Bized, November/December 2007, Full Issue

NOVember/december 2007

illycaffè’s Andrea Illy A Commitment to Quality

Designing Across Disciplines

Teaching the Tools of Responsible Leadership BizEd

48 Contnovember/december 2007 e vntsolume Vi, issue 6

Departments FEATURES 32

6 From the Editors 18 The Emperor of Espresso 38 A Is for B-School Andrea Illy of Italy’s illycaffè is pas- Four authors address issues criti- 8 Letters sionate about coffee—and smart cal to the success of any business 10 Headlines about selling it around the world. school. Phyllis Zadra follows one school’s journey to assessment, 56 Research 24 Design Think @ Innovation U Jeffrey Mello explores how to uti- 62 Technology Business, design, and engineering lize adjuncts, and Ruth Guthrie students dream up big solutions and Louise Soe advocate for accred- 66 Your Turn that promise to shape the future of itation maturity. business. 68 Bookshelf 48 Joining Forces 72 Calendar 32 Learning to Lead— Corporations have become more Responsibly concerned with, engaged in, and 74 Classifieds At Universiteit Maastricht, writes essential to business school pro- 80 Spotlight Mariëlle Heijltjes, courses empha- grams, acting as prized partners in size problem-solving and self- the educational process. directed learning to turn students Cover photo courtesy into responsible leaders. of illycaffè

BizEd november/december 2007 1 From the Editors

I ♥ My Mug Let me tell you about my mug. Used for all my daily beverage needs, my glass mug has soft swirls of white and blue swooping through it. Its smooth sides curve gently inward, providing the perfect place for my hand to grasp. Sparkling grooves adorn the points where the elegant handle meets the glass. In case you couldn’t tell, I love my mug. I stumbled upon it accidentally at a flea market years ago; I purchased it as an afterthought. But after I used it once, it was all over. This mug would not be rel- egated to the back of the kitchen cabinet. It would be used frequently and with pleasure. I wish I knew the artist who made this master- piece. He or she did a fine job. That’s the power of great design. The question is, if great design can inspire an ode to joy for a common household object, what can it do for a business? A great deal, according to some business educators. The tools and collaborative processes embraced in the design world can help an organization adopt elegant business models that inspire fierce loyalty and devotion among its customers and staff. As a result, courses in “design thinking” are becoming important parts of the curricula at a growing number of business schools. In these courses, business students collaborate with students from engineering, design, and other disciplines to find unrecog- nized needs in the market and develop innovative ways to meet them. In the process, they’re learning to appreciate diverse new perspectives and embrace an exciting array of possibilities. Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Manage- ment at the University of Toronto in Canada, sees such interdisciplinary integration and design-based curricula as “important for the next stage of business education.” Martin and other educators believe that it will be the students with business savvy, design smarts, and collaborative skills who’ll be best prepared to help organizations stay ahead of the trends and succeed in the midst of rampant global competition. After all, I never knew I needed a blue-swirled glass mug, just as our counterparts in the 1970s never knew they needed the Internet. By combining their talents, designers, engineers, and business leaders can envision solutions that we haven’t even dreamed of yet. And, of course, once these design-minded innovators take their best ideas to market, we’ll wonder how we ever lived without them. ■z Bill Bas c om

6 BizEd november/december 2007 THE RICHARDS GROUP TRG JOB: 07-0029-SBU CLIENT: Letters SMU AD NAME: Eyechart PUB(S): BizEd INSERTION DATE: 2007 TRIM : Evaluating the Teachers 8.375 x 10.875 LIVE: 7.375 x 9.875 “The Scientist and the Sage,” in BLEED: the July/August 2007 issue of 8.625 x 11.125 BizEd, addressed a problem faced COLOR/LS: by schools around the world: CMYK/133 QUESTIONS: how to give great researchers and Jen Duncan great teachers equal recognition 214-891-5808 and reward. Reward and recognition should be based upon strictly objective evaluations of faculty. However, schools find it much easier to weigh the evaluations per- formed by external sources, such as the research reviews given out by national and international peers or the research grants awarded by sponsors. Such evaluations are based on globally accepted and published methodology and practices. The problem with teaching evaluations is that they are carried out locally by students and supervisors. Therefore, the results run the risk of being more subjec- LEADING THE WAY! tive and may contain an element of emotional appreciation; this can distort an evaluation process that is designed to assess the quality of the teaching, not the quality of the teacher. Perhaps this explains why schools place more emphasis on research than on teaching when they are recruiting. The Board of Trustees, Board of Governors The sidebar accompanying the article, “New Models and President’s Cabinet of Chapman University at Work,” offers some interesting avenues for recogniz- WELCOME ing teaching excellence. We support approaches such as encouraging more published case studies, which allow VERNON L. SMITH, Ph.D. objective feedback regarding teaching utility. We also Our EMBA program would look good to anyone’s eyes. 2002 Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics feel that student tutoring can promote a more objective Professor of Economics and Law evaluation of courses and programs. Like administrators That’s because the professionals in the SMU Cox Executive MBA program are accomplished Vernon L. Smith, Ph.D. at Harvard Business School and Ohio State’s Fisher Col- business leaders with the numbers to prove it. Like an average annual compensation of $168,900. And announce the establishment of the new lege of Business, we believe that the quality of teaching “Chapman has made a score!” And average work experience of 15 years. But that’s not all they bring to the table. Their ECONOMIC SCIENCE INSTITUTE may also be evaluated through new models developed - The Wall Street Journal Online an interdisciplinary effort of the across disciplines by teachers and researchers. Schools diverse backgrounds and unique business insights create a classroom environment that’s “Latest and most dramatic move � School of Law should take the development of these new models into second to none. And their corporate connections allow for unmatched networking to elevate Chapman to a � George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics world-class institution” � Wilkinson College of Letters and Sciences account when they are evaluating the teaching contribu- opportunities. These are just a few of the reasons why SMU Cox commands a closer look. - Los Angeles Times tions of individual faculty members. The research of the Economic Science Institute We would welcome a broader discussion on the eval- promises new answers in fields ranging from Visit www.smucox.com or call 214.768.9022. international markets and the environment to law, uation of teaching in our schools. CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY transportation and energy. One University Drive Valentina Carbone and Orange, California 92866 To encourage public support for higher education, Gemini Industries, Inc. is pleased to sponsor this ad. Don Osborn www.chapman.edu Ecole Supérieure du Commerce Extérieur Paris, France

SMU will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, or veteran status. SMU’s commitment to equal opportunity includes nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. 8 BizEd november/december 2007

SBU070029 BizEd8_3x10_8v2.indd 1 9/28/07 10:27:41 AM Headlines

Bridging the Doctoral Gap might offer options such as intensive a vital step in meeting “the grow- summer scheduling or more empha- ing demand for high-quality busi- As part of its response to the predicted sis on distance education. ness education and research,” says doctoral faculty shortage in manage- AACSB International’s endorse- John J. Fernandes, president and ment education, AACSB Internation- ment ensures each program will be chief executive officer of AACSB. al has endorsed five “Post-Doctoral rigorous and prepare both experi- “Increasing the academic diversity of Bridge to Business Programs” devel- enced and newly qualified doctoral our faculties through this program oped by member schools. These faculty from academic disciplines, will strengthen our ability to meet programs prepare qualified doctoral according to Richard Sorensen, dean this global demand.” faculty from other academic disci- of the Pamplin School of Business plines for positions in accounting and at Virginia Tech. Sorensen leads the Women and B-School finance, marketing, management, association’s efforts to address the supply chain management, interna- doctoral faculty shortage. The pro- In an effort to draw more women into tional business, and entrepreneurship. grams will also orient these scholars business careers, many business The five schools offering these so they can more quickly pursue fac- schools are stepping up their recruit- programs are the University of Flori- ulty positions in management educa- ing efforts or developing specialized da in Gainesville; Grenoble Ecole de tion, he says. programs. Here is just a sampling of Management in France; University The programs evolved from recent initiatives: of Toledo in Ohio; Tulane Univer- the findings of the 2003 report, n The Quinnipiac University sity in New Orleans, Louisiana; and “Sustaining Scholarship in Business School of Business in Hamden, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and Schools,” prepared by AACSB’s Connecticut, has implemented Busi- State University in Blacksburg. All Doctoral Faculty Commission. Tak- ness Women in Search of Excellence programs are slated to begin by the ing into account current Ph.D. (B-WISE). The program offers for- summer of 2008, but program con- enrollments, projected demand for mally structured professional devel- centrations, delivery methods, and business education, and expected opment opportunities for female other factors will vary to reflect the rate of faculty retirements, the business students and helps them strengths of the schools and provide report predicted that the U.S. will address issues specific to being a interested candidates with flexible experience a shortage of approxi- woman in business. options. For instance, schools par- mately 2,500 Ph.D.s by 2012. According to Rowena Ortiz- ticipating in the Bridge Program Developing bridge programs is Walters, an assistant management professor at the school, the program will help female students express feelings of self-confidence, recognize personal work and accomplishments, overcome phobias about quantitative courses and business careers, dress professionally, and network effectively. B-WISE also aims to help female students understand the glass ceil- ing, develop strategies to deal with potential career barriers, and balance work and family life. n The Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville has con- centrated on recruiting more female applicants and offering more fel- lowships to women. The school

10 BizEd november/december 2007 While women are reluctant to claim they face more challenges than men, too few women progress to top corporate positions.

corporate positions, says Susan Vin- years of approved work experience. nicombe, the Centre’s director. This HBS will reach out to high- is partly due to the fact that women achieving college juniors studying don’t specifically behave in a way that science, engineering, healthcare, gov- “manages impressions,” she says, and ernment, and public service, among partly due to the “macho model of other disciplines. Once students are success used in many organizations.” admitted to the 2+2 program, the She adds, “Not to address that school will help them find jobs for would be denying the reality that the two years between college gradu- exists at the senior management level ation and full-time matriculation in most organizations today. It’s not at HBS. As many as 100 organiza- about a deficiency model—it’s about tions—including Google, Teach for helping women MBAs look at the America, The Clorox Company, and differences in how men and women McKinsey & Company—are expect- progress in management.” ed to serve as recruiting partners to facilitate the job search process. HBS Program Reaches Out During their two-year work expe- to Undergrads riences, 2+2 students will participate Don Farrall/Getty Ima g es Don Farrall/Getty in on-campus summer academic pro- worked with the Forté Foundation, Harvard Business School in Boston, Mas- grams that will expose them to HBS a nonprofit organization devoted to sachusetts, has unveiled HBS 2+2, a classes and allow them to meet class- increasing the number of women deferred MBA admissions program mates. They also will have a dedi- in MBA programs, to find ways to designed for students who typically cated career coach and access to stra- reach more women applicants. Its might not consider business educa- tegic career coaching advice through efforts have paid off: In Darden’s tion. The program gives undergrad- an online self-assessment tool. HBS incoming class of 2009, 31 percent uates a guaranteed place in a future anticipates that the 2+2 Program will are women, compared to 21 percent Harvard Business School MBA class, grow to about 5 percent to 10 per- in last year’s class. Administrators contingent upon their graduation cent of the incoming Harvard MBA hope the “critical mass” of women from college and completion of two class over the next several years. already enrolled in school will lead to more women applying to Darden in the coming years. Grenoble Embraces Rugby n Last year, the Cranfield School of Management in the U.K. In the U.S., a number of business schools have taught principles of management at NASCAR tracks or golf launched two Aurora-Cranfield courses. In France, the Grenoble Ecole de Management is capitalizing on Europeans’ obsession with rugby to MBA Scholarships for Women. One teach managerial practices through the lessons of sports. This fall, the school signed a partnership with the covers tuition for the full-time MBA, and the other covers tuition for the Grenoble Rugby Club, which will participate in the creation and content of marketing and sports programs two-year EMBA. The scholarship is at the school. Rugby professionals will present Grenoble students with a series of case studies for which the sponsored by the Aurora Network, students will develop business plans and strategies. The school and the club also will participate in each oth- a group for professional women. Cranfield’s International Centre for ers’ conferences, boards of admissions, sports events, and internships. Women Business Leaders also leads Rugby is also the topic of a recent book, Le management à l'école du rugby, published by Grenoble’s an annual summer networking con- François Leccia and Loïck Roche. The book, co-authored by rugby coach Jacques Delmas, examines the ference for women MBAs. parallels between the worlds of sports and business. The authors argue that in business, as in rugby, a suc- While women are reluctant to claim they face more challenges than cessful organization requires both individual effort and team spirit. men, too few women progress to top

BizEd november/december 2007 11 Headlines “More than ever, success takes the ability to see beyond functional boundaries.”

—Joseph Baczko, Pace University

B-Schools Go Green to reduce their footprints; simulates the country. These carbon offsets, “what-if” scenarios; allows individu- purchased through Carbonfund. Today when business schools think “green,” als to compare their achievements org, counterbalance 1 percent of the they’re often focusing on envi- with others; and encourages them annual carbon emissions from the ronmentalism, not money. Three to join social networking groups school’s estimated gas and electric- schools have recently found ways to organized around environmental ity consumption. The purchase also shrink their environmental footprints goals. ensures that the club itself will be or boost their sustainability: n Babson College in Wellesley, “carbon neutral” during the 2007– n The Rady School of Manage- Massachusetts, has undertaken two 2008 academic year. ment at the University of California initiatives to help the school become in San Diego has installed an 18- a little greener: Novel Approach kilowatt Kyocera solar power system The school has selected Telkonet to Business 101 on top of its new facility Otterson SmartEnergy to manage the in- Hall. The system will provide an room energy consumption in a 120- Business students who arrived for orien- additional power source for the room dormitory. Telkonet eliminates tation at Pace University’s Lubin school’s 50,000-square-foot facil- wasted energy by using equipment School of Business in New York City ity, with the goal of minimizing the that senses when a room is vacant over the summer got an unusual school’s energy costs for decades to or occupied and adjusts the room’s introduction to the issues of glo- come. The project was proposed and temperature accordingly. The partic- balization and cross-disciplinary directed by MBA students in Rady’s ular dormitory was chosen because it problem solving. They received Net Impact chapter. uses energy-intensive electric heating copies of The Namesake, the 2003 The Otterson Hall system is the that needed to be manually changed novel by Jhumpa Lahiri, and discus- school’s second major solar installa- room by room when students were sion questions that would help them tion and reflects the campus’s com- away. The school anticipates an explore key business issues prevalent mitment to environmental conserva- energy consumption savings of 30 in today’s “flat world.” In a letter to tion through renewable percent, which will repay students, dean Joseph Baczko told energy. Engineers at UC the investment within business students that “the role of San Diego have identi- two years. Other campus immigrants in the U.S. and adapta- fied roof space for at buildings, including the tion of people into new cultures least 500 kilowatts of conference center/hotel is an important topic that will be solar power. complex, will be candi- incorporated into numerous courses n Rotman Executive dates for energy man- you take.” Programs at the Univer- agement systems in the Baczko adds, “Nonfiction can’t sity of Toronto’s Rotman future. always let you experience life the School of Management In addition, Babson’s way people live it and feel it. We in Canada has partnered Energy and Enviromen- think this will motivate students to with Zerofootprint, a tal Club has purchased better understand human behavior not-for-profit environ- carbon offsets to reduce and get them away from the stereo- mental organization. the environmental type that business is mostly finance, Staff will be introduced impact of operations at strategy, logistics, and control. We to the Web-based Zero- the F.W. Olin Gradu- teach those rigorously, but more footprint/Rotman Cal- ate School of Business. than ever, success takes the ability to culator, which measures The club’s purchase see beyond functional boundaries.” an individual’s environ- helps subsidize the cost The mix of business and literature mental impact in four of producing electricity is part of a new, multidisciplinary areas: travel, food, office, through renewable tech- teaching emphasis at Lubin that uses and home. The tool then nologies, such as solar collaborative approaches to solve advises individuals how and wind, in areas across concrete business problems.

12 BizEd november/december 2007 Headlines

Short Takes vice dean of the Wharton School at next June. He will take a year’s the University of Pennsylvania. sabbatical and return to the school New Appointments as a professor of management sci- ■ John R. Wells has been named the ■ Samuel Troy, director of the Office ences in fall 2009. During Frank’s new president of IMD in Lausanne, of Domestic Operations at the U.S. tenure, the school has increased its Switzerland, replacing Peter Lor- Department of Commerce, has endowment from $6 million to $50 ange. Wells, who begins his term as joined the Bryan School of Business million; overhauled its curriculum president in spring and Economics at The University of to integrate technology, entrepre- 2008, is currently North Carolina at Greensboro as an neurship, and globalization into the professor of man- executive in residence for interna- core disciplines; and dramatically agement practice tional education. Troy comes to the expanded its faculty. at Harvard Busi- Bryan School as part of the Inter- ness School. Wells governmental Personnel Act, a gov- ■ Tom Campbell, the Bank of America also co-founded ernmental exchange program where Dean of the Haas School of Busi- the management federal employees can be assigned ness at the University of California, consulting firm to state and local governments, uni- Berkeley, will step down from his Monitor Company and held senior versities, and other eligible organiza- position next summer. He has not executive roles at PepsiCo and tions for up to two years. Troy will yet made an announcement about Thompson Travel. work to increase international aware- his future plans. Under Campbell’s ness among students, faculty, and leadership, the Haas School has ■ Hildy Teegen has been named dean the business community. enjoyed high media rankings, of the Moore School of Business reached record-breaking fund-raising at the University of South Carolina ■ Several new faculty have been levels, expanded undergraduate and in Columbia. Teegen most recently added at the George L. Argyros graduate classes, and established the was director of the Center for Inter- School of Business at Chapman Uni- Center for Responsible Business and national Business Education and versity in Orange, California. Richard the Center for Public and Nonprofit Research and professor of interna- L. Smith has been appointed the Management. tional business and international Ralph W. Leatherby Chair in Entre- affairs at George Washington Univer- preneurship and Private Equity, and New Programs sity. She will succeed Joel Smith, who Clas Wihlborg has been appointed the ■ Indiana University’s Kelley School announced his retirement last year. Fletcher Jones Chair in International of Business in Bloomington has Business. Vernon L. Smith, who won launched a new undergradu- ■ William M. Moore has been named the Nobel Prize in 2002, will also ate leadership development dean of the Silberman College of join Chapman with his five-person program that is being Business at Fairleigh Dickinson research team. supported by a grant from University in Teaneck, New Jersey. Target. The Target Excel- Moore previously was dean and pro- Stepping Down lence in Business Leadership fessor of management at the Frank- ■ Howard Frank, dean of the Robert program will weave leadership lin P. Perdue School of Business at H. Smith School of Business at the into every aspect of the students’ Salisbury University in Maryland. University undergraduate experience. The lead- of Maryland ership program will match students ■ Jitendra V. Singh has been in College with mentors, offer workshops that appointed dean of the Nanyang Park since connect students with successful Business School at Nanyang Tech- 1997, has leaders, and help students develop a nological University in Singapore. announced leadership portfolio that will serve as Singh, who took over from Hong that he will a record of their development and as Hai on September 1, is the former step down a resource in career searches.

