralized term and started using the word priorities. But what exactly does the word mean? Can there be multiple very first things?

In the spirit of this, take five minutes to write down the most important six activities for tomorrow. Then cross off the bottom five.

Write down your priority on a Post-it note and put it on your computer. Schedule a ninetyminute window to work on that priority – preferably the first thing of the day.

2

60 Seconds to Clarity

Pause once every hour for one minute to ask, “Is this the most important or valuable thing I could be doing right now?” If the answer is no, simply stop.

3

Two for the Price of One

Establish a new rule for one day: If you want to add a new activity you need to edit out two existing activities.

This simple rule ensures two things. First, you don’t add an activity that is less valuable than something you are already doing. Second, it helps to ensure you move toward reducing your overall burden each day.

Hold tightly to this idea if you are considering setting up any regular or repeated commitment and think long and hard about all the things you would have to give up in order to take this new thing on.

4

The Automated No

Saying no is one of the most socially awkward things for people to do.

Perhaps the most socially acceptable way most of us do this is when we are on vacation or know we will be out of the office: “I will be out of the office from X date to Y date. If this is urgent call me on Z.” We can use a similar bounceback when we need to concentrate. In this case the bounceback can read: “I am off the grid from 1-4PM today working on a priority project. If this is urgent call me on X.” There are a growing number of apps and services that do this. AwayFind, for example, sends an auto-reply that includes a way to contact you (in an emergency) through a text. There are three advantages: First the person has to decide if it is worth the extra effort, second you only have to respond with a text-message length reply, and third it ensures you can be found just in case something actually is essential.

Live by design rather than by default.

5

Frictionless Tomorrow

Think through tomorrow’s schedule from the moment you will wake up until you go to bed. Look at each activity. Identify any way you can make it a little easier through preparation. If you are planning to exercise, get your running clothes out so when you wake up in the morning, you won’t have to spend time digging through your closet. The idea here is to make doing the essential activity almost easier than not doing it.

I encourage you to experiment with Essentialism. Prototype ways of working. Try out these ideas – and many others. Live by design rather than by default. Use what works. Eliminate the rest.

Biography  Greg McKeown is the author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less – an instant New York Times Bestseller. His writing has appeared or been covered by Fast Company, Fortune, HuffPost, Politico, and Inc. Magazine. He is among the most popular bloggers for the Harvard Business Review and LinkedIn’s Influencers group: averaging a million views a month.

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MBA RANKINGS

CEO MAGAZINE SUMMER 2015 MBA Rankings

CEO Magazine’s annual 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, faculty-to-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 CEO Magazine have been successful in this goal.

Global MBA Rankings

14

Global MBA Rankings (continued)

Arizona State University: Carey

North America

International University of Monaco

Europe

Ashridge Business School

Europe

Kennesaw State University: Coles

North America

Audencia Nantes

Europe

Lancaster Management School

Europe

Australian Institute of Business

Australia

Lehigh University

North America

Birmingham Business School

Europe

London Business School

Europe

Brunel Business School

Europe

Lorange Institute of Business

Europe

Carnegie Mellon University: Tepper

North America

Loyola Marymount University

North America

Ceibs

Asia

Macquarie Graduate School of Management

Australia

CENTRUM Católica Graduate Business School

South America

MIT: Sloan

North America

Columbia Business School

North America

Nanyang Business School

Asia

Cornell University: Johnson

North America

National University of Singapore

Asia

Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences

Europe

New York University: Stern

North America

Dartmouth College: Tuck

North America

North Carolina State University: Poole

North America

Duke University: Fuqua

North America

Northwestern University: Kellogg

North America

Durham University

Europe

Northwestern University: Kellogg/Hong Kong UST

Asia

École des Ponts Business School

Europe

Ohio State University: Fisher

North America

Elon University: Love

North America

Reykjavik University

Europe

Emory University: Goizueta

North America

Rice University: Jones

North America

ESCP Europe

Europe

Rollins College

North America

European University

Europe

SBS Swiss Business School

Europe

Fordham University

North America

Shanghai JiaoTong University: Antai

Asia

Georgetown University: McDonough

North America

Southern Methodist University: Cox

North America

Georgia Institute of Technology: Scheller

North America

Stanford Graduate School of Business

North America

Griffith University

Australia

The Lisbon MBA

Europe

Harvard

North America

The University of Adelaide

Australia

HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management

Europe

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro: Bryan

North America

HKUST Business School

Asia

Trium: HEC Paris/LSE/New York University: Stern

Europe/North America

IE Business School

Europe

Tsinghua University/INSEAD

Asia/ U.A.E./Europe

IESE Business School

Europe

UCLA: Anderson/National University of Singapore

N America/Singapore

IfM Institut für Management

Europe

University of Business & International Studies (UBIS)

North America

IMD

Europe

University of California, Berkeley: Haas

North America

Indiana University: Kelley

North America

University of California, Los Angeles: Anderson

North America

INSEAD

Europe

University of Cambridge: Judge

Europe

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MBA RANKINGS

Global MBA Rankings (continued)

Global EMBA Rankings

University of Chicago: Booth

North America

Ashridge Business School

Europe

University of Maryland: Smith

North America

Audencia Nantes

Europe

University of Massachusetts, Amherst: Isenberg

North America

Australian Catholic University

Australia

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: Ross

North America

CENTRUM Cat贸lica Graduate Business School

South America

University of Minnesota: Carlson

North America

Durham University

Europe

University of Nebraska, Lincoln

North America

ENPC Fox Executive MBA

Europe/North America

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Kenan Flagler North America

ESADE Business School

Europe

University of Notre Dame: Mendoza

North America

European University

Europe

University of Pennsylvania: Wharton

North America

Florida International University

North America

University of San Diego

North America

Fordham University

North America

University of Southern California: Marshall

North America

HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management

Europe

University of Texas: Austin

North America

IE Business School

Europe

University of Virginia: Darden

North America

IfM Institut f眉r Management

Europe

University of Washington: Foster

North America

INDEG-IUL-ISCTE Executive Education

Europe

University of Wollongong Sydney Business School

Australia

International University of Monaco

Europe

Victoria Graduate School of Business

Australia

IESE Business School

Europe

Vilanova University

North America

Jack Welch Management Institute

North America

Wake Forest University

North America

Jacksonville University

North America

Warwick Business School

Europe

Kennesaw State University: Coles

North America

Washington University in St. Louis: Olin

North America

Kent State University

North America

Winthrop University

North America

Lancaster Management School

Europe

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

North America

Lorange Institute of Business

Europe

Yale School of Management

North America

Millsaps College: Else

North America

MIP Politecnico di Milano

Europe

Porto Business School

Europe

Queens University of Charlotte: McColl

North America

Reykjavik University

Europe

RMIT University

Australia

SBS Swiss Business School

Europe

University of Business & International Studies (UBIS)

North America

University of North Alabama

North America

* Data Sourced from the Financial Times Global MBA Rankings 2014, Business Week MBA Rankings 2014, US News & World Report MBA Rankings 2014 and CEO Magazine MBA Rankings 2015. Top 20 full-time, part-time and EMBA programmes have been considered.

University of Washington: Foster

North America

University of Wollongong Sydney Business School

Australia

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MBA RANKINGS

NORTH AMERICAN MBA RANKINGS

ONLINE MBA RANKINGS

TIER 1

RANK

SCHOOL

REGION

Appalachian State University

1

European University

Europe

California State University, San Bernardino

=2

The Open University Business School

Europe

Colorado Technical University

=2

Durham University

Europe

Florida International University

=2

University of Business & International Studies

Europe

Fordham University

3

IE Business School

Europe

Jacksonville University

=4

International University of Monaco

Europe

Kennesaw State University: Coles

=4

CENTRUM Católica Graduate Business School

South America

Kent State University

5

Australian Institute of Business

Australia

Le Moyne College: Madden

6

SBS Swiss Business School

Europe

Millsaps College: Else

7

Jack Welch Management Institute

North America

Queens University of Charlotte: McColl

8

Deakin University

Australia

Simmons College

9

Griffith University

Australia

University of North Alabama

= 10

Georgia WebMBA

North America

University of the Sciences

= 10

University of the Sciences

North America

University of Washington: Foster

11

Colorado Technical University

North America

University of West Georgia

= 12

MIP Politecnico di Milano

Europe

Winthrop University

= 12

RMIT University

Australia

= 13

Appalachian State University

North America

NORTH AMERICAN MBA RANKINGS

= 13

Queens University of Charlotte: McColl

North America

= 14

La Trobe University

Australia

TIER 2

= 14

Swinburne University of Technology

Australia

Fairfield University

15

University of California, San Bernadino

North America

Northwest Missouri State University: Booth *

16

Florida International University

North America

Syracuse University: Whitman *

17

University of North Alabama

North America

University of Alabama in Huntsville

18

University of Memphis: Fogelman

North America

University of Florida: Hough

19

University of Nebraska, Lincoln

North America

University of Memphis: Fogelman

20

Northwest Missouri State University: Booth

North America

University of Nebraska, Lincoln

21

Syracuse University: Whitman

North America

Wake Forest University*

22

University of Florida: Hough

North America

AUSTRALIAN TOP 10 MBA RANKINGS

EUROPEAN MBA RANKINGS

1

University of Wollongong Sydney Business School

Ashridge Business School

2

Macquarie Graduate School of Management

Audencia Nantes

3

Victoria Graduate School of Business

Birmingham Business School

4

Australian Institute of Business

Brunel Business School

5

The University of Adelaide

Carlos III University of Madrid

6

Griffith University

Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences

=7

RMIT University

Durham University

=7

Australian Catholic University

École des Ponts Business School

8

La Trobe University

ESADE Business School

9

Swinburne University of Technology

European University

10

Deakin University

HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management IE Business School IESE Business School IfM Institut für Management INDEG-IUL-ISCTE Executive Education International University of Monaco ISEG Lancaster Management School Lorange Institute of Business MIP Politecnico di Milano Porto Business School Reykjavik University SBS Swiss Business School The Lisbon MBA University of Business & International Studies (UBIS) *Incomplete data

16

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ONLINE EDUCATION: SHOCK OR POWERSHIFT?