14 BizEd november/december 2007 ■ Oxford University’s ■ DePaul University’s Kellstadt Gradu- ■ This fall, the University of Texas at Saïd Business ate School of Business in Chicago Austin began offering an Energy School in the has launched an MBA concentration Finance Certificate program at its U.K. has launched in sports management. Students will Federal Reserve Bank campus in a capstone program complete core courses in the MBA Houston. Faculty from the McCombs focused on climate program; study sports leadership, School of Business, the Cockrell change and energy security. management, and operations; and School of Engineering, and the Jack- The program uses scenario think- choose from elective courses. son School of Geosciences will part- ing and guided case studies to help ner to deliver the program. students learn about key social and ■ Samford University’s School of Busi- environmental problems of the 21st ness in Birmingham, Alabama, has Collaborations century and what business can do to announced three new degree pro- ■ The MBA program at the Universi- solve them. grams in entrepreneurship, social ty of North Carolina in Charlotte has part- entrepreneurship, and international nered with the ■ The Cecil B. Day School of Hos- business. Students who study entre- National Black pitality at Georgia State University’s J. preneurship will focus on bringing MBA Association Mack Robinson College of Business new products and services to mar- and The Princeton in Atlanta has launched an MBA ket; those focusing on social entre- Review to offer specialization in hotel real estate. preneurship will learn to lead non- scholarships for profit or socially conscious for-profit Graduate Man- ■ The School of Global Manage- organizations. The new program agement Aptitude ment and Leadership at Arizona State in international business promotes Test (GMAT) University in Tempe has added a foreign language study and interna- preparation master’s of accountancy and applied tional experience. courses. The goal leadership that will help of the scholarship students blend technical, ■ The Neeley program is to assist high-potential interpersonal, and leadership School of Business candidates whose backgrounds are skills and prepare them for at Texas Christian traditionally underrepresented in executive positions in CPA University in Fort MBA programs. firms, private industry, and Worth has joined governmental organizations. the new TCU ■ Thunderbird School of Global Management The school has also launched Energy Institute in Glendale, Arizona, has developed a master’s of applied leader- to sponsor a new an exchange agreement with Fudan ship and management. non-college credit University’s School of Management in Petroleum Land Shanghai, China. Student exchanges ■ City University of Seattle in Washing- Practices Certificate program. began in the fall. ton has announced a master of arts in leadership program, a cross- ■ Columbia Business School in New York ■ The University of Mississippi in the disciplinary program developed City has established a Private Equity city of University and Grenoble Ecole de between the School of Arts and the Program to link students with Management in France have formed a School of Management. alumni and the business community. partnership for business education. The program encompasses a men- Their first joint program will be a ■ ��The Centre for Executive Learn- toring program between EMBA and doctorate of business administration ing and Leadership at Cranfield full-time MBA students, sponsors an (DBA) degree for mid-career and School of Management in the U.K. has annual joint event with the London senior executives. Students in the launched an MSc in leading, learn- Business School, and offers a series program will earn two credentials: ing, and change. of courses. a joint certificate from the Ole Miss

BizEd november/december 2007 15 Headlines

Short Takes the School of Business at Quinnipiac ■ A case competition designed University in Hamden, Connecticut. to produce tangible solutions to School of Business and Grenoble Since last December, Subramanian poverty has been sponsored by Ecole de Management, and a DBA has been based at the Indian Insti- Vanderbilt University’s Owen Gradu- from Grenoble. Classes will be held tute of Technology Madras, where ate School of Management in in Grenoble and residencies will be he will remain as a Fulbright Nashville, required throughout the program. senior researcher. Subramanian Tennessee. The program is also partnered with will study the effects and conse- The Project the United National Global Compact, quences of rural Internet devel- Pyramid Case and the program is partially under- opment in India. Competition is written by international sponsors. an outgrowth ■ A small business network of the school’s Gifts and Donations sponsored by the University of Missouri- Project Pyramid initiative, designed ■ The University of Washington Busi- Kansas City has been honored for to expose students and faculty ness School in Seattle has received its part in strengthening regional to microfinance principles and $50 million in gifts from the Foster business. The 2007 Excellence in encourage them to embrace the Foundation. In recognition, the UW Economic Development Award for philosophy of investing in the Business School is being renamed Enhancing Regional Competitive- poor. Winners of the competition the Michael G. Foster School of ness, given out by the U.S. Depart- were scheduled to be announced Business. The foundation made the ment of Commerce, was awarded at the Net Impact conference held gifts in memory of Foster, who died to KCSourceLink. The network November 1 through 3 on the in 2003. Other gifts from Foster and connects incubators, small business Vanderbilt campus. The $15,000 his family have gone to support the development centers, service organi- in prize money was provided by business library, a fellowship fund, zations, microlending groups, angel Cal Turner Jr., chairman of the and the endowment fund. networks, chambers of commerce, Cal Turner Family Foundation and economic development corporations, retired chairman and CEO of Dol- Honors and Awards and other groups. KCSourceLink is lar General Corporation. ■ David Schoorman, part of the Institute for Entrepre- professor of neurship and Innovation at UMKC’s Facilities management and Henry W. Bloch School for Business ■ The University of Houston in Texas dean of GISMA and Public Administration. will break ground early in 2008 on Business School a $9 million building that in Hanover, Germany, has received Competitions will serve as part of the the Academy of Management’s ■ The University of Maryland’s Robert home for the Bauer Distinguished Educator Award. H. Smith School of Business has College of Business. The award recognizes excellence in announced the winners of its third Michael J. Cemo Hall developing doctoral students, teach- annual China Business Plan Com- was named after the ing effectively, and fostering peda- petition. The yearlong competition, University of Houston gogical innovations. Schoorman’s which drew 200 entries, culminated regent who provided work focuses on leadership and trust in September and awarded $50,000 a $3 million lead gift. The in organizations, decision-making for the top three prizes. Grand prize 33,000-square-foot Cemo processes, and motivation. winner ZaraCom Technologies Inc. Hall will house the Global was awarded $25,000; second-prize Business Minor Program, as ■ Ramesh Subramanian has been winner Nantronics received $15,000; well as the Bauer Career Cen- named a Fulbright scholar. He is and $10,000 went to third-place win- ter, a 450-seat auditorium, a the Gabriel Ferrucci professor of ner XBRL-enabled Business Report- testing center, and three 80-seat computer information systems in ing for China Market. classrooms.

16 BizEd november/december 2007 The Emperor of Espresso

t wouldn’t be surprising to learn that espresso, not blood, runs in Andrea Illy’s veins. In 2005, the chairman and chief executive officer of illycaffè, based in Trieste, Italy, took over operations in the company that his family has run for three generations. His degree in chemistry, earned from the University of Trieste, enabled him to develop an almost clinical appreciation of the makeup of the coffee bean. In 1995, he co-wrote Espresso Cof- Andrea Illy of fee: The Science of Quality with a handful of other specialists. In short, coffee is at the center of his professional life. Italy’s illycaffè has That life has been as rich and satisfying as the perfectly a fanatical devotion brewed cup. While he spent some time at Nestlé, Illy has been part of his family’s operation since 1990, first working as a quality control I supervisor, then as managing director, before ultimately taking the top to quality and spot. Quality remains one of his primary focuses, and the company is a passion for legendary for putting coffee beans through more than 100 tests before expanding the determining they are good enough for the company brand. Illy’s grandfather invented the first automatic espresso machine, and the company company’s coffee still looks for ways to improve brewing methods. Illy’s obsession with quality has helped earn the company outside validations, including the brand across Qualité France label, as well as ISO 9001 and 14001certifications. While the quest for perfection in a demitasse cup is not conducive to the globe. rapid global growth, illycaffè has been gradually finding its aromatic way to different parts of the world. The brand can now be found in by Sharon Shinn nearly 150 countries and is continuing to expand. Recently, illy espresso bars went up in China, where tea has long been a staple beverage, and in the U.S., where Starbucks is a powerful competitor. Even in markets such as these, Illy hopes to lure customers intrigued by the illycaffè ambi- ance and the pure indulgent flavor of the illycaffè brew. Realizing that a business education would prepare him for global expansion, in 1993 Illy attended the master executive program at the Bocconi Business School in Milan. He also has important yet simple lessons to share with business students to help them prepare for their own careers: Commit yourself to a unique product, always care about quality, and never stop learning.

18 BizEd november/december 2007 photo by Indranil Mukherjee/Getty Images BizEd november/december 2007 19 The advantage of business schools is that they give their students a great deal of practical contact with other companies. They give students a chance to build a network.

You’re a third-generation business owner and coffee significantly adapt general management principles to the purveyor, running the business that your grandfather specific sector, which I think is very good. started. What still works the way it did when your I also think the advantage of business schools is that they grandfather started the company? What doesn’t? give their students a great deal of practical contact with The philosophy is the same, and so are the mission and the other companies. They give students a chance to build a passion. The company was founded on the idea that we network. would produce the best coffee in the world, and we have always tried to do it. That obsession is still the same. Business schools are very focused on globalization, What is changing, of course, is the level of technology, which is one of illycaffè’s strengths. Since you’ve taken the number of people involved, the competition, and the over the company, you’ve expanded the brand to size of the business. more than 100 countries. What market was the most challenging? Something else that remains the same is the Japan! There is a lot of protocol in Japan. There are many involvement of the family in the business. Your father countries where you really need to know the business eti- is honorary chairman, and your brother and sister are quette, but that is particularly true in Japan. on the company board. What would you tell business students who are planning to take over the reins at What advice would you give to students who will be their own family businesses? taking jobs with companies operating in other parts of A family business has three advantages. First, there is the the world? transfer of know-how from parent to child. Second, there You need to be very open-minded about other cultures. If are the strong values that family members usually embody. you draw too much on your strong European or American And third, in order to make the family business long-lasting, culture, you may find yourself clashing with people in other there are long-term goals. countries. You really need to be a citizen of the world. You What I did was practice for the job I have now. I worked need to complement this mental attitude with a specific directly in various operations, I ran projects, and I got to study of the anthropology and the traditions of the popula- know people. And I’ve done my part to transfer knowledge tions you will encounter in the new country. to the next generation by writing a book on the chemistry In some countries, the people are definitely nationalist, of coffee. and you are not respected unless you speak the local language. You should know enough of the language so that you can No doubt you learned a great deal simply by being speak it for, let’s say, 30 percent of your conversation. That part of the family business for so long, but you also is particularly true if you want to be successful in business in attended an executive education program at Bocconi France or Germany. If you have to switch to English when Business School. Why did you find it helpful to learn the the conversation is technical, you will be respected because more theoretical aspects of business? you have at least tried to learn the language. I think there are two types of managers: those who are basically theoretical, and those who are basically pragmatic, As you’ve expanded into the U.S. market, you’ve who gather knowledge through day-to-day experience. chosen to associate with elite retailers, such as Whole Mixing the two approaches provides a good balance. I Foods and Williams-Sonoma. What advice would always attempt to apply the theories I’ve learned to prac- you give to business students who will be taking tical situations. As often as I can, I take business school positions where they will be marketing elite and courses, and when that’s not possible, I read books. luxury items? I prefer to talk about a high-end product instead of an elite What can business schools offer to executives at your or luxury product. “Luxury” might be confused with some level? thing that is opulent, whereas high-end products typically More and more, business schools are organizing themselves are of very high quality, resulting from a tradition with a around thematic programs. For instance, in Italy there is a certain savoir faire. These products also tend to be cultur- trend for business schools to offer courses on a very specific ally hip and have an emotional connection with their con- topic, such as the food business. Usually these programs sumers. So emotion, culture, tradition, and quality are the

20 BizEd november/december 2007 four pillars of a high-end product. If you don’t have all of in all the elements of the value chain. Another secret is these, it’s better not to try to sell in this market. innovation—this will be radical innovation if you’re lucky, In Italy, we also like to call this “altagamma”—in fact, but it can also be incremental innovation that reinvents I’m vice chairman of Altagamma, an association of Italian products that are already present in the market. You can also companies that operate in the high end of the market. look at innovation in communication, in pricing strategy, or in distribution strategy. It would seem that this “altagamma” attitude is one But if you don’t have a unique product to market, you of your greatest strengths as you position yourself have no chance of survival. A marketing expert, Jack Trout, against coffee giant Starbucks. Do you believe you’re wrote a book called Differentiate or Die. Differentiating is going after the same customers? And if you are, how not even an option now. You must be unique. do you differentiate illy and Starbucks in the minds of customers? Let’s shift the focus a little to business school. With your There’s natural differentiation because illy is unique. Illy background in chemistry and R&D, I’d think you would is the sole roaster in the world producing only one coffee bring an unusual perspective to the business classroom. blend—we are the specialists of espresso. We have been the If you were teaching a course, what would you most missionaries of espresso around the world. In many cases, want your students to learn from you? we were the first coffee producers to enter a market. We My experiences. And maybe the way I model. Being a

If you don’t have a unique product to market, you have no chance of survival.

would be followed by our Italian chemist, I am keen to create mod- colleagues, and then by local com- els, so whatever I learn, practical petitors. Eventually there would or theoretical, is converted into be an espresso market in countries a model. Sometimes I take cross- where it was not present before. models to make a supermodel, and Italy is considered—for good this is a skill I think I can teach. reason—the country of coffee, be The idea of modeling is something cause coffee consumption started I try to transfer to my colleagues in Italy three and a half centuries and my team. ago. We are Italian, we are a family business, and we are small. I When you’re hiring recently don’t see any problems perceiving graduated business students, the difference between illy and what skills and strengths do you Starbucks. look for? A passion to learn. Overextension You’ve certainly managed to as an attitude. Courage and loyalty. impress the business press with Also, of course, I want them to your ability to differentiate think about what it means to be your product. You were named a novelty. To be different. I want a Marketing Superstar by Anthony-Masterson/Getty Images them to think outside of the box. Advertising Age in 1996. What do you think are the secrets to great marketing? Finally, let’s take a look ahead. What are your goals Marketing is a word that is immense—it involves every- for the future? thing. It certainly envelops technology development, prod- To keep learning and to keep improving as a consequence uct development, and all of a company’s values. of learning. I also want to maintain illycaffè as the leader of One secret to great marketing is consistency over time quality in coffee culture. ■z

22 BizEd november/december 2007 Design Think @ Innovation U

ary Boone came to the MBA program at Carnegie Mellon Univer- sity’s Tepper School of Business in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as an engineer with an interest in product development. To get a more complete picture of the product design process, she enrolled in Tep- per’s 14-week course on integrated product development. Boone workedM with two design students and two engineering students to develop a ventilated Many business truck-driving shoe to improve truckers’ circulation after long hours on the road. “I wanted that cross-disciplinary experience,” says Boone, who now works as students are learning director of market development for an electronic display company in Pittsburgh. “You can’t just put a product on the market and hope the market wants it. It took that innovation our team’s combination of perspectives to discover what truckers need, not just what business thinks they need.” requires more than Boone is among a growing number of business students who enroll in multi disciplinary courses in innovation and design—to learn to adopt the skills and tools of creativity. It also “design thinking.” In these courses, students quickly learn that creativity alone may not result in ideas that make good business sense. Instead, they discover that it often demands a clear takes collaboration across functional disciplines to see all the possibilities and develop economically viable business solutions. understanding and By working with their counterparts in design, engineering, and other disciplines, business students don’t just broaden their perspectives and advance their problem- fierce appreciation solving skills, say the educators behind these courses. They also begin to appreciate the value a designer’s creativity and an engineer’s precision can add to their own of diverse, often views on business. conflicting, Special Teams Cross-disciplinary collaboration is a hallmark of innovation, says Laurie Weingart, a perspectives. professor of organizational behavior and theory at Tepper. Yet, it can be one of the most difficult hurdles for students to clear. “Students often lack an understanding of the language and thought processes of other disciplines,” she says. “And people often resist what they don’t understand.” by Tricia Bisoux Weingart taught Boone’s course in integrated product development with two professors of marketing, a professor of engineering, and a professor of design. In the Tepper course, she explains, the first step is to help students appreciate the different skills and viewpoints their teammates have to offer. In fact, her students’ first assignment is to go out together for drinks and social interaction. “Students enjoy the assignment, but they often don’t know why they’re doing it,” says Weingart. “But later in the semester, when the pressure’s on, they realize why they needed to understand each other better.” Mitzi Montoya-Weiss, professor of marketing innovation at North Carolina State University’s College of Management in Raleigh, agrees that students gain a new understanding of the innovation process when they realize what other disciplines have to offer. She saw that process in action when a student team in one of her courses was developing a new single-dose inhaler device for asthmatics.

24 BizEd november/december 2007 illustration by Neil Brennan BizEd november/december 2007 25 “User empathy is a huge element in design thinking.”

—Jeremy Alexis, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago

“The design students wanted to go on a nature walk, as a group, for inspiration. The business and engineering students A Course for Innovation complained that a nature walk was a waste of time,” she says. “But guess what? It was the design group that eventually How one business professor brings the language came up with the mechanism for the product, using the same and tools of design into the business classroom. flow matrix that you see inside a sea shell.” That’s a lesson in by Youngjin Yoo inspiration that business and engineering students often have to see—and experience—to believe, she says. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has Empathy & Ethnography landed men on the moon and sent robots to Mars. The Once students are comfortable on their teams, they begin to innovation consultancy firm IDEO has invented products employ a three-step process, one that many educators have ranging from disposable insulin injectors to space-age determined are key to innovation. First, they complete inten- shopping carts. And the architectural firm of Frank O. sive research to understand the needs of the users or environ- Gehry has designed the gravity-defying Guggenheim ments in question. Next, they sketch, role play, or exchange Museum in Bilbao, Spain. What do these organizations ideas that can lead to solutions. Finally, they choose the most have that others don’t? promising idea and develop a prototype and business model True, NASA, IDEO, and Gehry benefit from excep- that can translate that idea to real-world success. tionally talented people, not to mention big budgets. But To develop a comprehensive understanding of the user— they’re also differentiated by their mindsets. They see or “user empathy”—students engage in “ethnographic obser themselves not as stewards of a world that they inherit, vation,” a technique often used in sociology to observe the but as creative forces that shape and change the world ways users interact with a product or environment. Students for the better. They speak in the language of possibility, go out into the field to conduct interviews, interact with not limitations. In short, they see themselves as designers. users, and document processes via photography and notes. There’s a profound disconnect between the language This technique is much different from traditional surveys these companies use and the language we use in typi- and focus groups that businesses often use to try to under cal MBA programs. At business school, we often teach stand their customers. The trouble with those tools is that students to focus on control and the status quo; they the information isn’t always accurate, explains Jeremy Alexis, learn to make choices from a relatively narrow set of an assistant professor of design at the Illinois Institute of existing alternatives. The complex world of management Technology’s Institute of Design in Chicago. Customers is radically reduced to numbers—net present values, often exaggerate or tell interviewers what they want to hear. survey results, and spreadsheet reports—with black- Or, they may simply not know what they want. and-white clarity. Ethnographic observation allows students to witness needs I believe that business students can benefit greatly from that users may not even realize they have, says Alexis, who adopting the language of design and innovation. I cre- helped create a dual degree program between the Institute of ated the course “Designing Innovation in an iPod World” Design and IIT’s Stuart School of Business. “To understand for the Fox School of Business at Temple University in the long-term needs of customers, students have to spend Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to give them that opportunity. a lot of time with them, interacting with them in different The course, which launched last spring, is designed to ways than most businesses currently do,” says Alexis. “User help students learn the tools of designers and explore empathy is a huge element in design thinking.” new solutions and possibilities—in short, to turn them into Once students complete their ethnographic research, they innovators and shapers of the world. return to the lab to enter the prototyping phase. They act out scenarios, create storyboards, sketch drawings—techniques From Decision Making To Designing that are typical of the design world but are outside the Design as a core element of professional management is experience of many in business. Finally, once they’ve created not a new idea. In fact, Herb Simon wrote in his 1996 prototypes of their best ideas, they develop business models book The Sciences of the Artificial: “Everyone designs that take costs and other constraints into account to make who devises courses of action aimed at changing existing those ideas work in the real world.

26 BizEd november/december 2007 design in their businesses, such as IBM, IDEO, Samsung, and the city of Philadelphia. These guest lecturers shared their stories and further defined the difference between making decisions and driving innovation.

Three-Dimensional Modeling Over the course of the semester, students learned to analyze the users of a product, service, experience, or operation in three dimensions: time, action, and experience. Through such comprehensive observation, students could better empathize with the user and consider multiple perspectives as they sought innovative solutions to a problems. For instance, I asked students to look for an innovation opportunity in the typical clothes shopping experience. They had to look beyond the act of choosing and purchasing an item and instead view the experience in three dimensions. First, they developed a timeline, following the shopper as he or she leaves home, drives to Joe Labo l ito the store, enters the store, browses, selects an Youngjin Yoo of the Fox School of Business with storyboards that his item, purchases the item, drives home, unpacks it, and uses students created to develop new products. The storyboards were part of it. Next, they identified all the actors involved, including not Yoo’s course “Designing Innovation in an iPod World.” only the shopper, but also people such as the salesclerk, the child with her mother, or the husband waiting for his wife situations into preferred ones. ... Design, so construed, is the outside the dressing room. Finally, they explored the differ- core of all professional training.” ent experiences involved in shopping, including the emo- I built on that idea to teach students methods commonly tional, cognitive, social, physiological, and cultural. used in design, such as prototyping, narratives, photo jour- Such a three-dimensional framework requires students to naling, unfocused group discussions, rich picture techniques, explore the whole experience, rather than only one small part. and soft system modeling. We explored the opportunities for In addition, this exploration allows them to better empathize product and service innovation offered by mobile/wireless with those involved, understand the experience more compre- devices, pervasive computing, intelligent sensor networks, hensively, and see more opportunities for innovation. and Web 2.0 technologies such as online social networking. Working in teams, students learned to use the collaborative Using the Tools of Design design process to spark new ideas and approaches to busi- As part of the course, students worked on a semesterlong ness problems. team project in which they applied the methods, concepts, I combined the introduction of these methods with dis- and frameworks they had learned to design a novel product cussions about the differences between decision making or service. In this case, student teams spent one week study- and design thinking: Decision making, for instance, asks ing the experiences of residents, commuters, and visitors in the question, “Should we do ‘A’ or ‘B’?” Design thinking, the city of Philadelphia, which recently implemented a city- however, asks the question: “What could we do to improve wide free wireless network. They conducted field research this situation? What are the possibilities?” I invited guest by following, observing, and talking to their target users. speakers from organizations that are embracing the use of continued on page 28

BizEd november/december 2007 27 continued from page 27 the class thinking they would learn the technical skills for Based on their observations, the teams participated in programming and development. Because of the title of the a design workshop where they wrote narratives and role course, a few students actually thought they would receive played, to better target aspects of the user experience a free iPod! that could be improved. Each team imagined alternatives, Some students simply weren’t convinced that they could chose one that showed the most promise, and designed a learn anything by going out into the field and talking to prototype that they felt would transform the experience of people directly. These students returned to class with con- using Philadelphia’s wireless network. veniently arranged interviews with their friends and family One group created a small device called the Philadel- members. I was disappointed in this initial attitude and phia Urban Communicator (PUC), which used voice-over- worked to overcome it. The group project, in many cases, Internet-protocol (VoIP), a pedestrian navigation service, addressed this problem. Once students built their physical instant messaging, and other functions to help pedestrians models, based on the ideas sparked by their field research, navigate the city more easily. The prototype also incor- they saw the value of observing and interacting with users porated a system by which pedestrians could pass the to drive the innovation process. device over a bar code on each building to obtain quick In the future, I plan to incorporate the online virtual com- information about the offices, shops, and restaurants munity Second Life into the course as a place where stu- within. Another team designed a device for tourists that dents can simulate their design ideas. I’d also like to stretch would replace a traditional city guidebook. The handheld my students’ thinking even further by introducing other computer would integrate with Google Maps and include design tools and concepts, such as bricolage, which refers information and visitor recommendations regarding land- to the designer’s creative use of the materials at hand, and marks, restaurants, and other points of interest. It could the notion of gestalt, in which a larger system is so well be sold to hotels and travel agents and rented to tourists unified that it cannot be reduced to the individual patterns through tourism Web portals. that comprise it. I’ll also face the continuing challenge of Of course, both of these teams grappled with the chal- balancing the in-class discussion with work in the field. Ulti- lenges their products presented: How could they create mately, I hope to invite students from design, architecture, alliances with the number of business partners that would engineering, and urban studies to enroll in the class, to add be required to make their products work? How could their different perspectives to the process. they reach their target audience on the scale required The rapid development of digital technologies presents to make it successful? But they addressed these chal- seemingly boundless opportunities to innovate products, lenges after they delved into all the possibilities open to processes, and services. What holds us back is our inability them. Not hampered by limitations, they were able to go to imagine a new future that we haven’t seen yet. To para- beyond the status quo to try to think of something new phrase the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, the limits of that met a user need. our language are the limits of our world. It is precisely the Students also provided feedback and constructive limits of our language in management that restrict our abil- criticism to other teams. In this way, they shared their ity to conceive and design a better world. excitement—and frustration—as they embraced a dif- The business curriculum, too, needs a context where stu- ferent approach to problem solving and wrestled with dents can learn to be playful, imaginative, and empathetic. innovation. A course or program in design thinking provides students with the opportunity to learn concrete concepts and meth- Limitless Possibilities ods they can use to spark the innovation process. And it Throughout the course, I had to overcome some miscon- offers them a vibrant new language they can use to explore ceptions among my students. Many students, particularly multiple—not limited—possibilities. those with strategy, entrepreneurship, and marketing backgrounds, responded well to these new concepts. Youngjin Yoo is an associate professor of management information However, those with mostly technical backgrounds systems at Temple University’s Fox School of Business and Manage- struggled to grasp the notion of design; they came into ment in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

28 BizEd november/december 2007 “You can’t really make progress in our arena without covering all the value vectors that InnovationSpace teaches: filling user needs, finding business value, creating technologically feasible solutions, and doing good for the world.”

—Shauna Pettit-Brown, Intel

old age to working with a cancer center to improve the chemotherapy experience for patients. In the latter example, students look beyond what happens to patients as they enter the chemotherapy clinic, says Fraser. “They ask patients to take pictures and tell us stories of their experience, rather than answer directed questions. Rather than focusing only on what the staff does or the way the walls are painted, students learn more about patients’ broader experience before, during, and after chemotherapy. In that way, they can better understand patients’ needs.”

Not Just Creativity Multidisciplinary collaboration will be crucial to many emerging fields, such as technology, environmental sustain- A student team at Arizona State University’s InnovationSpace created this ability, and especially healthcare, says Gretchen Gscheidle, storyboard to illustrate Current, a system they devised to generate electrical lead researcher at Herman Miller, headquartered in Chi- power. The system calls for the installation of nano-enabled piezoelectric cago, Illinois. The prominent design firm works with Inno- floor tiles in highly trafficked public places such as airports. The tiles would vationSpace, a lab at Arizona State University in Tempe, absorb stress from the weight of passers-by and convert it to electricity which teams up students from four disciplines—business, that could be stored in kiosks and used to power electronic devices. Team engineering, industrial design, and visual communications. members included Suzan McKinney, from ASU’s industrial design department; Student teams at InnovationSpace work together for two Matthew Thibault, from visual communication design; Zach Pirtle, from semesters to design new products or processes for real-world engineering; and Alan Burruel, from business. businesses. Herman Miller, for example, asks students to look at ways to improve healthcare environments, both in the home for Solving Human Problems aging baby boomers and in critical care hospital environ- Courses in design and innovation often revolve around ments. “These projects aren’t just exercises in creativity. “human problems,” in areas such as technology, the envi- We are bringing rigor to the process, so they won’t be sur- ronment, or healthcare. “If a company needs to choose prised when they enter the workforce and are asked to work what software program to install in its manufacturing facility, on long-term projects on cross-functional teams,” says that’s not a design problem,” explains Karl Ulrich, professor Gscheidle. “We want to give them a head start.” of operations and information management at The Wharton Intel, also a sponsor of InnovationSpace, challenges stu- School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. dent teams to study two dissimilar user groups—audiophiles However, he adds, if a company needs to make its manu- and the hearing impaired—and find ways both groups can facturing facility more user-friendly for its workers, that is a optimize their hearing environments. It also has asked stu- design problem. dents to discover ways to camouflage technology in seem- “For me, this process starts with sensing a gap in the ingly everyday objects, such as women’s purses. In both in- world,” says Ulrich, who teaches the course “Innovation, stances, teams had to develop strong concepts, write persua- Problem Solving, and Design” at Wharton. “This gap could sive presentations, and sell the viability of their ideas. be a customer need, but it could also be a need for an im- “This approach mirrors our own approach at Intel in proved process in an operation or a need to improve an as- terms of mixing disciplines to tackle problems,” says Shauna pect of society.” Pettit-Brown, who works in exploratory market research for Heather Fraser directs the Design Initiative at the Uni Intel’s health research and innovation division. “You can’t versity of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management in On- really make progress in our arena without covering all the tario, Canada. She also directs the school’s designworks in- value vectors that InnovationSpace teaches: filling user needs, novation lab. In the lab, business and industrial design stu- finding business value, creating technologically feasible solu- dents work on a variety of projects, ranging from developing tions, and doing good for the world.” ways to help people maintain their brain functions well into In the dual business-design degree program at the Illinois

BizEd november/december 2007 29 “Because of their empathetic skills, professionals with creative training can identify customer needs and transform these needs into innovative products and services.” —Annekatrin Sonn, Zollverwein School of Management and Design, Essen, Germany

School of Business Administration at the University of Vir- ginia in Charlottesville. To help students in her business design course make that connection, Liedtka asks them to bring to class an object that they believe is elegantly designed. They bring in everything from a corkscrew to a picture of a Porsche Boxter, she says. Liedtka then breaks the class into small groups to discuss each item. The students generally agree on the characteristics of a well-designed object. They’re simple and user-friendly. They evoke some kind of emotion. They are familiar while also possessing some novel quality. “After they talk it through,” says Liedtka, “I ask, ‘Does your business strategy have these qualities? If not, why not?’” Sandy Shield, an architect and adjunct professor at the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business in Vir- ginia, taught the school’s first course in design principles to MBA students last year. To illustrate how much impact great design can have on a business operation, Shield took her students to a recently remodeled chain of bowling alleys. The spaces had been fitted with larger restrooms, brighter interior Business professor Mitzi Montoya-Weiss of North Carolina State University finishes, and cheerier restaurant areas designed to transform (second from left) with her colleagues from the school’s engineering and the customer’s perception of a bowling alley, from a dark bar textiles department. Together they teach interdisciplinary courses in NCSU’s environment to a family-friendly facility that would appeal to innovation management program. a wider range of customers. “My students learned that simplicity consistently executed Institute of Design, students used direct observation to help is better than sophistication poorly executed,” says Shield. a prominent audio equipment company solve a mystery. An- “They saw how design thinking can empower them to view nual customer surveys revealed that, every year, fewer cus- problem solving from a new, integrated perspective.” tomers would recommend the company’s audio equipment Empowering people to feel comfortable with design, and to others—and the company didn’t know why. After spend- see its value to business, is an important element of courses ing time in one of the company’s showrooms and even fol- in innovation, agrees Alexis. He notes that even as interdis- lowing products to the customers’ homes, the students disciplinary design gains ground in the business curriculum, covered a disconnect between customers’ excitement about there still exists a fear of the word “design” among busi- buying the product and their experience of owning and us- ness managers. “For some, the word implies fashion or fads, ing it. It turned out that customers were dissatisfied because something that’s just temporary, that can’t be measured or the product didn’t do everything they thought it would. controlled,” he says. “We have to show people that design That discovery was a real “aha moment,” says Alexis. “The thinking is a valid discipline that adds long-term value to the students found that the company really needed to follow the business curriculum.” entire customer experience, from consideration to use.” “The Next Stage of Education” From Abstraction to Action For James Hershauer, a professor of management with ASU’s No matter what their background is—design, engineer- InnovationSpace, the growth in interdisciplinary, designing, or business—students must learn that interdisciplinary based curricula isn’t surprising. After all, business is chang- design goes beyond the creation of a well-designed object. ing, and business leaders need to develop sustainable, They must also understand how they can apply design prin- design-based, user-oriented solutions to compete. ciples to a business’s entire operation, corporate culture, “In my 40-year career, businesses have moved from an em- and future strategy, says Jeanne Liedtka, associate professor phasis on production to an emphasis on the customer. They’re and director of the Batten Institute at the Darden Graduate growing more committed to helping society and improving

30 BizEd november/december 2007 the environment,” says Hershauer. “They’re facing complex Annekatrin Sonn, director of Zollverwein’s communications problems that require interdisciplinary approaches to solve.” office.“Because of their empathetic skills, professionals with Design-oriented curricula that reach beyond the business creative training can identify customer needs and transform school and across functional disciplines will be “the next these needs into innovative products and services,” says stage of business education,” agrees Roger Martin, dean of Sonn. “They can anticipate future developments more ac- the Rotman School of Management and a champion of busi- curately than even the best market research studies.” ness design. “It’s not enough to stick to the traditional ap- The Tanaka Business School at Imperial College in the proaches in business education, plain and simple,” he says. United Kingdom is also betting on design, taking part “By using design thinking—or integrated thinking—stu- in Design-London, a new £5.8 million center that brings dents learn not only how to choose well between existing together design, engineering, and business. Launched in models, but to create new models altogether.” October, the center will accept its first student cohort in Business schools have taken this message to heart. October 2008. Schools like Carnegie Mellon, University of Texas at Aus- Design-London will include an incubator where multi- tin, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology offered the disciplinary student teams will create new concepts and a first design courses in the early 1990s. Schools like Stanford simulator where they can test those concepts in real-world University and the University of California at Berkeley have scenarios, explains David Gann, head of innovation and en- established design-based innovation labs and programs in trepreneurship at Tanaka. “All students in our innovation the last few years. management courses complete experiential learning projects The Zollverwein School of Management and Design in in innovation strategy and entrepreneurship,” says Gann. Essen, Germany, launched its International MBA in Business “Now they’ll do the same in design.” Design in 2005. But its interdisciplinary approach already In the future, more and more companies will look to has attracted the attention of other educators interested in innovation as an essential part of their long-term survival business design. Its curriculum is based on five thematic ar- in a competitive global market, say educators in business eas: transformation, methodology, strategy and marketing, design. And they’ll look to business schools for graduates organization and leadership, and finance and operations. who know what it takes to innovate: patient observation, The transformation theme, which covers design, culture, energetic experimentation, and open-minded collaboration and society, runs through the entire degree program, explains across the disciplines. ■z

BizEd november/december 2007 31 Learning to Lead— Responsibly

s a professor of managerial behavior who teaches courses on leadership, I’ve often been asked this question: “You’re educating the business leaders of tomorrow. What are you doing to help prevent the unethical conduct that led to scandals such as those at Enron, WorldCom, Ahold, and Parmalat?” AMany business schools have added an ethical component to their leadership In programs that programs, and those that base part of their programs on an exploration of ethical leadership face specific challenges. At the Faculty of Economics and Business emphasize problem- Administration and the Universiteit Maastricht Business School in the Nether- lands, we decided to take concrete measures to face those challenges. We wanted solving, self-directed to provide a clear answer to those who asked us how we were preparing our students to become ethical, responsible leaders. learning, and In our MBA and masters of international business (MSc) programs, we have designed part of the curriculum with this goal in mind. We have adopted an self-awareness, approach that immerses our students in group discussion, self-directed problem-solving, and self-awareness, so they develop a clear understanding of their Universiteit Maastricht personal values and their strengths and weaknesses as leaders. We realize that the impact business professors can make on their students’ aims to help students ethics and values may be modest. Even so, we believe that by adopting this pedagogical approach, we can be catalysts that put students on a path toward a chart their own course lifetime of responsible leadership.