ONLINE EDUCATION:

Future Shock or Powershift in the 21st Century? *

George Iliev

A

bird cannot carry its cage when it flies, says a Chinese proverb. Are the proliferating online education programmes freeing the student from the heavy cage of the university? Or are they offering a cheap substitute for quality education? And is this coming as a shock to the education system or as a gradual shift?

The Association of MBAs (AMBA) has for decades been accrediting blended-learning MBA programmes across the world. These combine distance learning via a virtual environment and on-campus residential modules. Keeping pace with the times, since 2014 we have allowed fully online MBA programmes to apply for accreditation provided their learning outcomes are comparable to those of traditional programmes. The No 1 programme in the Financial Times 2014 ranking of Online MBAs is accredited by AMBA (run by IE Business School in Madrid) and so is the No 2 programme (run

by Warwick Business School). The winners of the top spots are no surprise, given that these programmes exceed student expectations in both learning and career outcomes.

MOOCS: The First Step Towards an Online Degree The media frenzy about online courses started less than five years ago. Coursera co-founder Daphne Koller was a keynote speaker at AMBA’s annual Deans & Directors Conference in 2013.

Here are three of the most often misunderstood characteristics of massive open online courses (MOOCs): 18

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1. Most people who study online already have a university degree, so online education is a booster, rather than a substitute.

2. Online education is not for the millennials.

It is for the previous generation (X), who are pressed for time by career and family obligations. Most millennials, at least in developed countries, aspire for a proper oncampus undergraduate experience.

3. Online education has high drop-out rates partly because of the relative anonymity of students and the lack of peer pressure.

However, drop-out rates are particularly high among people who sign up for free courses without ever intending to complete. For the serious students who pay fees and aim to receive a degree, the likelihood of dropping out is much lower.

MOOCs have been called the “Trojan Horse” of online education as professors at smaller schools are starting to incorporate MOOCs developed by more prominent professors into their individual courses. The results so far have been quite positive, as the change in perspective makes for betterinformed discussions and learning outcomes.

Transitioning from a separate online course to a fully online programme requires a much bigger leap, but many institutions are already offering these programmes and even more are at the stage of designing and developing them.

Online Education: A Most Flexible Octopus If MOOCs are a Trojan Horse, the entire field of online education can be compared to an octopus: it can change its colours depending on the environment it has to blend in with, and can change its shape depending on the space it has to crawl through. It can be more academic or more practical; it can include some blended face-to-face elements and localised teamwork or be completely online; cheap or expensive, depending on the provider, and so on. Just like the eight tentacles of the octopus, it has eight distinctive characteristics that, in most cases, propel it forward:

1. Global Reach On-campus programmes often have a captive market – a catchment area within the city or country. In a traffic-congested city such as Moscow, for example, the catchment area of an evening MBA programme is even more finely determined by the underground line on which the school is located. Online programmes lack such a ‘captive market’ and target students globally, wherever the language of the programme is spoken. This makes them the most diverse programmes in the world. If you are based in London, you might just as well be doing an Online MBA offered by an Australian business school.

Programmes are less likely to compete on price and more likely to compete on quality. * Future Shock (1970) and Powershift (1990) refer to two famous books written by American futurist, Alvin Toffler.

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ONLINE EDUCATION: SHOCK OR POWERSHIFT?

2. Transparent Pricing Online education platforms rarely crosssubsidise research. Instead, some of them may free-ride on the research activities of other institutions – in the same way that some bestselling authors write books based on the research and discoveries of other academics. And even if online education does not appear particularly research-informed, the lower price and convenience of access compensate for this. After all, a white-label product at the supermarket will still do the job, but will not have the same clout as a recognised branded product, or the same perceived quality. Education is the acquisition of both skills/knowledge and a brand, but different people value the utility of the two differently.

3. Competition based on Quality Since the marginal cost of enrolling an additional student is negligible, programmes are less likely to compete on price and more likely to compete on quality, thus creating additional benefits for the students. Because of the competition on quality, online programmes are seen as a threat primarily by less-reputed institutions.

4. Market Creation Online programmes mostly expand access to education rather than cannibalise existing programmes. When competition and cannibalisation do happen, this is often in markets far from the provider’s home base. Smart pricing in a foreign currency, say Australian dollars, may make a Spanish online MBA competitive in Australia while maintaining a reasonable price differential with the on-campus programmes in Spain which are priced in euros.

5. Interdisciplinarity and Integration Some online programmes adopt an à la carte model of course provision, which does not require courses to be taken in a strict sequence.

This is far from ideal as it places the entire burden of making sense of the world on the student. Yet, integrating capstone-type courses have largely been missing in the MOOCs range so far. Instead, the vast majority of online courses are deeply specialised. For example, a capstone on metaphorical thinking would allow a student to draw on one discipline and apply the learnings in another. Such a course would be highly appropriate for a consulting career, where cross-fertilisation between different industries is the focus.

Yet, one aspect of interdisciplinarity is already starting to appear: online education is now creating exposure to personal development (coaching-type) courses which, only until recently, were the preserve of the Executive MBA programmes. It is bringing professional ‘self-help’ type knowledge and skills to a mass audience. This field, at the intersection of management, psychology and sociology, is giving large numbers of students unprecedented access to a treasure trove of developmental skills that can serve them for a lifetime.

6. Preparation for a Digitally Interactive World Online education is designed with convenience in mind. Could it end up producing graduates who have mastered the knowledge and skills but cannot work in a human-interfacing environment? This could have been a reasonable fear back in the early 2000s when email was the primary means of distance communication.

However, nowadays people in their 20s use email very little outside of work. A plethora of interactive semi-real-time communication tools have become established, e.g. WhatsApp and Snapchat for personal use and Yammer and Slack for work. These are setting new standards of interactivity in a fully online environment and naturally teaching young people to communicate.

Online education is simply riding this trend rather than causing it.

crucial specialised skills, and then pre-selects the applicants to offer them to the same employer based on their performance in the course. Silicon Valley-based Udacity has been successful in starting partnerships with companies to train their future employees as well as existing ones. Therefore online education is resolving in a different way the possible problems that it may have created.

Conclusion The mid-to-upper echelons of the freemium spectrum of online education are developing more and more sophisticated programmes, offering learning outcomes comparable with those of a traditional on-campus programme. As a result, the online providers are starting to charge non-trivial fees for their programmes, first in the US and now spreading to other parts of the world. Opting for an online programme is becoming more a lifestyle choice than a brand decision. This trend is likely to ultimately decide whether the winners of the global online education revolution will be the best content producers, the best platforms, or a hybrid of the two (such as the EdX platform, a joint venture of Harvard and MIT).

Education creates social capital and civilisation.

Online education democratises higher education and lifelong learning by making it accessible to a large share of the world’s population. Those who will gain from the spread of online education are likely to be many more than those who will lose. So a constructive “Powershift” has a good chance of triumphing over a destructive “Future Shock”.

7. Outstanding Self-Discipline Online education requires more self-discipline to complete a task or a course than a traditional on-campus course under close supervision.

Therefore, the mere fact that someone has been able to complete a degree online is a sign of perseverance and discipline.

8. Eduhiring: Substitute for Alumni Networks Online programmes are much less likely to develop the cohesive alumni networks which are the backbone of career services at the world’s best business schools. This may pose problems for employability in the long run, but the negatives of the diffuse networks may be easily outweighed by the emergence of sophisticated skills-focused recruiting platforms that combine education and hiring (eduhiring). Specialised online training start-ups are also starting to fill this gap. For example London-based company, Proversity, trains job applicants in custom-made courses designed together with an employer in order to develop

Biographies  George Iliev is Director of Development Markets at the Association of MBAs in London.  The Association of MBAs (AMBA) is the international impartial authority on postgraduate business education, established in 1967 by a small group of business graduates with the aim to raise the profile of business education and the MBA qualification in UK and Europe.

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SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT IN THE C-SUITE

C-SUITE ENGAGEMENT VIA SOCIAL:

Why It’s Not A Choice Anymore Ted Rubin

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f you haven't picked up Charlene Li's new book, The Engaged Leader: a Strategy for Your Digital Transformation, I highly recommend you do. Charlene is a well-regarded author and researcher on leadership issues, and if you're an executive, it's a must-read.

In a Forbes article recently, Li told a priceless story that I think epitomizes the attitude of many 60-something execs these days: “A CEO once told me, ‘I don’t believe in this digital stuff. I believe in leading people by going around, shaking their hand, looking them in the eye, and connecting with them.’ I said, ‘That is absolutely fantastic. I love that you have that personal approach. But you have 10,000 employees...”

You can’t possibly shake 10,000 hands without digital tools – yet there is still resistance from the C-suite on using digital channels to “be social” either with their employees or their customers.

In my opinion this is a huge mistake, and one that needs to be rectified sooner rather than later. The executive who continues to remove him or herself from digital engagement will eventually have that decision bite them (and their company) where it really hurts – the pocketbook.