toward becoming more Defining Objectives Before we designed the leadership and organization trajectory in our curricu- responsible leaders. lum, we first defined our objectives. What qualities do responsible leaders possess that we want to instill in our students? We found several recurring themes in a range of studies on leadership. Overall, the research defined a responsible by Mariëlle Heijltjes leader as one who is honest and trustworthy, who possesses integrity, and who shows consideration and respect to others. Based on these studies, we conceived the following definition as a guide: Responsible leaders build and sustain morally sound relationships with all stakeholders, and they take all stakeholders’ interests into account when making decisions. These characteristics are grounded in an individual’s values, beliefs, or attitudes—they aren’t typically addressed on a personal level in a business school curriculum. But we believed that if our students developed such a mindset, they would understand how their organizations function not only on rational levels,

32 BizEd november/december 2007 illustration by Neil Brennan BizEd november/december 2007 33 To become effective leaders, students first have to develop a better understanding of themselves as human beings.

but also on emotional and intuitive levels. Their decisions For example, in preparation for a guest lecture by the would be driven naturally by the best interests of the com- human resources director of Unilever in the Netherlands, munity, as well as the company. students were asked to analyze the ethical challenges that Once we settled on this definition of responsible leader- leaders face in the home, personal care, and foods industry. ship, we faced the next challenge: How could we design A dominant question emerged: How can a leader combine courses that emphasized both the rational and the emo- different leadership perspectives—such as value-based lead- tional, intuitive aspects of leadership? And how could we do ership, authentic leadership, and servant leadership—and still so when the majority of our student body had little to no run the business to make a profit? relevant work experience, as is the case in most European When the students could not answer this question on their masters programs in business? own, they turned to empirical studies. Then, they asked the Unilever executive the question directly. From the informa- Building a Community of Dialogue tion they gathered, they realized that they had implicitly held Our answer was to adopt an approach that uses dialogue and the stereotypical view of leaders as authority figures. They coaching to help students develop self-awareness. To build concluded that, to become effective leaders, they would first a community of dialogue, we build on the existing peda- have to develop a better understanding of themselves as hu- gogy of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) that is used in all man beings than they currently possessed. programs at Universiteit Maastricht. All students in a course are divided into tutorial groups of ten to 15 students; each Encouraging Self-Directed Learning group meets for two hours twice a week during the seven- The process of self-directed learning can vary from stu- week course. Academic staff members serve as tutors and dent to student, so we allow students a certain freedom to learning coaches who help students solve business problems, choose how they want to learn. One way we accomplish this analyze academic articles and case studies, and assess fellow is by making two students responsible for organizing and students’ presentations. facilitating each tutorial group meeting. To prepare to lead So, in the PBL process, students, not their professors, the meetings, they must find ways to translate ethical issues take responsibility for identifying gaps in their knowledge to from abstract theory into concrete examples that affect their solve business problems. They embark on a course of inde- own lives. pendent study, looking for sources to close their perceived For example, the two student leaders of a session on ethi- knowledge gaps. cal leadership designed a quiz based on the course readings. The student leaders asked the rest of the group and the tutor to judge the ethical situations illustrated in pictures and Problem Tutorial Group movie clips. They also told the group that whoever answered the most questions correctly would win a brand new iPod Receives description of a real–life “What do we know about digital music player. problem constructed by faculty staff the subject?” Their contest was actually an ethical experiment. Every- “What do we have to find one, including the tutor, silently questioned the appropriate- Guides the study activities out to solve the problem?” ness of offering such an elaborate prize in a classroom setting where learning was the objective. Yet no one raised these concerns out loud. When the winner was announced, the Information Exchange Independent Study student facilitators revealed that there was no iPod—they had designed the quiz to illustrate how easy it is to manipu- “Do we now have a better under- Uses study tools and late a group into doing something that each individual mem- standing of the processes that are integrates knowledge from ber might question. related to the problem?” different disciplines For the rest of the meeting, the group analyzed why no one had spoken up, even though everyone admitted to hav- Students and faculty in Universiteit Maastricht’s MBA and Masters in ing misgivings about the ethics of the quiz. In the end, the International Business programs engage in problem-based learning, a process students—and the tutor—noted that they learned more from that emphasizes solving problems through small group discussion and self- this exercise than they would have learned from any straight directed learning. lecture, article, or discussion.

34 BizEd november/december 2007 Students ask themselves two essential questions: “How do I want to lead my life? What does that choice mean for my work?”

Gaining Insights During their PDTs, students ask themselves two essen- The tutorial group meetings offer a safe environment where tial questions: “How do I want to lead my life? What does students can examine academic content, discuss important that choice mean for my work?” The trajectory is grounded issues, and reflect on responsible leadership and followership in human psychology and specifically focuses on emotions, through personal interactions. Through these discussions, attitudes, and assumptions through the use of personal even our tutors gain new insights on leadership! coaching; “intervision,” or the act of sharing experiences For example, Mike, a student in our MSc program, had in the small group setting; and reflection. The objective of very limited work experience; even so, he liked to be in con- PDT is to help students improve not only their problem- trol of any situation. After a few meetings, members of his solving abilities and understanding of business issues, but group offered him feedback on also their self-awareness, his style of interaction—they let empathy, and interpersonal him know that his directive, au- interactions. thoritative demeanor wasn’t very At the end of the tra- effective in a leadership role be- jectory, students turn in cause it sparked a great deal of re- learning reports about the sistance among team members. insights they have gained Mike was able to use this through the process. For feedback before he led a group instance, students may have session. Even though it made learned that they need to him uncomfortable to relinquish build more spare time into complete control, he realized their schedules to relieve that he did often ignore the ca- stress or that they need to pabilities of the other students. delegate more. They might When Mike prepared to lead need more effective tactics a session on transactional and for managing conflict, set- transformational leadership, he ting boundaries for them- not only gathered material to selves, dealing with criti- illustrate the concepts, but also cism, or even relating to shared his deliberations with his others without envy. group at the start of the meeting. He also asked for their The PDT runs through the entire academic year. This time help to conduct the meeting and considered everyone’s frame gives students plenty of time to work on the issues they needs before making decisions. After the meeting, two identify as important to their leadership development and to group members provided Mike further feedback and dis- reflect on their progress. cussed whether he viewed his new, more participatory leadership style as merely a change of technique or if he now Making a Pedagogical Shift saw more value in others’ capabilities. When students take responsibility for their own learn- These types of learning experiences are crucial in our ing, the role of the professor changes considerably. In a students’ leadership development. They help our students problem-based learning format, faculty still set learning build the self-awareness and respect for others they’ll need objectives and exam content for their students. However, to be responsive, inspire trust, and elicit the best from their rather than act as authorities who answer students’ ques- teams. These are, in essence, the characteristics we see in tions, they instead provide the resources for students to great business leaders. use to answer those questions on their own. Rather than take control of each class, they manage the class tutors to Developing Self-Awareness ensure that all student groups study similar issues and meet Within the tutorial group setting, we set up a Personal the same learning objectives. To be successful in this kind Development Trajectory (PDT) for students.. While PDT of educational setting, faculty must possess knowledge on is part of the curriculum in the EMBA program, it is vol- group and personal dynamics and self-awareness, as well as untary for students in the MSc program. knowledge on a specific academic topic.

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To help new and existing staff learn to work in a prob- leaders. Many other schools have designed programs that lem-based context, our school employs training programs also address ethical issues in a leadership context, and these developed by the Faculty’s Education Research and Devel- programs can vary widely. Even in our school, where the opment department. At the start of their program, students dominant pedagogy is PBL-based, not all faculty believe that also receive training about their responsibilities in a PBL the development of self-awareness and attention to interper- context, which include providing feedback, chairing meet- sonal interaction should receive the same emphasis in the ings, and adopting the role of the tutor. This preparation curriculum as academic content. Such diversity of thought is helps us create a culture where evaluation and reflection, part of the richness of the academic environment. not evaluation and appraisal, go hand in hand. Still, it’s of crucial importance that business schools New faculty members, especially, often find this shift make available to students a sufficient number of courses confusing. One professor noted that, at first, he felt as if that address their personal and emotional development and his knowledge was not being sufficiently tapped during his allow them to adopt attitudes that suit responsible leaders. students’ group meetings. Another noted that she nearly It is just as important that business schools offer faculty the “bruised her tongue by biting it so often,” when she felt opportunity to train in these areas. Different subjects in the group discussion was going in the wrong direction. business school might require completely different teach- However, as they learned new teaching skills and reflect- ing pedagogies when it comes to addressing students’ lead- ed on their classroom experiences with their colleagues, they ership development. By taking a variety of approaches into realized the value of problem-based learning. They were account, business educators and administrators also adopt amazed to discover that even when it appeared a discussion the attitude of responsible leadership. was going in the wrong direction, students somehow still Given these opportunities, business faculty will have a found the right answers themselves. In the PBL process, clear and straightforward answer to the question, “What are our faculty also learn to use their expertise differently—they you doing to prevent unethical conduct in business?” They learn to meet student questions with more probing ques- can describe the ways they and their students don’t just talk tions, rather than to immediately provide the answers. about responsible leadership—they act on it. ■z

A Reality Check Mariëlle Heijltjes is a professor of managerial behavior and teaches Of course, the program we have designed at Maastricht isn’t organizational behavior and leadership at Universiteit Maastricht in the the only type of environment that can develop responsible Netherlands.

BizEd november/december 2007 37 Is for B-School

uccessfully running a business school requires balancing so many imperatives that even the short list is impres- Accreditation, sive. Administrators must fine-tune the curriculum, Adjuncts, and keep up with business trends, raise funds, upgrade facilities, maintain quality programming, worry about — Assessment rankings,S recruit faculty—and, while they’re at it, make sure their these three elements students are learning what they need to know. require careful It’s difficult to cover all these topics in depth, but a quick look at ways to manage three key factors offers helpful insights and management if strategies. Phyllis Zadra recounts Baruch College’s long journey a business school toward assessment and the lessons other schools can learn from program is going to its travels. Jeffrey A. Mello of Barry University examines the best ways to recruit adjuncts and make them loyal, productive stay at the top of its participants of the faculty. And Ruth Guthrie and Louise Soe of game. Four authors California State Polytechnic University of Pomona urge schools to recount how they strive for a mature attitude toward accreditation so that the high quality standards achieved when schools attain initial accreditation have handled crucial continue to affect everyday operations. processes at their All administrators and many faculty will encounter these three own schools. A’s of business school management. With a little assistance and a positive attitude, they’ll find their handling of such issues can be letter perfect.

38 BizEd november/december 2007 4

BizEd november/december 2007 39 Assessment The Long Road 4 Embarking on a lengthy journey to learning assessment, Baruch College finds the way rough but the destination worthwhile.

by Phyllis Zadra

he road to learning assessment winds over rocky terrain that can leave travelers weary, confused, and frustrated. But the end of the journey offers a glori- ous reward: faculty who are energized by a sense Tof shared purpose and students who have demonstrably mastered critical business skills. At Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business in New York City, we started out on our journey more than eight years ago, and we’re still on the road. But every step we take makes our school stronger and prepares our students better for the working world. It’s still amazing to me how far we’ve come. In 1999, when I joined the Zicklin School, there were no conver sations about teaching and learning environments or assess ment metrics. There were general assumptions that faculty Beginning the Journey were teaching challenging material and that if students It became even more important to focus on teaching and could not pass the courses, they either would not or could learning when AACSB International officially approved the not do the work. concept of Assurance of Learning as part of its new standards One of my first assignments was to review our micro- in 2003. Schools undergoing re-accreditation in the fol- and macroeconomics courses. I found that faculty were us- lowing few years could choose to be evaluated under either ing 11 different books and sharing no common syllabus the old or new standards. As Baruch prepared for its spring for the 12 microeconomics sections. Math prerequisites for 2005 re-accreditation visit, we elected to be judged under the courses were unclear. Instructors ranged from senior the new criteria. tenured economists to Ph.D. students. Class sizes varied This meant we first had to articulate learning goals for from large lectures with 300 students to sections with 40 the undergraduate and graduate programs, and then we had students. When I analyzed grades for the 1,300 students to develop direct measures of student learning to assess registered in microeconomics that fall, I found that more those goals. By early 2004, the undergraduate curriculum than 45 percent had received a D or an F or had withdrawn committee had drafted eight learning goals for the BBA, from the course. and these were unanimously approved by the Zicklin faculty. The ensuing revision of the introductory economics Two learning assurance committees were then formed to courses was pivotal. It taught me that our faculty were not determine how to measure student learning at the graduate only desperate to consider issues of teaching and learning, and undergraduate levels. As the associate dean for under but also hungry for leadership to focus these efforts. graduate programs, I headed the BBA committee, which

40 BizEd november/december 2007 We had to reassure faculty that assessment was not a backdoor method for evaluating teachers, nor would assessment results be used to punish students.

included representatives from each major or department, Finding Roadmaps the coordinator of the BBA’s capstone course, and an execu- During the spring of 2006, we eventually collected oral tive from the business community. assessment data on 101 students who made oral presen- I have vivid memories of our first committee meeting in tations in 12 different business policy sections. After the November 2004. The other associate dean and I had to ex- BBA Learning Assurance Committee compiled the results, plain why course grades did not provide satisfactory assess- we recommended the following actions for the Zicklin ment data and what other methods we could use to assess school: learning goals. We also had to reassure faculty that assess- n Increase opportunities throughout the undergraduate ment was not a backdoor method for evaluating teachers, curriculum for students to make short presentations and nor would assessment results be used to punish students. receive feedback on them. One of the members said flatly, “If you want the students to n Map the curriculum to find out exactly what -oppor learn more, then pay the faculty more!” Clearly, we needed tunities existed for students to develop oral communication to educate the faculty about assessment before we had any skills. chance of achieving our goals. n Provide instruction to faculty and students about To prepare for our next meeting, committee members how to improve specific oral communications skills, such as were asked to elaborate on the definitions of the learning speaking clearly and maintaining eye contact. goals. The members brought copies of materials they thought n Set the goal of having 30 percent of the ratings exceed were relevant. We were inundated with paper. An undertak- expectations in every category, with no more than 10 percent ing that I thought could be outlined in a few meetings began of the ratings falling below expectations for the next assess- to look like a project without end. ment in three years.

Slow Progress New Paths Eventually, the committee focused on the oral and written We followed similar strategies as we addressed learning communications skills that BBA graduates should possess. To assessment in written communication, analytical and techno- help us, we brought in “outsiders” from Baruch’s Bernard logical skills, and civic awareness and ethical decision mak- L. Schwartz Communication Institute and Communication ing. Each learning goal has required a somewhat different Studies Department. It was soon clear that many of the busi- approach. ness faculty had never thought about how to improve basic When we assessed written communication, we sought the communication skills, even though we knew most of our input of faculty from the Writing Center to learn more about students were not particularly good writers or speakers. writing techniques. We also held freewheeling discussions on We began with oral communication. By spring 2005, issues that faculty had not talked about in any form, such we created a 12-item checklist that outlined the essentials as whether we helped our students when we accepted lesser of a good oral presentation and a three-point scale to rate proficiencies in English. them. Items were scored either as: 1—below expectations, When we assessed analytical skills, we decided we had 2—meets expectations, or 3—exceeds expectations. to embed the assessment in an assignment that would be a Two members of the BBA Learning Assurance committee learning experience for the students while providing a prod- worked with the Schwartz Communication Institute to de- uct that could be evaluated by our teams. We ultimately velop scoring criteria. We gathered pilot data from business settled on a broad-based case study that allowed students to policy classes, where students were required to make oral demonstrate their ability to understand issues, consider solu- team presentations. We created three-person evaluation tions, and prioritize them. teams consisting of one outside faculty member, an outside We have recently turned our attention to assessing the next executive, and a Schwartz Communication consultant. learning goal, “civic awareness and ethical decision making.” Pilot assessments showed that most students barely met Again, we first needed to define those terms in the context or were below expectations. One evaluator commented that of our undergraduate curriculum. We recruited our law de- the presentations would improve if the assignment itself were partment representative to head this initiative. Concurrently, more clearly focused, and the course supervisor conveyed representatives from our economics, CIS, finance, statistics, this to the instructors. Thus, the assessment exercise imme- and accounting departments have joined forces to consider diately had an impact on the curriculum. the statistical and spreadsheet skills BBA graduates need to

BizEd november/december 2007 41 succeed in the workplace. This draft will propel us toward defining and measuring technological skills. The process will continue as we work our way through all eight of the BBA Adjuncts learning goals.

The Journey Never Ends At the Zicklin School, I’ve seen remarkable side benefits to Groomed for the assessment journey. Conversations about curriculum, teaching—and, most important, student learning—now occur frequently. Assessment concepts have seeped into the Success college culture. We have become a school that is centered around student learning. The rewards have been numerous, but three stand out: Adjunct faculty are making up more and 1. Assessment has provided common ground for curricular more of the b-school roster. It’s up to discussions. I assume that such conversations are sorely administrators to ensure that adjunct faculty needed in all institutions. Administrators who want to start such discussions at their campuses should find a diverse and are as good as they can possibly be. reasonable group of people and encourage them to start talking. by Jeffrey A. Mello 2. The process, the discussion, and the camaraderie en gendered by our assessment process have brought about a ew business schools could successfully deliver their sea change in faculty attitudes. Faculty are upbeat about what programs without the aid of adjunct professors. These is possible in the classroom and what their responsibilities are part-time, temporary instructors are generally drawn in regard to student learning. We’ve found that it’s important from the ranks of business executives, bringing a fresh to publicize the progress the school is making so that faculty Fperspective to the classroom. They also offer administrators a can learn from and support each other. great deal of scheduling flexibility and a chance to cover new 3. Our assessment program is constantly expanding and topics in the curriculum. And because they’re usually paid by improving. As the Zicklin faculty continue to be thoughtful the course and accrue no benefits, adjuncts are less expensive and creative in considering assessment, our attitudes about to employ than full-time research faculty. student learning become even more refined—and more As the doctoral shortage worsens, schools are likely to embedded in our school’s culture. rely even more on part-time instructors. Indeed, changes Still, it hasn’t been easy. Based on our experience, I would to AACSB’s standards now allow schools to classify many say that embedding assessment into the culture of the campus adjuncts as professionally qualified (PQ) faculty and use is a mammoth undertaking. In our case, I’m not sure we PQ professors for up to 50 percent of their undergraduate could have been successful if the new AACSB standards had “faculty resources.” These changes make it easier for business not created the urgency for us to focus on learning as well schools to bring adjuncts on board—and make it critical that as teaching. Expectations imposed by external agencies can administrators understand the best ways to recruit, deploy, serve internal purposes. and reward adjunct professors. The assessment journey can be a long and arduous one, but the destination makes the travel worthwhile. Because Finding the Best of our assessment efforts, we feel more confident that our Administrators who want to utilize more adjunct faculty students are prepared to enter the working world. We are need to hire top-notch individuals who will be committed clarifying what we want to teach them and discovering what to the school’s mission, and the effort begins with recruit- they’ve learned. The winding road to learning assessment has ing. One way to identify likely candidates is to network at led to a better education for Zicklin students. meetings of professional academic or practitioner organizations, such as the Society for Human Resource Management Phyllis Zadra is associate dean of the Zicklin School of Business at or the American Marketing Association. It’s also useful to Baruch College in New York City. attend meetings sponsored by alumni groups.

42 BizEd november/december 2007 As the doctoral shortage worsens, schools are likely to rely even more on part-time instructors.

cover departmental policies regarding class cancellations, evaluations, grade rosters, and grade submissions. Even more important, however, is to assign each ad junct a mentor from the full- time faculty, particularly one who currently teaches or has recently taught the course the new professor will handle. It’s even better if the adjunct can come to campus during the previous semester and watch the professor teach the course—and perhaps even deliver a guest lecture. If adjuncts have no teaching experience, they might find it useful to ask for an Full-time faculty can aid in the recruiting process by informal evaluation by students sometime after the fifth being active in the associations serving their own disciplines week of the course. This can give teaching novices enough and looking out for new teaching talent. Many outstanding feedback to adjust their approaches in the following weeks to adjunct faculty never even think about teaching until they’re make sure students are pleased with the course. Classroom approached by a colleague. visitation by a peer or mentor can also provide important Hiring adjuncts with no experience in a classroom is early feedback. always a little risky—even if they have impressive professional Over and above monitoring adjuncts’ teaching success, qualifications and an interest in teaching. Such individuals administrators can make teaching more rewarding for adjunct still might make excellent teachers, but it’s critical to gauge faculty by stressing their value to the college, actively classroom effectiveness before offering a contract. One way acknowledging their contributions, and perhaps even promoting is to ask applicants to deliver guest lectures at the school, so team teaching opportunities between adjuncts and full-time administrators can judge their ability to run a classroom and faculty. An institution that truly values its adjunct faculty might interact with students. Candidates will find that guest lectures go even farther, by offering adjuncts seminars to help them offer them a realistic job preview as well—and, if they’re improve their pedagogy, funding travel to conferences, or paying effective, these opportunities can boost their confidence for professional organization membership or professional before they accept the position. certification. Simply asking adjunct professors what they need to be more effective might turn up more targeted development Developing the Talent ideas—and offer a motivational lift. If administrators invest Because adjunct faculty are frequently hired to plug teaching some time and effort, they’ll find that adjuncts are valuable gaps, and most are hired on a semester-to-semester basis, the assets that produce significant returns. majority are left to succeed or fail on their own. Rarely are they afforded opportunities for development or integration Strengthening the Commitment into the department. Both school and faculty benefit if adjuncts pursue profes- Administrators can take several commonsense steps to sional accreditation and improve their teaching skills. Remem- ease adjuncts into the business school, such as walking ber that, to maintain their professionally qualified status in them around campus, introducing them to full-time faculty, AACSB’s estimation, these individuals must participate in and providing a handbook that covers parking, library continuous development activities over five-year cycles. These hours, and technological resources. It’s also necessary to activities include maintaining an active consulting practice;

BizEd november/december 2007 43 serving on a board; publishing in academic, professional, or trade journals; or continuing an “active role of significance in a business enterprise.” Accreditation For most adjunct faculty, the most obvious of these choices is to continue their roles as business executives. Because few adjunct faculty are interested in becoming full- time academics, most feel more loyalty to their professional Achieving careers than to the schools that hire them part-time. That’s why administrators should seek ways to integrate these executives into the life of the school and make them feel good Maturity about their contributions. Administrators can help adjuncts bond more closely with the university if they: n Include them in department communications, meetings, Schools should strive to integrate the lunches, and other events. Administrators should particularly lessons of accreditation into their ongoing seek their input during discussions about teaching. Because operating procedures. adjuncts usually aren’t putting energy into research and service activities, they often are more focused on teaching by Ruth Guthrie and Louise Soe and student needs than full-time faculty can be, so they have a great deal to offer on these topics. n Give them office space, even if they have to share it, so hen a business school is preparing for initial they feel like they belong. accreditation, the whole faculty pulls together n Ask them to share their professional experience by to make sure the school meets the standards giving presentations, acting as resource guides, or providing of necessary quality. Once this milestone is industry contacts for the full-time faculty. Wachieved, however, sometimes faculty and administrators relax n Recognize them through annual teaching awards and revert to their traditional operating levels. It’s far better handed out to adjunct faculty—or include them whenever for schools to aim for “accreditation maturity,” which can faculty are being considered for such awards. This kind of serve as both an outlook and a strategic plan as they work attention will help adjuncts develop a real sense of connection to maintain accreditation-quality standards in all their daily to the university. operating procedures. Schools can track and improve their accreditation matur Ultimate Payoff ity by consulting a Capability Maturity Model (CMM), a Because their professional experience complements the tool originally developed at Carnegie Mellon’s Software academic strengths of tenured research faculty, adjuncts can Engineering Institute to help the government assess a be vital components in a school’s efforts to achieve its mis- vendor’s ability to deliver work to a certain standard. Vendors sion. As the competition for qualified faculty becomes more that had achieved a Level 3 CMM rating were eligible to intense, outstanding adjuncts with successful teaching expe- receive a government contract. In this article, the CMM rience may be courted by a number of eager schools. model has been adapted to track accreditation maturity However, adjuncts aren’t in it for the money; they’re among colleges. teaching because they want to share their knowledge. If The CMM system shows schools where they stand on five they’ve developed a deep connection to one school, they’re possible accreditation levels. At Level 1, schools follow an unlikely to be tempted away by better salaries. Administrators ad-hoc approach to delivering education. At Level 2, schools who treat them well and manage them as critical assets will have developed repeatable key practices, but these do not find that their adjunct professors are loyal, productive, and inform improvement. At Level 3—which we consider the insightful members of the faculty team. minimum level for accreditation—key practices are defined and actively maintained by the college faculty. At Level 4, Jeffrey A. Mello is associate dean and professor of management at the college manages key practices with quantitative data. At the Andreas School of Business at Barry University in Miami Shores, Level 5, the optimum maturity level, the school continually Florida. assesses and improves key practices.

44 BizEd november/december 2007 It’s essential to realize that accreditation should be a long-range, ongoing project, not a yearly assignment.

Developing a tiered view of process improvement gives tain systematic strategic planning processes to meet objec- administrators a way to keep their faculty’s enthusiasm at the tives. Instead, processes are reinvented, and the maturity same level that it was during the initial accreditation stage. level remains the same. It helps them maintain focus and sustain their accreditation AACSB director turnover. Many universities ask a knowledge- over time. In addition, the CMM approach reduces staff anx- able senior faculty member to assemble the accreditation iety. Because faculty know what level the school has attained, committee and meet with the visiting team. If the faculty they can discuss what issues they still need to address without member returns to the classroom after the visit and the re- resorting to any of the negativity that sometimes accompa- accreditation responsibilities are taken up by someone else, nies accreditation or re-accreditation efforts. continuity and knowledge can be lost. Committee turnover. Business schools expect faculty to serve on many key committees, such as those overseeing curricula, strategic planning, and assessment. Individual faculty may store reports, minutes, and e-mails on their computers, and this knowledge and institutional memory can be lost when committee membership changes. Faculty reluctance. Professors who know how much time and effort are required to serve on an accreditation committee might be unwilling to serve on a re-accreditation committee. In addition, such a role might not seem urgent to them if another visit is several years in the future, so even if they accept the assignment, they may put most of their attention elsewhere. At the same time, many faculty are not interested in accreditation. They perform student assessment daily but are reluctant to discuss program assessment, particularly if it affects discipline distinctions or steps on anyone’s toes. Poor technology. Compiling accurate information about budgets, strategic management requirements, and assurance of learning targets is a labor-intensive process. Schools can buy commercial software packages that manage this information, but it still takes labor to key in the continually changing data. If administrators don’t know what information they need or how to use it once they’ve cap- Barriers to Accreditation Maturity tured it, data collection won’t improve decision making or Even schools that follow the CMM method might encoun- shed light on process improvement. ter several obstacles to accreditation maturity: Dean turnover. When a college of business hires a new Gaining Maturity dean, continuity between old and new processes is often To move a college toward accreditation maturity, it’s essen- lost. The strategic planning, action items, and goals are tial to build an institutional memory and an experience sometimes forgotten; and even if the mission stays the base so that the whole school is working to maintain and same, processes for achieving it sometimes are abandoned. improve key practices. It’s also essential to realize that If a new dean is hired every five years, it’s difficult to main- accreditation should be a long-range, ongoing project, not

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a yearly assignment. To achieve accreditation maturity, hires, a consistent level of understanding about accredi schools should follow these five actions: tation efforts. Involve all faculty in accreditation committees. While it seems Focus on the goal, not the individual. Identify weaknesses in like a good idea to load the accreditation team with associ- key practices, but don’t focus on who was responsible for ate deans and department chairs, such a structure misses a the weakness. Instead, develop action plans to improve the chance for shared governance. A team comprising mostly process—and if the first approach doesn’t work, try another faculty encourages a sense of ownership, safeguards against one. People will be more eager to embrace change if the personnel turnover—and ensures that accreditation is part goal is not punishment for something they’ve done wrong, of the organizational structure. Such a committee also cre- but process improvement for the school. ates liaisons to departments and dispels misconceptions about accreditation. Higher Goals Focus on what the school already does well. Don’t assume that A school with a mature accreditation rating finds an AACSB operations must be completely revamped if the school is to accreditation visit is just that—a visit. There is no frenzy achieve accreditation. Look for existing key practices and before the team arrives as staffers collect reports about map these to the accreditation standards. Areas that are not achieving mission statements and establishing infrastruc- mature will become apparent and can be improved. ture. The accreditation team simply shows up on a certain Take advantage of technology. Instead of relying on informal day, meets with the required groups, and looks at existing e-mail communication, invest in a mechanism such as an documents. electronic project library to store all data relevant to the ac- If business school administrators allow the energy and creditation process. Such a tool enables a school to build a focus that preceded the initial accreditation to dissipate, searchable database of reports and correspondence and allows they’ll only make the re-accreditation process that much faculty and staff easy access to accreditation information. In more difficult. They need to lift their schools into the mindset addition, whenever it’s practical, use Web-based automated of accreditation maturity, so that excellence becomes the processes and data collection to store information on curricu- baseline of school operations. ■z lum changes, meeting minutes, and action items. Formalize training about accreditation. Design a professional Ruth Guthrie and Louise Soe are professors of computer information training system to give all faculty and staff, including new systems at California State Polytechnic University of Pomona.

BizEd november/december 2007 47 Joining Forces

nce, when a company wanted to hire the best and brightest, it would send recruiters to the b-school campus each spring to meet the latest crop of soon-to-be graduates. To get back To train a world-class to its b-school roots, it might send its executives to visit the dean, speak to a class, or attend a luncheon. And to keep its workforce, business workforceO well-trained, it might enroll its managers in an executive program. Still, there were two distinct worlds at work—academia and enterprise oper- schools are forging ated, in large part, independently of one another. Today, the stakes are higher. Companies face mounting global pressures, stronger bonds complex business problems, and concerns about sustaining the pipeline of top talent; business schools must keep up with swiftly changing business re- with the business alities and bring them into the classroom in real time. Both sides are coming to the same realization: They can’t go it alone. community. The goal: “The blend of the corporate sector and the business school curriculum has always been important, but today it’s doubly important,” says Andy to make business Policano, dean of the Merage School of Business at the University of Cali- fornia, Irvine. “The global context makes the interaction between the busi- an active, long- ness school and corporations more critical.” As many business schools have discovered, the old rules often don’t term partner in the apply in this new world of corporate relations. To build thriving links with the corporate community, b-schools have shifted their focus from fund educational process. raising to refining best practices in corporate relationship building. Each new approach is designed to help schools form tighter, more synergistic alliances with top business leaders and bring more corporations into the by Tricia Bisoux academic fold.

Rule 1: Know What Companies Want Companies essentially have a short list of general concerns when they join forces with a business school: recruitment, branding, training, networking, and discovering the latest innovations in business. Their specific concerns, however, can be as varied as the businesses themselves. One company may need to develop a more entrepreneurial workforce or a more robust IT infrastructure, while another may want to expand into new global markets or manage large-scale change. Understanding and meeting an organization’s individual needs are at the heart of a successful corporate connection, says Jean-Marie Hennes. As president of the HEC Foundation, the corporate relations arm of HEC Paris in France, Hennes emphasizes that developing a tailored approach to the needs of individual companies has become an essential way to woo their interest. Some companies may even want to work with a business school to develop programs targeted to their own industries.

48 BizEd november/december 2007 illustration by David Cutler BizEd november/december 2007 49 “We must treat our corporate partners like clients. Every one of them must be under the impression that they are unique.”

—Jean-Marie Hennes. HEC Foundation

“A real estate company may need more managers, so its Customization is at the heart of the mission of IMD’s representatives may ask a school to help develop courses in Corporate Learning Network in Lausanne, Switzerland, real estate management,” says Hennes. As long as they make says its director, Paul Hunter. Once a company joins the sense within a school’s larger mission, such specialized ef- network, it receives an initial visit from IMD staff to find out forts can go a long way toward establishing friendships be- what its executives hope to gain from membership. Next, tween corporations and universities, he emphasizes. the school sets up a customized learning online portal con- And although playing favorites may be frowned upon taining information and research that targets those needs, in other arenas, it can be a vital part of a successful part- explains Hunter. nership between a business school and a corporation. “We “If the company is particularly interested in change man- must treat our corporate partners like clients,” says Hennes. agement, for instance, we will design its portal that month “Every one of them must be under the impression that they to offer information on that topic,” he says. Companies use are unique.” their IMD portals for training and brainstorming sessions

The MIM Program: A Corporate Gateway to Business Education

When the Netherlands-based ING Group needs to hire, it ate member schools from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, doesn’t have to look far. As a member of the Community Mexico, Russia, Singapore, and the United States. of European Management Schools and International Com- “Many corporations don’t have a footprint in some of the panies (CEMS), the company is a partner with not just one markets we’re in,” says O’Sullivan. “Through their member- European business school. It’s a partner with the 16 other ship, they can gain visibility in all of those markets and build full academic CEMS members in Europe, nine associate their brands without plunging into multiple relationships with academic members in non-European countries, and 53 cor- schools in each of those markets.” porate members. One of the cornerstones of CEMS activities is its one-year For a long time, many academics simply didn’t under- Masters in Management (MIM) program, which accepts more stand “what corporations had to say,” says Marina Eloy, than 580 students each year. In the MIM program, each head of human resources for ING Group. “CEMS makes it student spends the first semester at one university and the sec- easy for us to keep in regular contact with academics, so ond at another member school in a different country. CEMS we can help them understand what’s important for corpora- corporate members are involved at every stage, from student tions. As a result, academics are becoming more open to selection, to course assignments and competitions, to intern- what we need than they used to be. CEMS has built bridges ships and capstone projects. between many corporations and different universities across Corporate representatives have direct input in the selec- Europe. It’s a big plus for us.” tion process—and, consequently, in the quality and profile Founded in 1988, CEMS was designed to open an of MIM students. They evaluate students based on their aca- international, mutually beneficial educational exchange demic skills, international mindsets, and desire to achieve. between academics and corporate leaders, explains Cath- For example, at Erasmus University’s Rotterdam School of erine O’Sullivan, its corporate relations manager. “CEMS Management, the CEMS member school in the Netherlands, provides corporations a gateway to a specific population of MIM candidates are selected, in part, based on their per- students and faculty—a population that’s more mobile, mul- formance on business cases provided by corporate partners tilingual, and internationally minded,” she says. such as ING Group, Shell, and Randstad Holding. To be Full academic members are chosen by invitation—only selected for the MIM program at the Stockholm School of one full member is admitted from any single country—and Economics, the CEMS member school in Sweden, candi- pay €8,000 a year for membership; corporate members dates must impress corporate partners during a two-day pay €20,000 a year. Although CEMS originally focused assessment. its efforts in Europe, the organization is now expanding to Once students begin the program, CEMS corporate part- become a global organization. It recently accepted associ- ners continue their input. They send representatives to present

50 BizEd november/december 2007 to help them get particular projects off the ground. At the company’s request, IMD will also send e-mail reminders to employees to let them know when new material is available. Likewise, when the Merage School wanted to strengthen its ties to the corporate community, its administrators first wanted to know how to customize their efforts. So, they embarked on a comprehensive study of the industries in the region. The study pinpointed five primary industrial sectors: real estate, investment and wealth management, healthcare, information technology, and entrepreneurship. The school then identified the major business leaders in those sectors and arranged to meet each one. “We asked all the leaders to tell us about their particular challenges, and then we explained what we could do to help The CEMS Career Forum is an annual event exclusive to CEMS students, them meet those challenges,” says Policano. When it comes alumni, and corporate partners. to corporate relationships, he says, his business school thinks of itself as an HR firm that provides not only talent, but also guest lectures, provide real-life cases, and design and consultants, research studies, and training meetings tailored judge competitions. They also provide one-day modules to suit an individual corporation’s needs. on a variety of topics, such as branding, negotiating, com- “If you’re visiting a corporate leader, you have to be think- municating, and working in multinational environments. ing like the person on the other side of the desk. You need Indesit Company, an Italian appliance manufacturer, talks to to know what he wants before you even enter the door,” he students about branding; Procter & Gamble holds a module adds. “That’s why we focused on five industries. We wanted on creative problem solving. “Essentially, the companies to be able to approach someone in the healthcare industry adapt training modules that they would use in their own and say, ‘Here’s exactly what we can do to help you.’” corporate universities or graduate training programs to CEMS courses,” says O’Sullivan. Rule 2: Think Partners, Not Donors In the second semester, students form international teams Many schools, including the Merage School, HEC, and to complete consultancy projects that comprise about 50 IMD, do not use the phrase “corporate donor” when they percent of their semester’s workload. Students receive an describe their outreach programs. Instead, they opt for the academic coach from the business school and a corporate phrase “corporate partner.” The former implies a one-time coach from the CEMS corporate member that provided the transaction; the latter, a long-term, exclusive relationship. project. Then, to finish the year, students complete intern- In fact, corporate partnership programs—in which com- ships at CEMS companies. By the time they graduate, MIM panies pay a membership fee to a business school, usually students have been exposed to—and trained by—many on an annual basis—are quickly becoming the norm. “We companies in the CEMS network. It’s no wonder that most don’t have corporate clients; we have learning partners,” of the program’s graduates take positions at CEMS partner says Hunter of IMD. “We believe we can learn much from companies. each other.” The ongoing objective for CEMS is to provide opportuni- Both parties enjoy the reciprocal nature of the arrange- ties to network members that they could not access as indi- ment, says Hunter. For instance, companies can join IMD’s vidual institutions or companies. O’Sullivan says that her Corporate Learning Network at one of two levels. They can biggest challenge is to maintain the network’s relevance to pay one membership fee to join as full learning partners with both its academic and corporate members. “We don’t want complete access to all of IMD’s research and academic re- to fall into the trap of acting purely as service provider,” sources as well as a seat on IMD’s foundation board. Or, she says. “We must bring together people from two very they can pay a lower membership fee to become business different worlds. CEMS provides a platform for constructive associates and enjoy more limited access. exchange that’s profitable and productive for everyone.” Creating a synergy between the school and the corporate community is essential for a business program, agrees Jette

BizEd november/december 2007 51 “Ultimately, we measure our success by how many people are interested in becoming involved with our school. Our philosophy is to break down the walls of the business school, so that you cannot differentiate where the business school ends and the business school community begins.”