Li answers some of the common complaints that I hear from executives on this issue, such as “I don’t have time,” “It doesn’t replace face-toface,” “It’s marketing’s job,” and my all-time favorite, “Who cares what I had for lunch?”

These excuses don’t carry water anymore because today’s executive has to know what’s going on in and around his or her company and/ or industry at all times. And the only way to

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do a good job of that is to learn to navigate the digital landscape and use those tools to listen, learn and engage with people at every level.

Gone are the days when a CEO could navigate his ship from the sanctity of his office, seldom speaking to employees or customers

(except via a podium or a newsletter). Effective leadership requires a new, more personal level of engagement. People expect more from company leadership than a photo and a blurb in the annual report or a quote in a press release. They want to see and hear executives talking about issues

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that concern them. They want to know that the company they’re doing business with (or that they work for) is led by real people with real values that align with their own principles and ethics.

But does that mean we’ll have to spend half our day on social channels making meaningless small talk? Of course not – but we can no longer delegate engagement to marketing and sales. We need to get our hands dirty and use social channels to first listen, then engage by adding value.

Another thing to keep in mind is that many people will engage with you vicariously by watching how you engage with others. The CEO who steps out from behind their brand logo to take part in social conversation accomplishes two things: humanizing the brand and lending social credibility to their companies as thought leaders.

And his or her influence is scaled by the “silent” engagement of others who watch but don’t immediately jump into the conversation.

According to the 2014 Social CEO Report sponsored by Domo and CEO.com, 68% of CEOs have NO social presence on the top five social networks, and only 69% who have Twitter accounts are actually tweeting.

These are abysmal figures – but there are some executives who are pioneering leadership in the social space, and HootsuiteTM names some shining examples that I think every executive would do well to emulate, especially these two:

Doug Conant

Richard Branson

Chairman of Avon’s board of directors, and founder and CEO of ConantLeadership, Doug is very active on Twitter. What I really like about Doug’s approach is that he’s not afraid to use new channels (he posts Instagram photos too), and he’s genuine. He thanks people who retweet him and isn’t shy about being personable. Plus, he’s actively involved in promoting social media use in business, and helping leadership understand the value of relationships through integrity.

From his blog post: Leadership Words to Live By: “Begin every interaction from a place of ‘how can I help?’ When you start this way, your earnest desire to be supportive shines brightly. And, when you follow through by listening and being unmistakably present, people know you are truly there for them, not just paying them lip service.”

More executives need to embrace digital channels as a way to lead by example because there’s no turning back the clock to stay in our comfort zones. Social media is deeply embedded in the lives of most people you do business with every day. In order for companies to stay competitive, social engagement must become a top-down strategy.

Founder and Chairman of Virgin, Richard is very vocal on LinkedIn and Twitter. Plus, he not only has millions of followers on those channels, but he actively follows and engages with thousands of people. His personal brand has lent a human face and touch to Virgin and also sets him apart as a business leader whose first priority is giving value.

Richard’s LinkedIn Influencer blog is chock-full of insights for CEOs, and I agree wholeheartedly with this sentiment from one of his posts, Behind the Scenes: How I Write Blogs: “Every CEO should make a big effort to get online. It is a superb platform for seeing what people really think about your company, and gives you a voice to engage with them. Those businesspersons who embrace the rapid changes of the Web are those who will be in the best position to benefit from them. But more than that, they will have a blast along the way.”

Social media is deeply embedded in the lives of most people you do business with every day.

Those who adapt to social engagement will drive more business and stay competitive — those who ignore it will not.

Biography  Ted Rubin is a leading Social Marketing Strategist, Keynote Speaker, Brand Evangelist and Acting CMO of Brand Innovators.

To read the original post follow the link to Ted’s website TedRubin.com.

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CAREERS FOCUS: THE JOB SEARCH

When job hunting, pick up the phone Dee Gill

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ob candidates are better able to communicate their intellect when they share their credentials in speech rather than in writing. Even when voiced and written scripts are identical, the spoken pitch makes a person seem more intelligent, thoughtful, and employable, according to Chicago Booth's Nicholas Epley and Booth PhD candidate Juliana Schroeder.

Schroeder and Epley devised five experiments involving the “elevator pitches” that are common in job interviews. The researchers recorded MBA students, or in some cases actors reading for students, making their pitches.

Professional job recruiters and hypothetical employers (volunteers selected from visitors to Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry) either watched or listened to the pitches or read the pitch transcripts.

They evaluated the candidate’s intellect, reported the positivity of their impression, and indicated how interested they would be in hiring the person.

The potential employers, both professional and hypothetical, consistently rated students as more thoughtful, rational, and intelligent when they heard their credentials rather than read them.

When evaluators listened to pitches read aloud by actors, they gave those pitches higher ratings than the same pitches presented in writing. It didn’t appear to matter whether pitches were presented as video or as audio only – both received higher ratings than those presented in writing.

The researchers found that intellect – the capacity to think and to reason – was better conveyed through a person’s voice. “The words that come out of a person’s mouth convey the presence of a thoughtful mind more clearly than the words typed by a person’s hands – even when those words are identical,” they write.

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Researchers found that intellect was better conveyed through a person’s voice.

Schroeder and Epley note that the participating students believed that they would fare as well or better in the written rather than spoken medium. Job-seekers reported being as likely to write to potential employers as to talk to them. The findings suggest that in order to reveal your bright mind to an employer, it is important to have your voice heard.

Article first published in Capital Ideas, University of Chicago Booth School of Business www.ChicagoBooth.edu/capideas/ Work cited: Juliana Schroeder and Nicholas Epley, “The Sound of Intellect: Speech Reveals a Thoughtful Mind, Increasing a Job Candidate’s Appeal,” Psychological Science, forthcoming.

Biography  Dee Gill is a freelance writer for Capital Ideas at University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

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Should You

FEAR or PRAISE the Office Snitch?

E

very office or shop floor has at least one – the worker watching from the corner of his or her eye, taking mental notes and reporting back to the boss. The office snitch is a reliable recurring character in many workplaces, a petty villain who foments gossip and undermines teamwork and morale.

But is tattling inevitably destructive? There are instances in which reporting what's going on is the better choice – indeed, the necessary one – so can certain practices and policies make tattling a useful tool? Deciding whether to tattle isn't as simple as it sounds.

“My gut instinct isn’t to get involved, but I am not sure that’s the right tone,” says Wharton management professor Matthew Bidwell. “There are questions of what’s your business and what’s your responsibility. Once you get down to cases where you think something is clearly unethical and wrong and needs to be stopped, when there is the potential for real harm to be done to somebody – economic harm as well, or damage to a customer relationship – then I think the ethics there become important.”

Whistleblowing and reporting activities that are out and out illegal or clearly unethical demand action. But for more routine matters, the rules of the game are less clear, leaving the potential tattler with a no-win dilemma. Says Monica McGrath, vice dean for Wharton’s Aresty Institute of Executive Education: “While there is a risk in telling, there is also a risk in not telling.”

‘See Something, Say Something’ Some human resources and management leaders think tattling is on the rise. Bidwell’s theory about why it might be more prevalent now: paradoxically, the emergence of self-managing teams. In a 1993 study

by James R. Barker, a professor at Dalhousie University in Canada, those working for a team of peers reported sensing a collective impulse for tighter self-regulation than when they had worked for a single boss. “Now, the whole team is around me and the whole team is observing what I’m doing,” an employee at a small manufacturing company told Barker.

“With his voice concealed by work noise, [the employee] told me that he felt more closely watched now than when he worked under the company’s old bureaucratic system,” wrote Barker in “Tightening the Iron Cage: Concertive Control in Self-Managing Teams,” published in Administrative Science Quarterly. “He said that while his old supervisor might tolerate someone coming in a few minutes late, for example, his team had adopted a ‘no tolerance’ policy on tardiness and that members monitored their own behaviors carefully.”

“I think the general sense is that it’s a good thing for workers to feel empowered,” says Bidwell. “Productivity goes up.” However, “one of the side effects that disturbed some is that it does mean that peers start to discipline one another, and one way to do that is by tattling.”

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Indeed, self-governing groups demonstrated the power of the collective in fostering altruism in a 2014 Stanford University study, “Gossip and Ostracism Promote Cooperation in Groups,” by Matthew Feinberg, Robb Willer and Michael Schultz, published in the journal Psychological Science. The researchers assembled nine groups of 24 members each and asked them to make decisions on choices that would benefit them financially before members moved on to another entirely different group. Groups were allowed to gossip about the behavior of prior groups’ members in order to exclude people with whom they did not want to be associated. When members learned that others were gossiping about them, they tended to reform their behavior.

When it comes to tattling, some studies suggest that an inclination to engage in it depends somewhat on generational membership. Millennials observe more workplace misconduct than their older counterparts, according to a 2011 survey report by the Ethics Resource Center, titled “Generational Differences in Workplace Ethics.” The report, which measured more serious wrongs from inappropriate use of company credit cards to sexual harassment, found that the youngest workers were substantially more likely to report misconduct they observed than older workers, 67% to 39%, respectively. “It appears that the younger the worker, the more likely they are to feel pressure, observe misconduct and experience retaliation for having done so,” says the report.

The Facebook Snitch The times have also brought a totally new subspecies of the tattler – the Facebook snitch. This could be a worker who takes to Facebook to complain about a co-worker’s messy cubicle or to vent about a boss; again, age has something to do with this behavior. “With the baby boomers, there is an understanding that it’s your job and you don’t have to like each other. You do your job and go home,” says Linda Willey, human resources director at Jacksonville, Floridabased trucking firm Nextran Corp., who also serves on the Society for Human Resource Management discipline

panel. “Whereas with the younger generation, there is that instant gratification they’ve grown up with, so if there is a perceived unfairness, if someone gets something they don’t, they go on Facebook.”