—Andy Policano, University of California at Irvine

Ryttergaard, director of corporate relations at Copenhagen have registered for Webcast access. The company also has Business School in Denmark. Its program, CBS Connect, launched a series of five- to ten-minute podcasts on a variety invites companies to subscribe to its network for �80,000 ev- of business topics. ery three years. In return, these companies receive a range of In some programs, corporate leaders are taking on more support services from the school’s corporate relations office, active roles in the educational process—they’re not just stop- such as exclusive career fairs, advisory board participation, ping by for a guest lecture. They’re actually designing courses, and direct access to and involvement in school research. competitions, and consulting projects. In some cases, they’re “We have gradually adjusted our corporate partnership even selecting the students who attend the program. For ex- package to match the needs and wishes of participating com- ample, companies take a particularly active role in the Masters panies, both to support our current partners and to attract in Management (MIM) Program, offered through the Com- new ones,” says Ryttergaard. munity of European Management Schools and International To become a corporate partner of the HEC Foundation, Companies (CEMS), an alliance of business schools and cor- companies pay �75,000 a year or �350,000 a year, depending porations based in Jouy-en-Josas, France. Representatives of on the level of engagement they desire. Hennes notes that member companies in the CEMS network take the time to French corporations want to know exactly what they’re get- coach students individually, speak to them in the classroom, ting for their corporate membership. The foundation makes interact with them at scheduled events, and even vet student sure its corporate members become part of the governance candidates (see “The MIM Program: A Corporate Gateway of HEC Paris, serving on the school’s committees for teach- to Business Education” on page 50). ing, research, or communication. “Companies are aware that business schools offer a new “They really have the power to decide how we use their way of approaching new talent, one much different from money,” says Hennes. “If they’re financing an endowed chair, classic recruitment. By taking a direct part in students’ edu- it’s not enough for them to see their name in the chair’s title. cations, they can show their organizations in a different light They want to be a part of the class. You’d be surprised at how and help students become more familiar with their company many executives in France want to teach in the classroom.” culture and attitudes,” says Catherine O’Sullivan, the corporate relations manager for CEMS. Rule 3: Create Multiple Points of Involvement CEMS also strives to provide opportunities for corporate Once business schools sign a new corporate partner, their involvement that go beyond the academic, says O’Sullivan. next challenge is to create an array of opportunities for com- For example, the organization includes a student governing panies to engage with students and faculty. Increasing the body, called the Student Board, which exists to bring to- frequency of such interactions between businesses and busi- gether academic and corporate partners to work on “issues ness schools is a high priority at CBS, says Ryttergaard. For that are close to students’ hearts,” she says. This year, stu- example, CBS recently introduced weekly individual career dents organized a project across the CEMS academic net- counseling meetings between students and corporate part- work with the United Nations World Food Program called ners. Ryttergaard also has launched a monthly e-newsletter “Walk the World.” A number of CEMS corporate partners that shares with corporate partners the latest research and took part, contributing financial or technological support. courses from CBS faculty, inviting their involvement where Petroleum company BP donated �10,500 to kick off the their expertise may apply. students’ fund-raising efforts. In the end, the Student Board IMD’s Corporate Learning Network includes an inte- raised �50,000 in this first-time event. grated network of opportunities for its partners, explains By offering a variety of ways to become involved, a Hunter. For example, every Wednesday, the company creates school makes sure that each of its partnering companies a 30-minute Webcast that features an interview with a faculty will find a niche it wants to fill, says Policano of the Merage member or guest speaker about the latest research. “Each School. At Merage, for instance, business leaders can serve week, anyone at a partner company can interact live with on one of five advisory boards or participate in its execu- our faculty and ask a question,” says Hunter. “We typically tive mentor program that matches students with one of have more questions come in than we can answer during the 110 executive mentors. It has formed a Senior Leadership 30 minutes, so we answer additional questions afterward by Circle, which gives 550 business leaders the opportunity e-mail.” IMD has already created 200 Wednesday Webcasts, to contribute ideas to the school and network with each and so far, more than 25,000 people across the network other. In addition, the school operates a ropes challenge

52 BizEd november/december 2007 “The closer we are to our corporate partners, the better we understand them. That’s good for them, and it’s good for us.”

—Paul Hunter, IMD

course for corporations to help them develop teamwork program, but it can no longer be the aim. “The last thing among their employees. we do with a company is ask for money,” Policano says. “Ultimately, we measure our success by how many peo- “We find that companies are eager to help once we have ple are interested in becoming involved with our school. demonstrated our value to them. But the value proposition Our philosophy is to break down the walls of the business has to come first; any business school must first earn the school, so that you cannot differentiate where the business right to ask.” school ends and the business school community begins,” As business becomes more complex and unpredictable, the says Policano. “The key element of our mission is to be an give-and-take between businesses and business schools be- integral part of the engine that drives the growth in this comes all the more important to help both camps keep ahead community.” of the curve. “Because the business community is so complex and so diverse, there is much to learn,” he says. In such cir- Rule 4: Don’t Ask for Money cumstances, he adds, “enhancing learning across academia Although fund raising is the lifeblood of a business school, it and the business community is much more critical.” has become a secondary focus for many corporate relations programs. For instance, at CBS, the main function of the Rule 5: Build a Network of Leaders school’s five-year-old corporate relations office has gradually Perhaps more than anything else, many companies look to shifted from fund raising to providing support and counsel business schools to help them expand their networks—of to its corporate partners, says Ryttergaard. knowledge, talent, and contacts. They’ve developed a critical interest in working through business schools to reach a more diverse, global, mobile, and rapidly evolving business market, says Hunter of IMD. “In today’s world, many business leaders find it difficult to network and interact with other companies on a global scale, which can be a definite handicap,” he says. “Business schools can give them those opportunities to interact.” Any business school that can provide companies the opportunities of a dynamic and wide-reaching network will benefit from its corporate program, says Hunter. IMD works to build a sense of community throughout its academic and corporate network through a series of one- to two-day “discovery events,” which focus on topics such as entrepreneurship, energy futures, and the markets in Chi- na and India. It offers 25 to 30 global forums a year, as well as its annual CEO roundtable, a one-day gathering for CEOs of the more than 180 companies in IMD’s Corpo- rate Learning Network. Each of these events is designed to bring together mem- This evolution has been driven, in part, by an extremely bers of the Learning Network to exchange ideas and speak competitive recruitment market in Denmark. Companies ev- directly about the challenges they face. “We want to offer a erywhere now come to business schools not only to recruit ‘global meeting place’ for our member organizations, where new hires and train executives, but also to boost their brands, their employees can interact with IMD’s faculty, talk with build their networks, request specialized research, and design people from other companies, and return to their workplaces courses specific to their needs. The days when the success of with a fresh mindset and ideas they can apply immediately,” a business school’s corporate relations office was measured says Hunter. He adds that many companies send employees solely in dollar signs, she says, are largely over. to IMD’s discovery events as a reward for a job well done or And that’s a good thing, says Policano of the Merage as an incentive to encourage higher level performance. School, who emphasizes that an increase in corporate do- CEMS also wants to offer its academic and corporate nations may be the result of a strong corporate relations members more opportunities to learn from and interact

54 BizEd november/december 2007 Looking at the world of business from a different perspective.

UT Dallas School of Management http://som.utdallas.edu

Fully accredited by AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The University of Texas at Dallas is an affirmative action/equal opportunity university.

with their peers in its network. For example, the organiza- they face and our students can learn about those challenges tion plans to provide more benchmarking activities to al- firsthand.” low members to see how they compare to each other. Also For example, Policano notes that, as a result of close under consideration is a program in which three member corporate relationships, Merage faculty have received data companies in the same industry would work together to for important research, and its students are granted access create a single, revolving internship; through the intern- to valuable consulting work. Microsoft oversees an annual ship, business students would have the opportunity to work project for 20 Merage MBAs, while Montpelier Investments three months at each company and compare different cor- runs an annual investment strategy competition that allows porate cultures. At the same time, collaborating companies students not only to benefit from the learning experience, could gain a different perspective on their shared industry, but also to compete for $100,000 in scholarships. Factor says O’Sullivan. in corporate keynote speakers, advisory council service, and “We have built a network of exchange for our members,” other corporate contributions, and an effectively executed says O’Sullivan. “Now we want to launch projects that bring corporate relations program may be among the most valu- them together and make use of their differences. We want to able assets a business school can have. take what we already do and do it better.” Such close corporate partnerships afford a business school a direct line into today’s business challenges, agrees Rule 6: Merge the Best of Two Worlds Hunter. “We believe the closer we are to our partners, the Under these new rules of corporate engagement, a b-school’s better we understand them and the better we can provide corporate partners program can unquestionably serve the them with the information they need for their ongoing complex needs of the business community. But its intrinsic learning,” he says. “That’s good for them, and it’s good value to the business school itself is just as essential, say these for us.” administrators. Often, this value can’t be measured on a bal- There’s no better definition of a “win-win situation,” say ance sheet. those heading corporate relations initiatives. Successful cor- For business students to get the best education possible, porate partnership programs provide more varied learning the business school is “only part of the equation,” says Poli- experiences to students and deliver more qualified graduates cano of the Merage School. “The rest of it must come from to the business community. That synergy helps everyone— the corporate community. We have to establish a strong bond schools, students, faculty, and business—maintain a sharp with companies, so that they can tell us about the challenges competitive edge in a competitive global market. ■z

BizEd november/december 2007 55 Research

online banking industry over eight Research on years to determine innovation out- Entrepreneurship comes such as speed of develop- on the Rise ment and breadth of technological deployment. While entrepreneurship has been the topic By counting the number of of many courses and much discus- future-oriented words and phrases sion, research into the field has been in letters to shareholders over this less pervasive. However, a period of time, the researchers study by three researchers were able to predict the level of at the Georgia Institute of innovation of that firm up to five Technology’s College of years later. Management in Atlanta has What CEOs say to shareholders found that, over the last can inspire and motivate employ- few years, academic research ees to innovate, the authors say. activity on entrepreneurship FrankFrank RothaermelRothaermel When a CEO’s attention is focused has been increasing. CEOs’ Words May on internal problems rather than Frank Rothaermel, associate pro Foretell the Future the company’s future direction, fessor of strategic management, employees’ innovation may stall. and doctoral students Shanti Agung What CEOs say today may predict how well “The daily pressures from inside and Lin Jiang surveyed the number their organizations innovate tomor- the corporation tend to take up of academic studies on entrepre- row, according to a study forth- the bulk of the CEOs’ time, over- neurship in the U.S. over the past coming in the Journal of whelming their attention 25 years. They found that 173 arti- Marketing. Three researchers spans,” explains Chandy. cles had been published in 28 aca- have found that the number “But because the CEO sets demic journals by 232 scholars of future-oriented sentences the tone and culture, not from 1981 to 2005. However, 127 that a CEO uses in a compa- thinking forward and out- of them were authored from 2000 ny’s annual report can pre- side the firm has major con- to 2005. Moreover, 69 percent of dict its future innovation. sequences for innovation.” these more recent articles were The paper, “Managing The researchers advise authored by only 65 researchers. Rajesh Chandy the Future: CEO Attention CEOs to direct their atten- The authors identified four pri- and Innovation Outcomes,” tion to the big picture, mary research areas of interest in was co-authored by Rajesh while letting others take the field of entrepreneurship: the Chandy, professor of mar- care of the day-to-day entrepreneurial research university, keting at the University of problems that can distract the productivity of technology Minnesota’s Carlson School CEOs from their true transfer offices, new firm creation, of Management in Minne- purpose—moving the and the environmental context for apolis; Manjit S. Yadav, asso- company forward. “The entrepreneurship. ciate professor of marketing JaideepJaideep PrabhuPrabhu temptation to focus on The authors cite several reasons at Texas A&M University’s fires within the firm may for the increase in research over the Mays Business School in cause CEOs to take their last 25 years. The passage of the College Station; and Jaideep eyes off their jobs,” says Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 started the C. Prabhu, professor of mar- Chandy. “A CEO who trend, they argue, by providing keting at Imperial College’s focuses on the big picture, universities with government fund- Tanaka Business School not the nitty-gritty, will ing to patent scientific break- in London, England. The influence the process of throughs and spurring the growth researchers studied empiri- innovation and future out- of entrepreneurial courses and Manjit Yadav cal data collected from the comes of the firm.” degree programs. They also point

56 BizEd november/december 2007 Bryant University’s College of Business is pleased to welcome the to the increase in the number and mobility of scientists and engineers, following faculty members as well as the development of important technological break- throughs in computing, biotech- nology, and nanotechnology. Rothaermel, Agung, and ince it was founded in 1863, Bryant University has been Jiang conducted the research committed to recruiting and supporting highly accomplished for the Ewing Marion Kauffman and credentialed faculty from prestigious institutions Foundation. To download the S around the world. full report, visit www.university entrepreneurshipresearch.com. This fall, we have the privilege of welcoming six new tenured and tenure-track faculty members to the College of Business. Fewer Trade Barriers, Higher Productivity Sam Beldona The elimination of trade barriers between Associate Professor, Chair, Management nations could be a boon to produc- Ph.D., Business Administration, Temple University tivity, according to a study by two M. Cary Collins Canadian economics professors. Associate Professor, Finance, Trustee Professor of Entrepreneurship Daniel Trefler of the University Ph.D., Finance, The University of Georgia of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and Alla Lileeva of Diya Das York University’s department of Assistant Professor, Management economics in Toronto looked closely Ph.D., Management, Syracuse University at Canadian companies before and after the enactment of the Canada- Michael J. Gravier U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Assistant Professor, Marketing in 1989. They found that companies Ph.D., Marketing, University of North Texas with low productivity levels before Charlene R. Sinkin the FTA made significant productivity gains after 1989. Assistant Professor, Accounting Trefler and Lileeva surmise that Ph.D., Accounting, Oklahoma State University the elimination of trade barriers cre- Sukki Yoon ated the right conditions for compa- Assistant Professor, Marketing nies to make investments in produc- Ph.D., Advertising, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign tivity, innovation, and manufacturing technology related to production and inventory control. In fact, low productivity companies that began to export after 1989 adopted new Ronald K. Machtley, President technology at more than two times V. K. Unni, Vice President for Academic Affairs the rate of their nonexporting coun- • • terparts. As a result, these companies Bryant University improved not only their productivity Smithfield, Rhode Island but their sales performance in Cana- www.bryant.edu • (401) 232-6000 da: Their sales improved by as much as 20 percent over eight years.

BizEd november/december 2007 57 Research umpires were more likely to call strikes when they and the pitchers shared the same race or ethnicity.

Overall, small companies were the advocates that Canada eliminate any McGill University in Montreal, Que- big winners, the researchers found. technical trade barriers that still exist bec, in Canada; Johan Sulaeman, a Larger companies that had already between it and the U.S. graduate student at the University of made major investments in produc- See the full study, “Improved Texas at Austin; Michael Yates, assis- tivity did not see the same gains as Access to Foreign Markets Raises tant professor of finance at Auburn smaller companies that had yet to Plant-Level Productivity … for University in Alabama; and Daniel take the plunge. Some Plants,” at www.rotman. Hamermesh, professor of economics Even so, researchers conclude utoronto.ca/pdf/Trefler1.pdf. at UT-Austin. that such higher rates of productivity The researchers analyzed every among smaller companies can lead Racial Bias and Major pitch in three seasons of major to higher tax revenues for govern- League Baseball league baseball between 2004 and ment, which leads to more money 2006—2,120,166 pitches in all. for social programs. These findings Pitchers in Major League Baseball may have They wanted to see whether race indicate that “interprovincial trade an advantage when they share the played a role in how an umpire barriers should be eliminated as same race or ethnicity as the umpires called a game. much as possible at home to make behind home plate, according to the They found that umpires were the Canadian market as accessible research findings of Christopher Par- more likely to call strikes when as it can be,” says Trefler. He also sons, associate professor of finance at they and the pitchers shared the same race or ethnicity. In this case, umpires were .34 percent more study briefs likely to call a pitch a strike. n THE DOWNSIDE OF INCENTIVES drive behavior but instead to provide This percentage may seem Financial incentives intended to moti- recognition and share a company’s small—it averages out to less than vate stronger performance—such as success with employees.” one pitch per game. However, the bonuses and commissions—may have researchers argue that one pitch can the opposite effect. In a recent article n NEW ROLES FOR HR have huge consequences in a low- for The Conference Board Review, In their Human Resources Compe- scoring game like baseball. In their Jeffrey Pfeffer, professor of organi- tency Study, conducted for the con- paper, the authors cite the hypothet- zational behavior at Stanford Busi- sulting firm RBL Group of Provo, ical example of a black pitcher facing ness School in California, finds that Utah, researchers at the University a Hispanic umpire. In this instance, incentives may actually encourage of Michigan’s Ross School of Busi- the pitcher may be awarded fewer bad behaviors. For example, Pfeffer ness in Ann Arbor identified six core close calls, and as a result, cites what happened when officials competencies that up-and-com- change his pitching of the city of Albuquerque, New ing human resources professionals over the course Mexico, decided to pay trash work- will need to succeed. They need of a game ers for eight hours of work, even to perform as credible activists who so that balls if they finished their routes more command respect and have impact; become easier quickly. The city hoped the policy stewards of culture and change who to hit. Just one would reduce overtime and encour- shape corporate culture; talent man- hit can make age efficiency. Instead, workers began agers/organizational designers who the dif- to miss pickups; exceed speed limits, can find and retain talent; strategy ference causing accidents; and overload their architects who have a vision of the between trucks, incurring fines. Companies firm’s future success; operational a win and that plan to offer financial incentives executors who can manage people a loss. to boost performance may do well to and serve employees well; and busi- consider other options, Pfeffer writes: ness allies who understand the mar- “Incentives should be used not to kets where their companies operate.

58 BizEd november/december 2007 SeminarAd.qxd 10/5/07 3:49 PM Page 1

Choose from our list of upcoming seminars and register today! In addition to AACSB International accreditation and assessment related seminars, we offer professional development opportunities The study also found that such for business school deans, faculty, and staff. Whether you want to bias disappeared in ballparks where strengthen your career skills, fine-tune specific areas within your the league has installed electronic faculty, or turn your advisory council into one of your biggest monitoring systems that check the assets, we can help! accuracy of an umpire’s calls. In addition, the researchers also found no Managing for High-Performing Faculty Seminar bias when a call was critical—when January 17-18, 2008 — Tampa, Florida, USA it could result in the batter’s striking May 29-30, 2008 — Tampa, Florida, USA out, for instance, or when it occurred Through hands-on case studies and group exercises, examine new approaches to managing valuable faculty near the end of a very close game. resources while meeting accreditation standards. The authors see this research as indicative of subtle discrimination Department Chairs Seminar that can have big outcomes in other March 13-14, 2008 — Tampa, Florida, USA Learn ways to accomplish change, incorporate the talents venues, such as the workplace. “Dis- of new and diverse faculty while still valuing mid-career crimination affects the outcome of and senior faculty, increase teaching effectiveness, a game and the labor market, deter- improve productivity, and resolve conflict. mining the pitcher’s market value Advisory Council Seminar and compensation,” says Hamer- March 13–14, 2008 — Waltham, Massachusetts, USA mesh. “From an economics perspec- Elkin B. McCallum Graduate School of Business, Bentley College tive, this is troubling.” Learn a tested BAC model and take away materials from more than 40 advisory council models designed to help If such subtle bias occurs during you cultivate and empower your advisory council. a worker’s performance evaluations, he adds, it could be incredibly diffi- Strategic Management Seminar cult to detect discrimination in other April 12–13, 2008 — Honolulu, Hawaii, USA Learn a model for implementing successful strategic areas. Plus, small occurrences of bias management at your institution and hear ways to involve could have a much larger impact on your program directors and other core leadership staff with a worker’s career. your school’s strategic management plan. Read the entire paper, “Strike This seminar will be held in conjunction with the AACSB International Conference and Annual Meeting Three: Umpires’ Demand for Dis- April 13-15, 2008, in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. crimination,” at www.eco.utexas. edu/faculty/Hamermesh/Baseball Enhancing Faculty Effectiveness and Qualifications Seminar 4Authors.pdf. May 5, 2008 — Tampa, Florida, USA Discover best practices in organizational specific deployment The Economic Costs strategies, as well as faculty management, development, of Climate Change and mentoring. Also, learn new and tested approaches in establishing criteria for participating and supporting faculty and AQ/PQ faculty performance. Climate change in North Carolina over the next 30 to 75 years will have New Deans Seminar significant economic consequences June 22–25, 2008 — Denver, Colorado, USA Explore the factors necessary for a successful deanship, for the state, according to the new including career paths and elements for success, mastering study, “Measuring the Impacts of the inside game, friend raising and fund raising, accreditation, Climate Change on North Carolina challenges facing new deans, change management, and more. Coastal Resources.” The study was conducted by Germany’s Pots- For the latest information, visit dam Institute for Climate Impact www.aacsb.edu/conferences/events/seminars Research and three North Carolina economists: lead author John White- head of Appalachian State University AACSB International Conferences

BizEd november/december 2007 59 Research

in Boone; Okmyung “Paul” Bin of value, and billions more in interrup- A Slow Journey the department of economics at East tions to business and tourism, over to Bad Behavior Francesca Gino Carolina University in Greenville; the next 75 years. By 2080, hur- and Chris Dumas of the depart- ricanes could equate to losses that New research suggests that unethical ment of economics and finance at amount to as much as $157 million behavior is often not the result of the University of North Carolina at per storm event. In that time frame, deliberate fraudulent acts by bad Wilmington. 14 of 17 recreational swimming people. Instead, it can happen as a Funded by a grant from the beaches in southern North Carolina consequence of a gradual decline of National Commission on Energy also could erode completely, unless ethical standards by individuals in an Policy, the study surveyed the North something is done to prevent it. organization over time, according to Carolinian counties of New Hanover, The researchers hope that the Francesca Gino of Carnegie Mellon Dare, Carteret, and Bertie, which study will convince policymakers University’s Tepper School of Busi- represent a cross-section of the state’s of the need to address the issue of ness in Pittsburgh and Max Bazer- coastline in terms of geographical climate change. “The benefits of man of Harvard Business School in distribution and economic develop- implementing climate change pol- Cambridge, Massachusetts. ment. They found that the state’s icy would occur further down the For their paper, “Slippery Slopes coastal topography makes it econom- road, which makes them easier to and Misconduct: The Effect of ically and ecologically vulnerable to ignore or postpone,” says White- Gradual Degradation on the Failure hurricanes or a rise in sea level. head. “We hope this study will fill to Notice Others,” Gino and Bazer- For example, the study found in some of the gaps in knowledge man conducted four experiments that a one- to three-foot rise in sea about this issue.” with 330 subjects, who were shown level along this cross-section could The full study is available at econ. pictures of jars filled with pennies. cause $6.9 billion loss in property appstate.edu/climate/. In each experiment, “estimators”

UPCOMING & ONGOING n NEW CENTER ON CHINESE BIZ (EURO) recently recognized Indiana University in three professors for the paper, n $6 MILLION FOR INNOVATION Bloomington has opened “Designing Mechanisms for The Sorenson Legacy Foundation an interdisciplinary Research the Management of Carrier Alli- has donated $6 million to the Uni- Center for Chinese Politics ances.” The paper was authored versity of Utah’s Eccles School of and Business, which aims to help by Lori Houghtalen, a professor in Business in Salt Lake City for the scholars and business professionals the mathematics and science divi- creation of an interdisciplinary cen- better understand the complexity sion of Babson College in Wellesley, ter for the study of discovery and of China’s economy and political Massachusetts; Ozlem Ergun, an innovation. Named after medical system. Twelve faculty from IU’s assistant professor at the Georgia device inventor James LeVoy Soren- Kelley School of Business, College Institute of Technology in Atlanta; son, the new center will encourage of Arts and Sciences, and School of and Joel Sokol, an associate professor multidisciplinary examination of Public and Environmental Affairs at Georgia Tech. EURO presented innovation and discovery as the pri- will engage in the center’s scholar- them with its Management Science mary tools in progress and econom- ship. The center also will organize Strategic Innovation Prize for the ic development. The Eccles School lectures, faculty roundtables, confer- study, which outlined the techni- will name a Chair of Discovery and ences, and outreach to business pro- cal and legal challenges associated Innovation Studies to direct the cen- fessionals throughout the Midwest. with integrating information systems ter’s research. In addition, the center of autonomous carriers when they will sponsor the Tech Titans Innova- n INNOVATION WINNER form alliances. It also explored ways tion Challenge, a statewide student The Association of European to best manage these alliances while idea and design competition. Operational Research Societies ensuring sustainability.

60 BizEd november/december 2007 Deans_ad2.qxd 10/12/07 1:46 PM Page 1

Deans Conference

February 6-8, 2008 San Antonio, Texas, USA offered different estimates for the amount of money in the jar. The subjects were asked to play the role Driving the Mission of “approvers,” accepting or reject- ing the estimates. Subjects were also Save 200 USD with the early registration discount told that they and the estimators when you register by January 6, 2008. would be paid more for higher- approved estimates. However, they Business school deans worldwide face more challenges risked a penalty for approving exag- than ever before as competition and the demand for gerated estimates. quality education grow. Join more than 300 deans in In some of the experiments, estimators changed the amount of their San Antonio, Texas, at this must-attend event exclusively for estimates abruptly; in others, their deans* to network, share, and explore solutions to common estimates increased gradually. Indi- challenges. From compelling ideas to expert perspectives viduals were more likely to approve from influential speakers, this very high estimates if estimators conference is one that no built to them gradually, rather than dean will want to miss. making the leap all at once. The researchers believe these *Registration is limited findings support the conclusion to deans and heads of higher education that fraudulent behavior can often business units only. be blamed on employees’ failure to notice the gradual erosion in an organization’s ethical environment—not on deliberate attempts to defraud. “We find that individuals are more apt to engage in unethical behavior when it falls along a slippery slope, because they aren’t aware that it’s happening,” Gino says. She draws an analogy to “boiling frog syndrome,” which holds that frogs will hop out of boiling water, but will slowly cook to death when placed in cool water that is gradually heated. The best way for companies to For the latest information, including combat this tendency is to focus less on changing the behavior of registration details, please visit individual employees and more on www.aacsb.edu/conferences changing the organizational factors that feed these types of gradual breakdowns. “Companies must clearly and consistently communi- This conference will be held in conjunction with the Maintenance cate ethical standards to employees of Accreditation Seminar February 6, 2008, in San Antonio, Texas. and strive to create a culture where A separate registration fee applies. For details, please visit there’s a commitment to doing the www.aacsb.edu/conferences/events/seminars. AACSB International Conferences right thing,” Gino says. ■z

BizEd november/december 2007 61 Technology

E-Learning Tools taker. Even if students are sitting side E-testing systems tabulate grades Deter Cheaters by side as they take the test, CMS and provide student progress reports technology offers professors “a huge instantaneously. Other features of Cheating scandals and studies that show element of control,” says Catanach. course management systems, such as levels of cheating among business Catanach and Barsky also set up video and podcasts on course con- students have put business schools tests so that students cannot view tent, not only save professors time in on the ethical defensive. It doesn’t more than one question at a time, the long run, but also enhance their have to be that way, say Anthony nor can they go back to questions students’ learning experience overall. Catanach and Noah Barsky, associate The professors recently conduct- professors of accounting at Villanova ed a study to show how the advan- School of Business in Pennsylvania. tages of e-learning tools significantly If business schools want to stop outweigh the initial time faculty cheating, they have the perfect tools must invest to learn the systems and at their disposal: course management upload content. systems and e-testing. “When we surveyed accounting Catanach and Barsky have found students in classes that used e-learn- that today’s course management ing tools liberally, 87 percent noted

systems offer a number of techno- I mages that e-learning improved their overall logically based tools for test admin- learning experience,” says Catanach. istration that work to deter cheating Although e-learning and course and improve learning. One of the management systems must be used best features, they say, is the cre- consistently and in conjunction with ation of randomized tests for each M a r zinge / G etty a robust university technology pro- individual student, which students gram, say the professors, such tools Roman complete on computers. not only streamline test administra- Using the Blackboard system, they’ve already completed. As a tion and grading, but also reduce— Barsky and Catanach have created a result, students working at different or even eliminate—opportunities for large database of questions for their speeds will be at different points of students to cheat. accounting tests. Each question is the test at any given time, thwarting categorized by type, including mul- attempts to read the answer to a par- New Networking Portal tiple choice, true-and-false, and cal- ticular question off another student’s Keeps Students Connected culation; thought process required, computer screen. including memorization and criti- Some may argue that such a for- Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts, cal thinking; level of difficulty; and mat puts students at a disadvantage is tapping the growing popularity learning objective. because they can’t go back and check of online social and professional “If I want to test my students their work. Catanach and Barsky networks to add a new tool to its on a certain type of question, I can address this criticism by allowing career services offerings. The college simply design a test that pulls ques- students to take any test twice before recently launched FalconNet, one of tions at random from the appro- locking in a final grade. This policy the first student-to-student, student- priate question pools,” Catanach gives students the chance to know to-alumni, and alumni-to-alumni says. “Each student takes a test that the types of questions on the test career networking portals. includes different questions and con- and work on any weaknesses before a FalconNet was created through tent, but that covers the same mate- second try. “The second test isn’t the a collaborative effort between rial.” Course management systems same quiz, but it includes the same Bentley’s management information also allow professors to scramble the type of material,” Catanach says. systems and marketing teams, as well order of choices on multiple-choice “That alleviates a lot of problems.” as Harris Connect, an alumni and questions or change the numbers in Catanach and Barsky cite other membership services company based a calculation question for each test advantages to using CMS tools: in Norfolk, Virginia. In addition to

62 BizEd november/december 2007 there to find out what the University’s College of Information interview process is like and Science and Technology (IST). The what kind of responsibilities project’s objective is to help GSU they had,” she says. adopt Penn State’s Augmenting Like other online social Education of Systems-of-Systems networking sites, FalconNet Professionals (AESOP) model for enables students to expand undergraduate education. their social and professional Leading the project team at GSU networks. But it also helps are Vijay Vaishnavi of Robinson’s the school continue to CIS department; Richard Welke of providing information on jobs and interact with its alumni. The connec- Robinson’s Center for Process Inno- internships, the online networking tion FalconNet will provide between vation; and Faye Borthick, director community allows students to set up Bentley and its alumni will be “vital of GSU’s Center for Teaching and their own home pages. There, they to our institution,” says Blasco. Learning. Leading the project at can describe accomplishments, expe- Penn State is Sandeep Purao, an riences, and career objectives, in the GSU Adopts AESOP to associate professor at IST. same style as pages on popular social Train IT Professionals AESOP was developed to meet a networking sites such as MySpace growing demand for IT profession- and Facebook. A collaborative project between Georgia als who possess not only technology Users can search for classmates State University in Atlanta and knowledge, but also the skills to solve or alumni by employer, field, or Pennsylvania State University in complex problems and succeed on interests. Such connectivity is incred- University Park is designed to help interdisciplinary teams. The “systems- ibly valuable to students in their job fill the growing demand for IT proof-systems” concept that drives searches, says Caitlin Blasco, Bent- fessionals. The three-year project will AESOP refers to the use of technol- ley’s director of undergraduate career be funded by a $705,000 grant from ogy to develop integrated systems of services. “If a student has an inter- the National Science Foundation, small, independent applications, rath- view for an internship at Deloitte which will be split between Georgia er than large, monolithic, multifunc- & Touche, he can contact other State University’s Robinson College tional applications. The advantage of Bentley students who have interned of Business and Pennsylvania State a system based on small independent applications is that the failure of one application does not mean the failure Project Aims to Preserve Virtual Worlds of all. The disadvantage, however, is that systems-of-systems technolo- Four schools have been awarded a $590,000 grant by the U.S. Library of Congress for the Preserving gies interact across organizations in Virtual Worlds project, which will explore methods of digital preservation of video games and virtual worlds. incredibly complex ways. The Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Stanford The AESOP curriculum is University in California, and the University of Maryland in College Park have partnered with Linden Lab, the designed to help undergraduate stu- creator of the online virtual community Second Life. dents build and support these intri- The project will develop standards for preserving digital games and interactive fiction such as Second cate, inter-organizational technolo- Life. Eventually, the project will investigate preservation issues through a series of archiving case studies gies. It follows a format of problem involving early video games and electronic literature. solving, exploration, and experiential The work is significant because “the worlds we are playing with today will be gone in a flash, with no learning, in which students are given real-world challenges and are expect- recordable way of recreating them for future generations,” says Andrew Phelps of RIT. ed to find appropriate solutions. The Virtual Worlds project is administered by the Library of Congress under the National Digital Infor- Their professors act as mentors and mation Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIPP). It is one of eight that are part of the Library of coaches throughout the process. Congress’s Preserving Creative America Initiative. Other projects will target digital photographs, cartoons, One of the project’s objectives is motion pictures, and sound recordings. For more information, visit www.digitalpreservation.gov. to determine how well the AESOP

BizEd november/december 2007 63 Technology

approach can be replicated at other sages and e-mails for the one-day newsbytes schools; IST researchers also want to experiment. Researchers tracked not extend the AESOP strategy to edu- only how long it took for messages ■ ADS & SOCIAL NETWORKS cate undergraduates about the pros to be delivered to a mass audience, YouTube, MySpace, and other social and cons of open-source platforms. but also how long it took for volun- networks may be popular with users, teers to send confirmation that those but not so much with advertisers. Purdue Tests Emergency messages had been received. The prominent Web sites are still Messaging For the experiment, the school having trouble attracting advertising used a vendor-supplied text messag- dollars, according to a recent report The administrators at many colleges and ing service and the school’s own by IDC, a research company based universities are looking for efficient e-mail system. It sent more than in Framingham, Massachusetts. The and effective ways to communicate 9,900 text messages in seven min- problem, according to the report, with their campus communities in utes and 56,000 e-mail messages lies with the sites’ reliance on con- case of emergency. To that end, in six minutes. In the text-mes- tent generated by such a wide range Purdue University in West Lafayette, sage experiment, more than 5,700 of users. To protect their brands, Indiana, conducted a large-scale, people followed instructions and most companies choose to advertise real-world test of text messaging in responded to the message to con- on sites that contain more controlled September. The test’s objective was firm its receipt—the school received content and that target narrower to determine how well the technol- just under 3,000 of those replies in demographics of users. ogy works to issue emergency alerts. the first ten minutes. In the e-mail Text messaging presents so many experiment, the school received variables that can delay the deliv- 19,535 positive replies, nearly ery of messaging—including cell 10,000 of those in the first hour. tower proximity, signal strength, The experiment yielded “yards and system traffic volume, says Scott of data,” which the school will use Ksander, Purdue’s executive director to improve performance in a future of information technology networks test. The data will also help the and security. A test like this one, he school choose a permanent technol- says, helps administrators to know its ogy solution for the university’s mass ■ MORE SUPPORT FOR IT potential and its limits. communication system. “We now The more companies adopt the lat- “When we need to send an emer- have some performance specifica- est technology, the more stressed gency message, time is the most crit- tions to include in our requests-for- their IT support staff will feel, ical factor,” says Ksander. He adds proposal as we select a permanent according to a study from the Uni- that administrators need to know vendor,” says Ksander. versity of Western Ontario’s Richard how to ensure that messages are So far, Ksander says there were Ivey School of Business in Canada. delivered quickly enough to notify 364 confirmed delivery failures, Researchers conducted in-depth their entire campus communities in which he and his staff are investigat- interviews with 14 IT workers and case of emergency. ing. In addition, they have learned found that their workloads and “Too many vendors focus on the that many volunteers received the responsibilities generated stress, frus- function of their product, not the message but did not respond, sim- tration, and the risk of burnout. In actual performance,” says Ksander. ply because they were too busy. “In the study, researchers recommend “Some vendors will claim that they our next test, we will impress upon that companies not only provide can send a million messages. But the volunteers how much we need strong support systems for their IT how do we know those messages them to reply, even if it’s only ‘I’m staff, but also hire IT personnel who were received? That was the answer OK,’” says Ksander. “In case of a exhibit positive outlooks and strong we were really after.” real emergency, that simple reply can coping skills. Thousands of people volunteered relieve a lot of worry for a parent, to accept and respond to text mes- family member, or friend.”