How should a manager respond if an employee points out that a co-worker has made public his or her complaints on Facebook? It depends on what’s said, says Willey. “If it’s regarding someone venting about their boss� just ignore it and move on. I think it shows immaturity on the part of the poster and the whole world is going to see that. But you don’t want to brush off [a Facebook post] immediately. You want to understand what was said and make your decision.

If it’s a potential threat of violence, then you need to take that seriously.”

Interpreting social media postings and other forms of expression also requires an understanding of the law. The National Labor Relations Act protects certain activity by employees. For example, when three workers for a construction contractor in Lakewood, Wash., aired concerns about safety on a job site in a YouTube video in 2008, they were fired by Rain City Contractors. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that such activity was protected, and the employer settled the case and gave them their jobs back. Numerous other cases have ended similarly – some also specific to social media – with the NLRB citing law that grants workers, regardless of any union affiliation, the right to engage in “concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.”

Employers can require, through employee polices, that “everyone is expected to be respectful and act in a professional manner at all times, and then if someone is a persistent gossiper and tattler, you can hold them accountable,” says Willey. But labor law prevails.

“It’s a very fine line with tattling,” she says.

Employees should remember that management has some sound organizational motivations for discouraging or rooting out tattling. “It definitely can impact the workplace,” says Willey. “It can impact morale and

It can impact morale and productivity, and teamwork goes down obviously because people start to not trust each other and they start cocooning.

LINDA WILLEY

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productivity, and teamwork goes down obviously because people start to not trust each other and they start cocooning. And then turnover will increase, because good employees see that managers are not getting a handle on it and it’s become a toxic workplace, and that effects hiring dollars. All because of one or two bad apples.”

Truth and Consequences Experts say employees must consider a variety of possible consequences when deciding whether to bring to a superior something they have seen that concerns them. Among the considerations is making sure what you believe to be true actually is true – for instance, an employee who suspects a co-worker may have an addiction problem. “You have to be pretty sure you know as much as you can,” says McGrath.

“You can say, ‘I think this is happening, this could be happening, I have evidence this may be happening.’ You have to really be able to make your case.”

It’s important to consider that once a complaint is conveyed, the person doing the complaining often loses control over what happens next – and sometimes the consequences are harsher than can be anticipated. “I remember an anonymous letter came to the CEO [of one company]... about inappropriate drinking and behavior at a corporate party, and there was some truth to it,” McGrath says. “It destroyed the person’s career. Was it a one-off? We don’t know. Once you get something like that, you really have to respond to it.”

In tattling as in whistleblowing, sometimes it’s the messenger who suffers – especially in cases where the messenger might be a junior-level employee in the power structure, and there are bigger issues at stake. “How much power does a 23-year-old have compared to the person being reported? Can you find some other way for people to observe that behavior? I tell people there is a price they will have to pay, so be clear about the big picture,” says McGrath.

One strategy is to try to report it anonymously, but that, too, can come back to bite the teller. “On the one hand, obviously it reduces the risk to you,” says Bidwell. “On the other hand,

nothing is ever really truly anonymous, and I think there is also an argument that if you’re going to do something like this, you should probably own it. If it’s not something you’re prepared to do in an accountable manner, you have to ask whether it’s something you are prepared to do at all.”

No two situations are likely to be the same, says Wharton management professor Adam Cobb, but there are some useful rules-of-thumb questions one can ask in deciding whether to speak up about a perceived infraction by a coworker: If no action is taken to report some wrong, would the organization be held liable? Is the motive for tattling really personal score-settling posing as something more virtuous?

Is there a way for the problem to be corrected by speaking directly to the worker in question? And then there is the question of the scale of the matter. There’s an important distinction to be made between the employee who prints out a few pages of his tax return on the company’s dime, and someone stealing reams of paper to sell on the side, he notes.

“If someone comes to work five minutes late, do you really need to tell the supervisor? In some ways, there are unwritten rules inside an organization,” says Cobb. “When we don’t know what to do, we look to others for cues. Some of it is embedded in a culture. But organizations can also put policies in place to help deal with concerns people have – mechanisms to which people can turn in an anonymous manner, to get advice without fear of reprisal. Some of this stuff you can codify pretty easily.”

Sorting out tattling from necessary truth telling is something for which employees should be able to look to management. “This is where intervention from the HR office can be useful, to clarify for that specific person what is in bounds and what could be left alone,” says Cobb.

The main message is to think carefully about what you say, how you say it and why. Of course, how often you complain is also a good barometer of where the problem really lies. No one likes a serial tattler. “I don’t think a lot of people realize that it damages their credibility as an employee,” says Willey. “You are not going to promote someone who has a history of being a tattler.”

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

If it’s not something you’re prepared to do in an accountable manner, you have to ask whether it’s something you are prepared to do at all.

MATTHEW BIDWELL

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CURTIN UNIVERSITY

A

Passion for

EXCELLENCE Alexandra Skinner talks to Mile Terziovski and Brian D’Netto at the Curtin Graduate School of Business What do you feel executives and high-potentials expect from an MBA programme and how is Curtin Graduate School of Business positioned to meet these demands?

international business and strategy give our students

Executives and high-potentials join the Curtin MBA

keeping our curriculum up-to-date in-line with business

programme to acquire knowledge and skills in business

needs and expectations. We endeavor to give our students

management which will enable them to become successful

the confidence to become successful leaders in the future.

the knowledge required to analyse business issues in organisations and make high-quality decisions. We engage with our Industry Advisory Board, students and alumni in

future leaders. A large percentage of our applications

focus on technical competence, we seek to develop strong

Curtin Graduate School of Business prides itself on creating a ‘culture of excellence’. How is this woven into the programme structure and courses?

interpersonal and leadership skills in our students. We

Our basic philosophy of creating a ‘culture of excellence’

believe that as executives move up the organisational

permeates all our activities. We have a rigorous selection

hierarchy, emotional intelligence becomes more

process for new students. We conduct an in-depth interview

important than just general intelligence. Our subjects in

to assess the quality of our applicants and the ‘fit’ with

organisational behavior, human resource management and

our current student cohort. Similarly, we carefully select

leadership enable our student to build these ‘soft skills’.

faculty who have completed a PhD, have extensive industry

In addition, subjects in economics, finance, marketing,

experience and a strong background in applied research

come from the resources sector and many applicants have a technical background. In addition to subjects which

Our basic philosophy of creating a ‘culture of excellence’ permeates all our activities.

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The Graduate Research Project The Graduate Research Project is an optional subject.

Students who take this subject have a company mentor and a faculty supervisor.  The company presents the student with a ‘real problem’ and the student spends twelve weeks working on the problem and providing a solution. This involves a considerable amount of background reading under the guidance of the faculty member.  The student visits the company several times and talks to employees to gain a good understanding of the problem. Often, the research involves additional data collection at the company level.  The faculty member guides the student in the analysis of the data. The student then presents a detailed report for evaluation by the faculty supervisor.  The student also prepares and submits a report for the company. It is common practice for the student to deliver a presentation to company executives describing the problem, the analysis of data and the results.

While the final report benefits the organisation, the project enables the student to apply managerial knowledge and skills in resolving a real problem.

MBA students benefit significantly from this experience.

of our faculty have ‘real-world’ experience. We have a selected a group of full-time faculty members who are dedicated completely to teaching in the MBA programme.

All our full-time faculty members have PhDs and the majority have international industry and teaching experience. They are able to effectively integrate their real-world experience into their teaching. Often when case studies and business issues are discussed in the classroom, faculty members are able to use examples from their work and consulting experience to explain the issues more clearly to students. About thirty per cent of our faculty work on a part-time basis. These faculty members are currently working as consultants to industry. They are able to bring into the classroom real-life examples of the problems they are dealing with in the various projects in which they are involved. Most of our case studies and assignments require our students to apply theoretical concepts to problems in the workplace.

assignments seek to link theory to current industry best

Many MBA graduates consider the peer-to-peer learning that often occurs during an MBA to have been as invaluable as the course itself. Do you strive to select a diverse cohort to facilitate this?

practice. We run seminars on a regular basis and bring in

Our selection process is rigorous and a face-to-face

CEOs and Industry experts to talk to our students about

interview is a compulsory part of the process. We strive to

current industry practice. We have over 5000 alumni and our

select a diverse cohort of students. We provide outstanding

students attend alumni events on a regular basis. Through

opportunities for peer-to-peer learning. Our students

our annual international study tour and student exchange

comprise of middle and senior level managers. The average

programmes, we provide opportunities for our students to

work experience of students in our programme is 13 years

experience the culture of another country.

and the average age is 35 years. One-third of our students

and teaching. We set high standards for all assignments and encourage students to reach these. Our teaching and

are female. Students work in a different range of industries

How important is it for MBA faculty to have ‘real-world’ experience, and how do they bring this essential knowledge into the classroom?

across manufacturing, mining and the service sector. We

Our MBA programme prepares managers to deal with

in a range of companies through discussions with other

challenges in organisations. Hence, it is critical that all

students in the class and through their team assignments.

focus heavily on the use of teams in class discussions and assignments. Students are exposed to business practices

A ‘Global View’ At Curtin Graduate School of Business, we believe that the term ‘global view’ means that our students must develop a good understanding of the way business is done in other countries.

We ensure that our students are equipped with cross-cultural and global leadership skills. They are able to travel overseas, interact effectively with people of different backgrounds, negotiate with business partners from other countries and be effective in international trade. They have the knowledge and skills to expand the business beyond the borders of the home country.

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

The three most important skills that business leaders of the future will require are:  the ability to inspire and motivate employees to pursue a future vision;  integrity and social responsibility; and  data analytics, problem-solving and a focus on results.

Our people management subjects help our students to develop the skills to inspire and motivate others.

We include several self-evaluation exercises and provide extensive feedback which helps in the personal development of our students. We also invite industry leaders to talk to our students about these issues. All the units in our programme focus on the importance of integrity and social responsibility. All assignments and team projects are assessed against the criteria of integrity.

Solutions for cases must focus on social responsibility.

Our case studies, which are sourced from Harvard publishing, focus on comprehensive analysis of data, problem solving and decision making techniques and

The International Business Study Tour The International Business Study Tour offers a valuable opportunity for students to learn more about the business practices and culture of another country from first-hand experience. A variety of perspectives are explored including economic reform, markets and marketing, business strategy, leadership, business practices and organisational culture. The study tour involves a oneweek trip to another country. The study tour is conducted in collaboration with a university in that country. Our students meet the faculty of the partner university and attend lectures on the business practices, economic issues and culture of the country. Our students also meet local students and discuss business issues with them. Students visit government organisations and business enterprises and attend seminars delivered by senior managers in these organisations. Students have to write a report on what they have learnt from the study tour, as part of their assessment. In 2015, sixteen students and an academic are travelling to Shanghai, China as part of the International Study Tour. These students will attend lectures at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and meet the local Chamber of Commerce.

In a global world, we believe it is extremely important for our students to gain international exposure. Our students do get some international exposure from the international students in the classroom. In addition, we have faculty from different countries. These faculty members are able to discuss their overseas experience with the students. As business becomes more global, students will be working with people from different countries. In the future, managers will have to travel a lot more overseas and work in virtual teams across different time zones. Hence, gaining an international exposure and developing global leadership skills becomes essential.

end results – especially in our capstone unit on strategy and international business. For all assignments and

focus on high-quality assignments and presentations,

class presentations, students are encouraged to deliver

we develop a passion for excellence in our graduates. By

professional work within stipulated deadlines.

integrating current, applied research into our teaching, we provide current theoretical knowledge to our students

Students of your MBA programmes go on to achieve great success. What do you feel are the key distinctions of your programmes that lead Curtin MBA graduates to stand out from the crowd?

and demonstrate how these theories can be applied in

We select high-quality applicants into our programme

in their organisation as they gain knowledge and skills in

and develop strong ethical leadership skills. Through our

‘real-time.’

the workplace. This ‘strong practical orientation’ of our programme builds confidence in our students and enhances their ability to deliver high-quality results

We believe that it is extremely important for our MBA students to develop a range of managerial and leadership skills.

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CURTIN UNIVERSITY

Professional Portfolio We believe that it is extremely important for our MBA students to develop a range of managerial and leadership skills to enable them to be successful in organisations. Our students are expected to complete forty hours of additional professional development during their MBA programme as part of their portfolio, which includes on-line lectures on ethics. We offer a range of professional development activities. These include our business seminars titled “A View from the Top”, where CEOs and Senior Industry Leaders present their views and interact with our students. We also conduct career development workshops for our students. Leading management consulting firms visit our campus and conduct workshops on the consulting techniques they use. We also organise networking events, where we teach our students how to improve their networking skills.

Into the future...

What are the key market trends emerging in 2015, and how will this affect your MBA offering?

We believe that technology will have a strong impact on MBA programmes and business schools in the future.

As more mature-aged students join MBA programmes, there is a growing need for greater flexibility in course delivery. We are addressing this challenge by providing ten of our twelve core MBA subjects online. We are in the process of converting our last two ‘capstone’ subjects into online delivery. This will provide total flexible delivery to our students and also enable the school to serve students across Australia and in other countries.

There will be a stronger demand for a wider range of specialisations. We are currently located in one of the resources hubs of the world. We offer a specialisation in oil and gas in our MBA programme.

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

Our business school places a very strong emphasis

with skills in logistics and supply chain management, we now offer a strategic procurement specialisation.

We also have a business leadership specialisation in our MBA. Given the rapid pace of change in the global

on creating responsible leaders. Our subjects in

environment and the impact of new technology on all

organisational behavior and leadership focus on

sectors of the economy, we believe that ‘creativity and

developing ethical leadership qualities in our students.

innovation’ will become extremely important in the

We integrate CSR and sustainable development into

future. We are planning on introducing electives in this

our teaching. For example, when analysing a case and

area to develop these skills in our MBA graduates.

evaluating alternative solutions, students are required to focus on the social impact of their decisions. Solutions to problems must demonstrate CSR and have a positive impact on sustainable development. We regularly invite guest speakers from industry to talk to our students about these topics. We also have optional subjects which focus on CSR and sustainability

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In response to the increasing demand for people

We endeavor to give our students the confidence to become successful leaders in future.

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EXECUTIVE MBA FUNDING

SO, YOU’RE CONSIDERING

Within the entire Executive MBA process, prospective students must be strategic not only in whi these programs. Given the price tag of some Executive MBA programs in the marketplace, movin is not easy. It is also much more difficult now to obtain corporate funding than ever before.

You Do Have Corporate Funding If you are lucky enough to obtain full corporate financial sponsorship from your employer for Executive MBA studies then, “congratulations” – as you are one of the fortunate ones! This achievement speaks volumes about what your organization thinks of you not only in terms of your present and past performance, but also your future potential. Your ‘sponsoring organization’ must certainly think very highly of you. As a point of note, in most cases Executive MBA students are not fully satisfied with their organization’s investment in these programs.

With this as a backdrop, it is critical that you approach this educational opportunity

multitude of deliverables including research

journey. This is just another example of how

with a vengeance. This opportunity should not

papers, team projects, simulations and general

an organization that sponsors you financially

be viewed as a time to relax. Rather, go forward

analyses. I would suggest that you try to apply

can benefit immediately from their investment.

with the mind-set that you are one of the few

some, or much, of the academic deliverables to

‘chosen ones’ within your organization – “To

your professional position. It will allow you to

in Fordham’s Executive MBA program we will

whom much is given much will be required”.

‘power your performance’ on the job and your

customize your billing to fit the exact needs of

organization will benefit as well. Be vocal with

your organization. We very much appreciate all

focus is to learn. I would not necessarily become

your organization about these deliverables. Your

that they are doing for you and your career. Our

too preoccupied about grades. In fact, take the

organization must know that they can benefit

goal is to therefore be nimble to the needs of

‘pressure of the grades’ out of the equation. In

from their investment not only in the long-term,

your organization regarding their specific billing

a perfect world if you work really hard and

but also in the short-term.

requirements. It is our goal to deliver on this end.

With that said, I would suggest your primary

Lastly, as a fully financially sponsored student

As mentioned previously, as a fully

read not only the required but also the optional

In addition, fully financially sponsored

texts, you will do very well academically and the

Fordham Executive MBA students also have

financially sponsored Executive MBA student

educational and learning experience will be quite

the opportunity to work closely with faculty

you will be one of the few within your cohort

powerful. Instead of just doing the assignment

directors and coaches to work through

to have this opportunity. Please take full

for the grade, I would approach your studies as a

professional work issues and situations

advantage from a personal, academic and

potential transformational experience, and it is

in order to achieve a ‘win/win’ for all

organizational perspective. It should be your

up to you to make that happen.

stakeholders. These ‘Fordham Resources’

goal to make this a win/win experience for all

are available nonstop for our Executive

stakeholders involved. Your proactive steps in

MBA students throughout their 22-month

making this happen will go a long way for all.

As a Fordham Executive MBA student with full corporate financial sponsorship you will have multiple opportunities across our program to reflect, synthesize and apply academic frameworks and concepts towards your organization. This can be achieved via a 34

You are going to want the best and most powerful EMBA experience possible.

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EXECUTIVE MBA FUNDING

AN EXECUTIVE MBA...

t only in which business schools to pursue, but also in how to finance place, moving forward and obtaining corporate funding for a program before.

Francis Petit

You Don’t Have Corporate Funding Do not fret! You are not alone. Full corporate

2. You are going to want the best and

and alter your perspective on creating,

financial sponsorship for Executive MBA programs

most powerful EMBA experience possible.

delivering and sustaining value in the

has been decreasing for many years. These

Traditionally, self-sponsored students want the

marketplace. In addition, your confidence

programs are quite expensive and corporations

most from their EMBA studies because they are

levels will be soaring as you are part of a

tend to be risk averse with their behaviour.

paying for them. With that said, you will not only

dynamic, professionally diverse and spirited

study very hard, but you will closely monitor

cohort. Once you have graduated the ROI

for Executive MBA programs as a potential

and critique the entire experience including the

becomes even less of an issue. You realize

risk. From their perspective, fully financially

faculty, the facilities, the technology, the calibre

how these programs have changed you for

sponsored employees could leave soon after their

of your classmates and even the catering.

the better.

Organizations view the tuition investment

graduation even if they sign a contract to stay.

3. There is a good chance you may change jobs

Overall, while ROI should be a factor, the goal

believe everyone will come knocking on HR's door

during your academic studies. Executive

should be to try to enroll in the program that is the

if the word gets out that one individual obtains

MBA students that are self-funded usually

best fit for to enable you to really have a powerful

full financial-sponsorship. In addition, with

change careers and/or positions during the

academic and professional experience.

short-term thinking pervasive now throughout

program. While this may sound daunting,

most organizations, the investment in an

it allows these Executive MBA students to

Executive MBA program is more about long-term

recharge and negotiate the EMBA tuition

planning. However, most organizations do not do

with their new employer. Overall, the lack of

not adopt long-term planning and are very short-

corporate sponsorship can leave a really bad

CLOSING THOUGHTS

term with their behaviour, especially with the

taste in the mouths of prospective and current

In closing, Executive MBA programs,

quarterly dividend ever-present.

students. This lack of commitment from

among almost all institutions, have a very

the organization's side usually leads these

high satisfaction rate from their current

growing prospective student pool not receiving

individuals to change job, or confirms to them

students and alumni, as well as a very high

full corporate financial sponsorship. If this is

that perhaps they should seek a new industry.

referral rate from an admissions perspective.

Organizations are also quite hesitant as they

With this as a background, you are a part of a

your position at this moment, below you will find more about what usually occurs, and some suggestions for you at this point:

4. As you progress through the program, and even beyond it, the ROI will become less of a focus. On the front-end, as a

1. You will be a prospective student for a

prospective Executive MBA student, the ROI

longer period of time. This is a natural

is everything. You are considering starting

occurrence. You will be analyzing different

a program that requires a huge financial

sources of alternative payment options. It

commitment with debt as the outcome.

will also take time to come to terms with

As such, you are look to obtain the most

taking on this amount of debt. The thought

from you investment. However, during the

process will be longer. Schools will come

program your mind-set starts to change.

knocking on your door but you may not be

You see how the program can really change

ready to move forward.

you both professionally and individually,

Biography  Dr Francis Petit, EdD is the Associate Dean for Academic Programs at Fordham University’s Lincoln Centre. In his work with executive education, Dr Petit has established executive programs and modules in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Dr Petit holds a Doctorate in Economics and Education from Columbia University.

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THE LEADERSHIP JOURNEY: RESPONSIBILITY

Why SUSTAINABILITY Meant OPPORTUNITY TO INNOVATE for Nike Jan van der Kaaij

F

ashion is one of the most polluting industries, second only to oil. The overall textile industry is responsible for 10 percent of global CO2 emissions, and 25 percent of the world's pesticides are used for growing cotton. The production of one kilogramme of cotton – the required amount for a pair of jeans – involves an average of 8,000 litres of water, the equivalent capacity of a small truck.

The dyeing of one kilogramme of textiles requires another 70-150 litres of water. On a global scale, in two years the entire fashion industry uses the same amount of water as there is in the Mediterranean Sea. Meanwhile more than a billion people across the globe lack sufficient access to water, and by 2025, twothirds of the world’s population is expected to face infrequent water shortages.

Employing approximately 75 million people and producing around 80 billion new garments a year, the global apparel market is associated with an extensive range of social and environmental issues. With the emergence of fast fashion and the prediction that the global apparel business is to generate double digit growth between 2014 and 2020, substantial societal pressures are mounting on the way clothing retailers manufacture their garments.

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The fast fashion business model is based upon short cycles of the latest trends. It was successfully pioneered by Spanish brand Zara and focuses on quick development and turnover at bargain prices. At the same time, supply chains have increasingly become complex as almost the entire production of apparel has been relocated to Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe, making them difficult to oversee.

For Zara’s mother company Inditex manageability is one of the main arguments to opt for ownership of factories, as Inditex prides itself in delivering quality merchandise in as little as three weeks from its own factories. But since their success is followed by ever more fashion brands, there is a growing amount of orders that need to be processed faster and at cheaper rates. With that development, the risk increases that corners are being cut by local suppliers, for instance on working hours, wages and safety.

Disruptive innovation for society Clearly, fashion needs to deal with this myriad of issues. Next to improving the industry standards through valuable vehicles such as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition[1], innovation is the next step for the industry.

“For Nike, sustainability is a powerful opportunity to innovate”, says Hannah Jones, Nike’s chief sustainability officer and VP of the company’s Innovation Accelerator, in a recent interview. Nike identified water inadequacy and resource cost volatility among the risks, opportunities and challenges surrounding its business. This became the driving force behind the forging of the relationship between Nike and Dutch award-winning start-up DyeCoo, a Dutch company that launched the world’s first ever industrial dyeing machine that uses high pressure carbon dioxide (CO2) as a replacement for water to dye polyester.

The CO2 used in the process originates from other industrial sources and is 95 per cent recyclable. On top of that, the technology uses less chemicals and about half the energy of conventional dyeing techniques.

With an estimated 39 million tonnes of polyester dyed annually, the massive market opportunity for DyeCoo was reason enough for Nike to become a shareholder in the company. Late 2013, Nike celebrated the opening of its first water-free dyeing facility at one of its suppliers featuring DyeCoo’s machines. The garments dyed

[1] The Sustainable Apparel Coalition is a trade organization comprised of brands, retailers, manufacturers, government, and nongovernmental organizations and academic experts, representing more than a third of the global apparel and footwear market. The Coalition is working to reduce the environmental and social impacts of apparel and footwear products around the world.

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THE LEADERSHIP JOURNEY: RESPONSIBILITY

Figure 1. The DyeCoo business model canvas. Source: Between-us, 2014

A prerequisite for success is to first interact with stakeholders to deeply understand their sustainability concerns. with the technology were branded as “ColorDry” to highlight the environmental benefits and unprecedented colouring achieved with the technology. Nike released its first DyeCoo-dyed product, the ColorDry Polo, in June 2014.

Nike was not the only one to spot the opportunity; it also attracted other suitors such as IKEA that became a co-investor in DyeCoo, and Adidas, which used DyeCoo-technology to launch its proprietary DryDye concept.

To enable the technology, DyeCoo also signed a collaborative agreement with Huntsman Textile Effects, a leading pigment-producing enterprise headquartered in Singapore. Their partnership was aimed at the development and growth of finishing products and fluorescent brighteners, to be produced by Huntsman and used in DyeCoo’s machines.

Scaling a sustainable innovation The complex supply chain that DyeCoo is operating in results in many constraints for its business model (refer to figure 1). Scaling up is a basic prerequisite for DyeCoo in order to create the societal and financial impact that the company’s shareholders aspired to.

Because of the huge investments and reliability requirements, selling DyeCoo’s dyeing machines remains a difficult and sometimes elusive

process. While its technology has often been described as revolutionary, DyeCoo discovered that radical change within the clothing industry needs time, a lot of time.

Since the remaining obstacle for growth today is the wait-and-see approach within the textile market, DyeCoo is working hard to develop the next version of their technology, as well as other applications such as rendering textiles water resistant and fireproof. Furthermore, the company is focused on finding a solution for dyeing cotton with CO2 and on forging new alliances. To date, DyeCoo has a worldwide capacity of 32,000 litres and growing. With this volume, DyeCoo remains a miniscule player in a huge global market. Meanwhile, customers keep coming and the future looks bright. Next to Nike and Adidas, Swedish outdoor apparel brand Peak Performance has also launched products that are using DyeCoo technology.

From stakeholder engagement to value chain collaboration In line with the successes of blockbuster products such as the enzyme-based low temperature washing detergents of Novozymes for P&G and others, the example of Nike and DyeCoo illustrates that there are smart ways to unlock the market potential of sustainability issues. But turning such issues into

opportunities is not easy; it requires a partnering approach, not just an isolated technological innovation. A prerequisite for success is therefore to first interact with stakeholders to deeply understand their sustainability concerns.

From this understanding, the impact and market potential can be revealed. With enough potential, the stakeholder engagement will also come in useful in the development of the required partnering platform. In short, value chain collaboration should be regarded as a key differentiator to turn sustainability issues into tangible business opportunities.

Courtesy of INSEAD Knowledge.

Biographies  Nikkie Vinke is Senior Consultant at Between-us, a strategy and sustainability consultancy.  Jan Van Der Kaaij is the Managing Partner of Between-us and a partner in INSEAD’s Leading the Business of Sustainability executive development programme. He is also a member of the INSEAD Sustainability Roundtable Advisory Board.

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND THE MBA

WAYS an MBA DEGREE Can Help

Entrepreneurs and

Business Owners Emad Rahim

A

Master of Business Administration bestows various benefits upon the holder, including theoretical knowledge, real-world connections and the prestige of an alma mater. An MBA holder can use their degree to further his or her professional, social and academic aspirations.

Granted, this is no easy or cheap diploma, but the investment in time and money is worth it.

If you are an entrepreneur, seeking a master’s degree can thrust your business and personal aspirations forward, as long as you know how to cultivate the right relationships inside and outside classrooms.

1. You Understand Business Management Theory After completing an MBA you will understand management theory, the essential concepts underlying business planning, and what differentiates a winning strategy from a losing one.

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That’s not to say you cannot grasp those concepts with a graduate degree, however.

The point here is that a typical MBA curriculum covers some subjects in depth, and triggers intellectual stimulation you might not have acquired otherwise, especially when the classes are taught by world-class lecturers, some of whom may be Nobel Prize winners.

2. You Learn Different Ways of Running Your Business An MBA shows you alternative ways to run your business. Whether it is centralized or decentralized, you will fathom the pros and cons of each option. Obviously, there are as many ways of running a company as there are, say, human beings. But the bottom line is that MBA case studies give you an insight into the minds of leaders at large companies, teaching you how to replicate the successes of the winners and how to shun the mistakes of the losers.

3. You Make Lifelong Contacts Don’t be shy when you enroll in an MBA class.

Remember that each person in that classroom is a current or future business leader, an expert in his or her field, or an up-and-coming social entrepreneur. Make as many contacts as you can.

Reach out to others, engage a frank and relevant conversation, and make connections that could turn out to be lifelong contacts. You never know, you could parlay these personal link-ups into future business or social partnerships.

4. You Can Take Your Business Global An MBA gives you the conceptual tools and practical guidance needed to take your business global. In today’s marketplace, international expansion is a must, especially if you operate in a field that is domestically crowded, or in an international market whose entry barriers are minimal or nonexistent.

If you are an entrepreneur, seeking a master’s degree can thrust your business and personal aspirations forward.

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND THE MBA

5. You Can Hire The Right Talent When Needed

8. You Could Become a Thought Leader

9. Your Alumni Connections Could Help Later

At some point your business will need an influx of talent – the right talent – to grow and make money. A master’s degree provides you the framework needed to identify who you really need to hire, why you need to hire them, how to allocate staff resources properly, and how much to pay them. This goes back to the points we discussed earlier, when we said an MBA helps you to not only understand management concepts, but also shows you various ways of running your business.

The intellectual rigor that an MBA program requires makes most degree holders potential thought leaders in their fields. This could be you!

Irrespective of your business aspirations, you can establish yourself as an intellectual authority in a field or on a specific topic. That, again, can provide another source of revenue in the event that your business ventures don’t pan out.

Your alumni connections – those one-time classmates you kept talking to – could help boost your business needs in both the medium – and long-term. They could be potential customers and business partners, or refer you to their own business and social contacts.

Furthermore, there may be an opportunity to hire some of your old classmates, which is a smart move financially and operationally as you will know and trust them already and, potentially, they will ask for a level of compensation that won’t break your bank!

6. You Can Write A Proper Business Plan to Attract External Funding A business plan, when properly written, can lure a potential investor. After acquiring an MBA, you will know how to pen a convincing, substantiated business plan, with a synopsis or executive summary as catchy as the last Apple or Nike commercial.

Again, you can hire an expert to write the plan for you if you don’t have an MBA or don’t know much about business planning. But having the degree gives you the knowledge and the option to say “I want to write my own business plan”, and to execute it.

7. You Have a Professional Safety Net If your business goals don’t materialize quickly enough and you find yourself scrambling for money, you can go back to the corporate world. With an MBA, you have job security – plain and simple, no questions asked. You will find a job and restore your financial situation, so you can return later to entrepreneurship if that is what you want.

10. You Can Build a Solid Online Presence You can translate your web of offline connections into a strong online presence. I suggest you create personal and business accounts on the most popular social networks, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Be sure to actively participate in activities that your alma mater and alumni association periodically post.

Final Word An MBA opens the gateways to financial and social success. The degree helps you improve your business operations, providing you with the insight and tools you need to make money in the long-term.

If you don’t have the time or money to undertake a fullcourse MBA degree, look for alternatives, such as a Management Certificate, an Executive MBA, or management courses specifically tailored for busy entrepreneurs and professionals.

Biography  Dr Emad Rahim is Endowed Chair of the Project Management Center of Excellence, Associate Professor for Project Management at Bellevue University and Jack Welch Management Institute Fellow. You can find him on Twitter: @DrEmadRahim

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THE FOUR AGES OF ONLINE EDUCATION

JUGS, JUNCTIONS, HOPED-FOR JUICE and JUDICIOUS LEARNERS The Four Ages of Online Executive Education Terry O’Sullivan Jugs and mugs

Hoped-for juice

Judicious Learners

We have come a long way from the late 1980s and the first inklings of what the emerging internet might mean for executive education. A model of the efficient transfer of knowledge held sway as delegates were ranged before banks of cathode ray tubes and plugged into programmes of learning.

With computers in charge, what could possibly go wrong? This ‘jug and mug’ approach to education is surprisingly persistent, but – while the ‘mugs’ get filled with something – – it tends to evaporate in the heat of management practice.

We are now in a third phase of online executive education. Having established a more or less common view of how knowledge is co-constructed by learners in the early 21st century, providers are now beginning to grasp what technology can reveal about the detailed procedures that contribute to the process. Online is a totally accountable medium. It provides a complete picture of who has been using it, when and for how long. Admittedly, much of this data can only be seen as a proxy for what learners are actually doing. It goes nowhere near the complexity and depth of learning as an activity. But the routine nature of its collection, its objectivity, and the simple fact that there is so much of it makes it irresistible. Learning analytics has thus become an obsession for providers over the last few years as they struggle to make sense of the tidal waves of data that online produces about who is learning and how. The hoped-for juice to be distilled from all this work is ‘science’ to support the creation of more effective and efficient learning experiences. But being a social process, learning is likely to elude universal principles.

Certainly, most of the research in learning analytics at the moment seems to be focused on the data collection and hypothesis development side of things, rather than the application of insights into changed practices. The juice looks like it could be a while coming.

Which brings me to the future – and the fourth phase of online executive education. I predict that the next big thing will be learners doing it for themselves when it comes to analytics, and becoming more judicious as a result. We have recently seen the rise of what trend spotters call ‘the quantified self’ with gadgets such as FitBit and apps that track your fitness, health, wealth and wellbeing. As careers become more fragmented and individualistic, executive education is likely to follow suit. The very devices from which managers access executive education will be giving them feedback on their individual learning behaviours and preferences, informing their judgements about personal and professional development. This will make them tougher, and better, customers – creating new opportunities for providers nimble enough to cater for their needs.

Junctions Pretty soon the potential of connecting learners to one another became apparent. This, if you like, was the second phase of online executive education. Out with digital jugs, in with digital junctions. In the networked economy, joined-up thinking dictated that learning is a social activity.

By this second phase, of course, the internet had become much more fun. Not only did it look more inviting than the rudimentary graphical environment of DOS, but software was becoming available that allowed you to talk back at it. The era of Web 2.0, or the ‘read-write’ web was upon us. At last people were beginning to get the hang of what online could do that real life couldn’t. Allowing managers to communicate, work and learn together, wherever they were in the world, across time zones, in sync with their personal schedules, revealed the true potential of online as a medium.

It opened up new ways of learning and new ways of understanding learning. Rather than the expert-to-novice transmission of the digital jug, we now began to realise that professionals learn from each other. We kind of knew that all along, but online helped us to see it in action. Suddenly we were witnessing the co-creation of professional knowledge by the people to whom it mattered most. Designing online learning became a matter of creating the right kind of opportunities for people to harness this collective wisdom.

The hoped-for juice to be distilled from all this work is to support the creation of more effective and efficient learning experiences.

Biographies  Terry O’Sullivan is a senior lecturer in management at The Open University Business School and a director of the school’s Centre of Innovation in Teaching and Learning (InTeL).  Founded in 1983, The Open University Business School is a pioneer in distance learning business and management education. Triple accreditation from the three leading international management education associations, excellence in research and continuing innovation, make it one of the top business schools in the world. Its flexible and practice-based programmes transform careers and those organisations that embrace online learning by enabling people to study while in full time employment. In 2015, its global network of MBA graduates will reach 25,000.

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CAREER STRATEGY

How THINKING of YOURSELF as a BUSINESS can BOOST your career Professor Albrecht Enders, Jean-Louis Barsoux and Andreas König

C

reating value is not of much use to a

former chief executive of Stora Enso,

business unless the business can capture

a Finnish pulp and paper giant, “What made

a significant part of that value as profit.

me special was my ability to identify and bring

THEN ASK YOURSELF:

The same is true for you as an individual. To

together brilliant people, a lot smarter than

thrive in your career, you must attend to both

me, and the further you go in your career, the

Is your competitive advantage sustainable?

sides of the value ledger, just as if you were a

more valuable that ability becomes”.

Pinpointing how you add value for your

So think about what sets you apart and

boss and your organization is your first

Create value by focusing on your

prevents your boss from replacing you with

challenge; next you need to ask yourself

distinctive contribution and what you

another executive who can do a better job or

to what extent you will be able to retain

do to maintain that edge.

the same job for less.

that edge in the future.

business. Here's how:

ASK:

What is your competitive advantage?

Developing special knowhow is critical, but you also have to make sure that somehow it gets noticed, meaning that you must gravitate toward business areas or leaders that especially need your talents.

In particular, you must identify the perceived benefits that your immediate boss gets from having you on the team. What it is that he or she really needs, around which you can create more value? What kinds of headaches do you solve for your boss? Maybe you provide relief by taking on activities your boss finds painful or time-consuming, or maybe you achieve things that seem difficult for others. According to Jouko Karvinen,

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Keep renewing your skills and reinventing yourself.

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CAREER STRATEGY

4 questions to make better choices about how to create and capture value in your job.

In the past, just having knowledge

At what point do you decide that the costs

was often a big differentiator. Today there is

are too high and the rewards are no longer

more of a premium on knowing how to get at

worth it? Sometimes early in your career you

your boss is actually looking for, you may have a

knowledge, especially through your ability to

are prepared to make a special sacrifice, such

profound impact on your overall value creation.

make connections, collaborate with others, and

as taking on a painful assignment or doing a

ask smart questions. The half-life of knowledge

disliked job, anticipating that it will pay off

lens should help you to think more strategically

is becoming shorter, and that puts the onus on

later. Or you may assume that provisional

about your career, about where you are

you to keep renewing your skills and reinventing

suffering is to be expected as you come to

contributing and where to invest your efforts

yourself. As Gerard Kleisterlee, the former chief

grips with a new job, and it will diminish over

but also about what the trade-offs are that you

executive of Philips, expressed it, “Always learn...

time. The problem is when that temporary pain

need to think about and which activities you

every day. When you are in my position, no matter

simply doesn’t go away.

need to jettison. And you must ask yourself what costs you are willing to incur to continue

your age or your tenure in the job, still every day there is a learning opportunity. And I try to maintain that mindset”.

Capturing value is a matter mainly of what costs you incur and how they can be reduced.

Adopting this value creation and capture

SO ASK YOURSELF:

Is your success costing too much?

Can you cut your costs?

delivering that value, and for how long.

Periodically, when you feel that things are getting out of kilter, revisit your strategy, so you can capture a larger share of the value you create.

A common response to mounting or excessive

ASK YOURSELF: What is your ROI?

costs is simply to start looking for a different

This article first appeared on Forbes.com

job. An alternative is to look for ways to reduce

and is provided courtesy of IMD.

your costs in your current job. Executives often

If you are a valued executive you are probably

underestimate the scope they have for changing

well rewarded for your efforts, both financially

what they do and how they do it. You can redefine

and otherwise, but to determine your return

your work by examining your list of duties and

on investment you must also factor in the

perhaps delegating work that you find saps your

personal costs you incur. As long as the benefits

energy or adds little value. You can also stretch

significantly outweigh the costs, you may accept

your job’s boundaries into realms that you

your sacrifices. Lego’s chief executive, Jørgen

wrongly assumed were off limits, and reorient the

Vig Knudstorp, is very conscious of this tradeoff:

job toward activities that keep you engaged and

“If I’d wanted to avoid traveling and to be home for dinner each evening, I should

energized and where you can make a difference.

At the same time you also need to think

not have accepted this job. But when you’re

about the activities you’re involved in that don’t

passionate about what you do, then you pay the

create much value or help you build competitive

consequences. However, as a father of four, that

advantage. If you can start shifting just a little

is why I have no hobbies. I dedicate all my spare

bit of your resources into more value-adding

time to being with my family.”

activities, based on your understanding of what

Biographies  Albrecht Enders is Professor of Strategy and Innovation at IMD. He leads the Advanced Strategic Management program.  Jean-Louis Barsoux is Senior Research Fellow at IMD.  Andreas König is Professor of Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship at the University of Passau (Germany) and an Affiliated Research Fellow at IMD.

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AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS

WAYS

to get the MOST out of your MBA

Australian Institute of Business

G 1

aining an MBA requires time, monetary investment and lots of hard work, so who wouldn't want to maximise the return on their MBA degree? At the Australian Institute of Business (AIB), we've profiled our worldwide alumni and have come up with five of their top tips for getting the most out of your MBA degree.

Attend networking and alumni events

Networking is often described as ‘the gift that keeps on giving’, as you never know when a relationship made in the classroom, on an educational forum or at an event will turn into a career opportunity. Savvy graduates not only take the opportunity to network during their degree, but also after graduation through a range of networking and alumni events.

According to an article in Forbes (Adams, 2011), a recent survey from global career experts, Right Management, found networking is still the best way to find a job, with 41 per cent of survey respondents saying they had landed a job through networking, and 25 per cent through an internet job board.

This isn’t a surprisingly high statistic when you consider that these events are designed to connect local and international business leaders and can enable you to expand your knowledge, share your business story and make valuable connections.

You also have the opportunity to build your reputation in the local business community and to give and receive advice from others who have been in similar situations as you.

Access to an alumni network of business professionals is also considered one of the greatest advantages of obtaining an MBA. Both distance and on-campus students would be selling themselves short to not take advantage of the business connections potentially gained through the classroom, online forums, study groups and alumni events, including the ability to make or build on life-long business relationships.

“It’s a great way for me to show those who are ready for personal development opportunities how they can grow into leaders and set themselves up for growth,” she said.

“For me, an MBA has become the norm – you need to have it on your resume now to be shortlisted for opportunities, which is why I encourage my staff to complete an MBA.”

TIP: Use alumni events to up-skill your staff As the National Manager of Offshore Operations at RP Data, Rhonda Olsson has been inviting her staff members to AIB’s alumni events for years.

“I manage a very diverse group of people in their twenties to their sixties, and I normally bring three or four of my employees to each AIB alumni event as I’m a big advocate of its MBA programme,” Rhonda said.

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2

Base your studies on your organisation with AIB’s work-applied MBA

AIB’s work-applied MBA is designed for students to study while they work. This degree offers an immediate return on investment for the employer, as the skills learnt during the degree can immediately be applied back to the company.

This type of study offers both practical examples and theories, as well as how to deliver results in real business scenarios. Furthermore, AIB’s project completed towards the end of the degree allows students the opportunity to research and report on a broad range of topics they choose as appropriate.

There’s no better time to apply the management skills and techniques you learn throughout the MBA than during your studies. This not only helps to cement your learning, but also means that you can practice your new skills immediately.

3

Update your LinkedIn profile and resume

If you don’t yet have a LinkedIn profile, set one up now.

Today, many business school graduates are obtaining leads for senior positions from their networks. Furthermore, employers are increasingly recruiting staff through referrals, networks and social channels, with 89 per cent of recruiters having hired someone through LinkedIn, according to the ‘Best Practices in Social Recruiting’ report (Rouser, 2012).

Even if you’re not looking for a promotion or career change in the near future, your LinkedIn profile can be beneficial in a number of ways. Whether you want to find recent MBA graduates from your class or a local institution or you want to scope out potential employers, clients or business partners, the online networking site is a great place to start. Just don’t forget to keep both your physical and online resume accurate and up-to-date so they stand up under scrutiny and allow you to jump on business opportunities as they arise.

TIP: Implement skills learnt from your MBA immediately to generate immediate ROI and recognition Nathan Venables said completing his MBA with AIB has helped him to not only look at problems strategically, but to put his formal learning in place within his current business.

“In the past 15 to 18 months we have gone through a change and now operate as an IT unit that is focused on service, and have just won the award for the best ICT

TIP: Add your MBA in progress to your resume when you start the qualification Those who wait until the end of their degree to add their qualifications to their resume (with a note to say the study is ongoing) may be missing out on potential employment opportunities.

AIB MBA graduate Lisa Varley found that even part-

service in Tasmania from the industry body within the

way through her studies her new skills and experience

state,” he said.

still had acclaim with employers.

“That was a massive turnaround for us, and I took

“I was half-way through my MBA and it got me job

a lot of the skills needed to achieve this from the

interviews that previously had not been offered to me.

MBA programme.”

Having been in middle management for many years,

Savvy graduates not only take the opportunity to network during their degree, but also after graduation.

embarking on an MBA has really helped me to get to the next level,” she said.

Lisa moved from her previous role as a Marketing Manager to her current role as the Commercial Manager of Mundipharma while completing her MBA, and found that the programme’s practicality allowed her to start applying the degree to her role immediately.

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4

Keep your textbooks and learning material

Many students report the theory learnt throughout their MBA as priceless, aiding them in their careers and benefitting their workplace for years following graduation. In the same way, the tools used to gain knowledge could also be considered priceless, especially when you take into account the fact that you’ve probably spent hours highlighting sections in your materials that are relevant to you by the end of your degree.

No one can remember all the theories they learnt during their MBA word for word, so for many students their textbooks serve as a valuable career resource following the completion of their degree.

For those who consider selling their textbooks after each subject, consider how valuable they may become later when the theory taught in different subjects begins to link and overlap with issues you encounter in the workplace, providing a greater representation of business as a whole.

5

Don’t rule out ongoing professional development following your degree

Whether you’ve completed an MBA off the back of a bachelor’s degree or after decades of work experience, or somewhere in between, there’s no reason to stop your studies with the completion of your MBA. Professional development is a great way to remain up-todate in your profession, which is why it’s a good investment to undertake professional development throughout your career.

It includes any educational experience related to your work and allows you to apply new knowledge and skills that will improve your performance on the job.

Professional development can increase job engagement, enable you to stay in tune with advancements and trends, make you step outside of your comfort zone and take advantage of networking opportunities that arise.

TIP: Make learning your life’s philosophy AIB MBA graduate and Superintendent of Fire & Rescue NSW Greg Windeatt believes in the power of life-long learning.

“As a philosophy I believe you should always be learning.

Learning is how you grow and you keep learning until you die,” Greg said.

“But it doesn’t have to be academic study, it could just be reading, or researching concepts online,” he said.

TIP: Use your textbooks to the benefit of your organisation

base just by studying things you find interesting.

While completing his MBA, Aquatic Biosecurity

Never stop learning.”

Manager Dr Michael Sierp used several of his assignments on work he was doing in the industry at the time.

“Some of my assignments were used to make decisions about how the business operates including one where the compliance division would be relocated,” Michael said.

“You should always be trying to expand your knowledge

Employers are increasingly recruiting staff through referrals, networks and social channels.

“The team was going to be sent to a regional inland location to work, but I checked my textbook and there was actually a formula you could use to work out where your business should be,” he said.

“They used the recommendations from my assignment and as a result, the team is in a more suitable local

 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.

setting on the water now.”

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LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

List of Contributors A

K

Albrecht Enders AMBA Amber Callender Andreas König

Kent State University Kim Burke Knowledge at Wharton

B Brian D’Netto C Curtin Graduate School of Business F Fordham University Francis Petit

Laurie Walker M Mark C. Crowley Mile Terziovski Millsaps College N Nikkie Vinke

G

O

George Iliev Greg McKeown

Open University

I IMD INSEAD Knowledge J Jan Van Der Kaaij Jean-Louis Barsoux

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L

R Robert Hisrich T Ted Rubin Terry O’Sullivan

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