64 BizEd november/december 2007 “Clickers are a powerful, yet simple, way to gauge conceptual understanding and to stimulate discussions.”

—Janet de Vry, University of Delaware, Newark

Tools of the Trade

Students ‘Click’ to Learn Clickers, or classroom response systems, provide University of Delaware faculty instant feedback about student learning.

When Helen Bowers wants to know if undergraduate Dave Wilson, a professor of political science at the students in her introduction to finance course understand University of Delaware, is exploring the technology’s appli- a complex concept, she doesn’t have to wait until the final cation to another academic function: research. In many exam. Bowers, an associate professor of finance at the surveys, especially those that ask questions on sensitive top- University of Delaware’s Lerner College of Business and ics, people may not give candid or truthful responses due Economics in Newark, simply asks her students a question to embarrassment or even shame, he says. Last fall, Wilson about the concept. They use radio frequency clickers to used the Interwrite clickers in his class to see if students submit their responses instantly. would offer more candid responses “If I ask a question about how to questions about racial attitudes. cash flow drives stock prices, for “With the clickers, I had fewer example, and 90 percent of my nonresponses,” says Wilson. “Stu- students answer correctly, I feel dents were not ashamed to say they very comfortable moving on,” had issues with different religious says Bowers. “But if only 46 per- or racial groups, or that they didn’t cent get it correct, I know I need want members of certain groups to go over it again.” The Interwrite PRS RF clicker uses radio frequency teaching their classes or running Faculty across the University of technology to encourage classroom participation. for office in their communities.” He Delaware campus began using notes that the clickers also offer Interwrite PRS RF radio frequency clickers in 2006. The researchers another added benefit—immediate data col- clickers provided a way for faculty to “encourage active lection. “Even with paper-and-pencil surveys, you have to learning,” says Janet de Vry, the university’s manager of enter the data,” he says. “The clicker software allows you instructional services in its IT department. “Clickers are to analyze the data immediately.” a powerful, yet simple, way to gauge conceptual under- Wilson adds that the clickers require that instructors standing and to stimulate discussions.” spend more time thinking of relevant questions to ask of Bowers notes that students are often very reticent to students. To reap their educational benefits, instructors admit they don’t understand a concept. Or they may also must make sure to use survey results to spark in-depth think they understand it when they really don’t know the discussions. In addition, there is a learning curve; users finer details. “If I were to just ask questions, I’d likely must get used to the clicker’s operation. Even so, Wilson be greeted with silence,” she says. “With the clickers, plans to use the clickers again both to engage students in students find it much easier to ask questions or make a the classroom and to improve his public opinion research. comment. The clicker questions help them self-identify their “At a recent conference, I gave a presentation of the problem spots.” research I conducted using the clickers,” says Wilson. For her last course, Bowers asked 33 clicker questions “After I finished, no one asked about my research—they over the semester, which counted for 2 percent of students’ only wanted to know more about the clickers!” grades. The clickers not only allowed Bowers to know how For more information about Interwrite clickers, visit well students understood the material, but also encouraged www.interwrite.com. Other vendors also offer radio attendance, increased class participation, and transformed frequency and infrared clickers, including Turning Tech- students’ learning experience from passive to active. nologies’ Turning Point (www.turningtechnologies.com), Students developed a “good-natured competitiveness,” she eInstruction’s CPS (www.einstruction.com), and Wiley says. They really wanted to get the questions right, she says. Higher Education’s WileyClicks! (he-cda.wiley.com/ And when they didn’t, they weren’t shy about asking why. WileyCDA/Section/id-103701.html). ■z

BizEd november/december 2007 65 Yo ur Turn by Mathew Hayward

Hubris: hubris is such a problem It’s true that a cer- in the business world tain amount of confi- Bad for Business is that it is rife in busi- dence can be beneficial. ness schools, among It helps drive success, A good case could be made for the argument faculty and students making all of us more that hubris is at the root of most alike. As a faculty mem- persistent, passionate, of the ills that have plagued busi- ber myself, I know that and persuasive in our ness in recent years. Overconfident we professors tend to projects. But that atti- CEOs have overpaid for acquisitions, overestimate our teach- tude is valid only to the overstepped their legal bounds, and ing skills. A majority extent that confidence overlooked signs that their compa- of us think that we’re is driven by our capabil- nies might be in trouble. above-average teachers, and we ities and situations. Too much con- Executives at all levels fall victim discount evidence that we are not. fidence is as injurious as too little— to a sense of hubris. Entrepreneurs Because we don’t realize that we and deans and professors need to be running startup companies ought should improve our classroom per- wary of exhibiting overconfidence or to be familiar with the statistic that formance, our students suffer. allowing students to develop it. more than two-thirds of all new ven- Students are already suffering I’ve drawn on the tenets of behav- tures fail. Yet a staggering number from a malady of their own—an ioral decision theory to distill four of entrepreneurs are overwhelmingly overconfidence that rivals ours. For sources of unwarranted confidence: confident that they will beat the proof, ask a classroom of students to False sense of self. Excessive pride odds. In fact, many entrepreneurs close their eyes and raise their hands leads people to take an inflated view believe that their ventures are as if they consider themselves to be of their achievements and capabili- likely to succeed as the sun is likely above-average students. Most of the ties. While people with this attitude to set in the West. hands will go up. One reason stu- often require external validation, they Seasoned executives have the dents have such an unjustified belief are deeply convinced that they know same overconfidence. In 2006, the in their talents is that grade inflation more than they really do. Laypeople value of mergers and acquisitions is rampant in American education, a who fancy themselves expert inves- achieved around the globe was $3.8 situation that is discussed at length tors are prone to this same syndrome. trillion globally—but much of that on www.gradeinflation.com. Unilateral decision making. Pride can includes money that need not have The results of this overconfidence lead people to make decisions on been spent. In my research with Don can be disastrous. Students become their own that would be better made Hambrick of Pennsylvania State Uni- unrealistic about how smart they are in conjunction with trusted advisors. versity, we identified hubris as the and how prepared they are to face Obviously, there are times when no No. 1 reason that CEOs overpay for real-world situations. All too often, individual is fit to make a decision M&As and, therefore, destroy value I’ve had former students return single-handedly, either because he or from newly acquired companies. to tell me they can’t understand she doesn’t have the skills or because When executives are overcon- why they’re not getting ahead or, the situation is too broad for one fident, they also tend to believe worse, why they’ve been fired—even person to manage alone. Only by they can get away with egregious though they’re smarter than their having the right foils around them corporate conduct—even crime. It’s workplace colleagues. It’s as though will leaders avoid this trap, as Carly disturbing that at least some of the our students believe that their top Fiorina discovered at HP. executives who have been convicted grades will create value at their new Refusal to see the true situation. Peo- of criminal misdeeds came from workplaces. They don’t realize that ple indulge in false confidence when prestigious business programs. For they must create fresh value for they fail to see, seek, share, and use instance, Jeff Skilling of Enron and themselves by building new relation- full and balanced feedback to gain a Walter Forbes of Cendant are gradu- ships and acquiring a vastly different more grounded assessment of their ates of Harvard Business School. skill set. Sadly and unnecessarily, situations. Leaders need accurate, In fact, I believe that one reason these students often take a fall. pertinent, timely, and clear feedback,

66 BizEd november/december 2007 If Nobel Laureates like Myron Scholes and Robert Merton are out of their league as managers of hedge funds, it is conceivable that fabulously successful academics are out of their depth as leaders of business schools.

whether positive or negative, to Ego management must start at the top. ment techniques. The idea is to put understand what’s going on around If Nobel Laureates like Myron students in real business situations them. As Merck executives illustrat- Scholes and Robert Merton are where they must work through the ed in their handling of Vioxx, that’s out of their league as managers implications of different decisions. easier said than done. It’s difficult to of hedge funds, it is conceivable As an example, I have collaborated assemble reliable information when that fabulously successful academ- with Rakesh Khurana of Harvard our projects take time to complete ics are out of their depth as leaders Business School to develop a case and the feedback we receive is of business schools. The skill set on Jean-Marie Messier at Vivendi— delayed and inaccurate. required to lead a large organiza- a dramatic example of what happens Denial of probable consequences. tion is vastly different from the skill when an executive cannot control Because executives may not realize set needed to produce high-quality his ego. they’re acting with unhealthy con- research. The problem is exacer- Ego management must be brought to life fidence, they must play out—not bated when deans hire yes-men as by executives who have experienced it. The plan out—the consequences of their associate deans. In those situations, Tuck School offers an MBA course decisions ahead of time. Planning it will be difficult for the leadership in which students visit corporate increases leaders’ confidence without of a business school to get a true criminals in a local federal peniten- increasing their ability to complete read on its situation. tiary. Students who go on such vis- the tasks at hand. By contrast, exper- Business schools should consider its report long-lasting and indelible imenting and probing allow them to hiring as deans those individuals impressions. Other schools invite gain a better idea of what the results who have displayed some flair for guests in to describe the different of their decisions might be. managing large organizations— kinds of business decisions they Trying to determine conse- whether those are faculty chairs made when their egos were out quences is particularly important who have proven themselves gifted of control compared to the times when someone is dealing with in administration or outside pro- when their egos were in check. finance techniques, because those fessionals who have run successful Naturally, not every executive falls methods are particularly prone to businesses. And professors who take victim to hubris. Many CEOs have heroic assumptions. When Dean on the role of dean should listen to run profitable, admirable companies Kamen estimated demand for his opposing voices to make sure they without overreaching their abilities two-wheeled scooter, the Segway, are not falling victim to their own or overstepping their bounds. And he forecast that it would capture 0.1 overconfidence. certainly not every MBA student fits percent of the total global popula- Ego management must be accepted the stereotype of the driven, ambition of more than 6 billion people, by faculty as their own responsibility. tious, self-assured individual who giving him sales of 6 million units With their privileged positions, ten- is willing to sacrifice everything to per annum. Since 2001, Kamen has ured faculty can become immune achieve success. If business schools sold fewer than 30,000 Segways. to advice. I’ve known my share of are able to curb any tendency professors who were better teachers toward overconfidence in their stu- Curing the Disease before they got tenure than after- dents, they will be doing their part False confidence is to hubris what ward. Tenured faculty should make to mold sensible decision makers bad cholesterol is to heart disease. sure they do not insulate themselves who lead their companies through Just as the cure for heart disease is to from candid feedback; they must be talent—not hubris. ■z reduce bad cholesterol rather than all open to ideas that will improve their cholesterol, the cure for hubris is to research and teaching skills. Mathew Hayward is an associate professor fight the sources of false confidence, Ego management must be embedded in of management at the Leeds School of rather than to reduce confidence the curriculum. Fortunately, behavioral Business at the University of Colorado altogether. If business school admin- decision theory has now developed in Boulder. He is also author of Ego istrators are to fend off false confi- a body of pedagogy in negotiations Check: Why Executive Hubris is Wrecking dence at their schools, I believe they and organizational behavior courses Companies and Careers and How to Avoid must recognize four truths: that lends itself to ego manage- the Trap.

BizEd november/december 2007 67 Bookshelf

Everyone hates a phony, but customers may hate phonies most of all. Maybe the world isn’t flat after all.

In an economy where consum- I ma g es Harvard and IESE professor ers are not just buying goods, Pankaj Ghemawat certainly but experiences, the genuine- doesn’t think so, and he’s con- ness of the product will be what cerned about current attitudes determines buyer satisfaction. toward the inevitability of So say James H. Gilmore and globalization. In Redefining B. Joseph Pine II in Authentic- Geor g e Diebol d /Getty Global Strategy, he argues that ity, which examines how everything the world is not going to become one huge, border- from pervasive technology to break- less free trade zone any time soon. What he envisions downs in social institutions has led instead is “semiglobalization,” a slower and more rea- customers to long for experiences soned approach to expanding global trade. He recom- that are more human, more real, mends that companies hoping for international expan- and more believable. Though it sion first closely examine what they have in common seems somewhat counterintuitive with their target countries, based on the framework to learn how to render authenticity, he calls CAGE—that is, factors aligning along cultural, the authors offer exactly that sort administrative, geographical, and economic dimensions. of guidance. They say consumers Do the potential trading partners share a language, a border, legal systems? will find products and services to be Their chances of a compatible match are much higher. Ghemawat refines the authentic if they are: “earth-based,” framework to examine how a global expansion is more likely to succeed if the such as products made with industry itself translates well from one country to another as judged by natural ingredients; the CAGE factors. “If businesses want to cross borders successfully, they based on unique or need to pay serious attention to the sustained differences between coun- original designs; done tries in developing and evaluating strategies,” he says. It’s clear he’s not with exceptional care or expecting corporations to stop their global development—he’s just warn- offered with exceptional ing them to slow down. (Harvard Business School Press, $29.95) personal service; drawn from historically accurate traditional sources; The world has moved from a land- and the development of values—as or seen as capable of based to a capital-based to an he repeats his central message that exerting consequential information-based economy, we live in a time where sharing influence on other enti- and even innovative products and collaboration offer the best ties, a description true are quickly copied and com- chance of competitive advantage. of many environmentally moditized. In such a world, says “The tapestry of human behavior friendly products. The Dov Seidman in How, it doesn’t is so diverse, so rich and so global payoff is huge, say Pine matter so much what a com- that it presents a rare opportunity, and Gilmore: “When pany makes or sells; what will the opportunity to outbehave the consumers want what’s distinguish a corporation is how competition,” he writes. He makes real, the management of it produces goods and interacts his points with elegance and convic- the customer perception with customers. That’s par- tion. (Wiley, $27.95) of authenticity becomes ticularly true because pervasive the primary new source technology makes it harder and Intellectual property, like physical property, of competitive advan- harder to hide bad behavior or receives protection under the law, tage—the new business defective processes. Seidman but that protection is constantly sub- imperative.” (Harvard explores all sorts of fascinat- ject to reinterpretation as technol- Business School Press, ing side roads about human ogy improves and attitudes change. $26.95) psychology—trust, altruism, “Marking off the boundaries of

68 BizEd november/december 2007 Bookshelf

intellectual assets is like draw- nearly 25 years ago. And a belong in my circus. I need to line ing lines in water,” writes leader’s behavior remains at up my acts based on what will create Stanford University law pro- the heart of the authors’ an effective performance.” The mes- fessor Paul Goldstein in Intel- “five practices of exemplary sages aren’t particularly new, but the lectual Property. He explores leadership.” A leader must presentation is entertaining. (Portfo- the thorny issues surrounding model the way, inspire a lio, $19.95) patents, copyrights, trade- shared vision, challenge marks, and trade secrets, and existing processes, enable The last few decades have seen significant how all of them have evolved. others to act, and encour- growth in powerful nonprofits that Particularly fascinating is the age the heart. At the same are having a measurable impact on a discussion about the complex time, employees look for wide array of the world’s ills—such relationship between copy- a leader who is honest, as poverty, hunger, and environ- right law and technological forward-looking, inspiring, mental destruction. What has made advances. Goldstein dissects and competent. “What we them so effective? In Forces for Good, the legal and political maneu- found in our investigation Leslie Crutchfield and Heather vering on the part of movie of admired leadership quali- McLeod Grant study 12 of the most studios faced with successive ties is that, more than any- successful nonprofits of the last threats from broadcast televi- thing, people want to follow couple of decades, including Habitat sion, cable TV, videocassette leaders who are credible,” for Humanity, Teach for America, recorders—and now, DVR write Kouzes and Posner, and America’s Second Harvest. They technology. Timing is every- both of Santa Clara Univer- believe that truly great nonprofits thing, he asserts. File for legal sity. “Credibility is the foun- share six practices: They offer advo- protection too soon, and the dation of leadership.” The cacy and service programs; partner technology will be so new that book explores the many with business; inspire evangelists; no one will understand how it journeys individuals have nurture networks of allied organiza- can pose a threat. File too late, taken on the path to tions; adapt when necessary; and and the technology could be dynamic leadership. share leadership throughout the “so well-entrenched among (Jossey-Bass, $29.95) organization. “It’s the end of char- users that no court or legisla- ity as we know it, and the beginning tor will dare to shut it down,” Everyone can instinctively under- of high-impact philanthropy,” the Goldstein writes. The topic stand the message inherent authors write. They add that, for is wide-ranging, since every- in the title Juggling Ele- today’s nonprofits “to be true forces thing from drug formulas phants, a time management for good, they must learn new ways to software programs can be book in which Jones Loflin of thinking and acting.” (Jossey- considered intellectual prop- and Todd Musig elaborate Bass, $29.95) erty, and Goldstein makes on how it feels to try to the book an absorbing read. handle too many big proj- Ever since Six Sigma came on the scene, (Portfolio, $27.95) ects all at the same time. companies have been assiduously Loflin and Musig deliver working to perfect their processes “Leadership is not about personality; their advice in the form of and eliminate defective products. it’s about behavior,” write an allegory about the cir- But one huge, key part of the busi- James M. Kouzes and Barry cus and one busy execu- ness equation is impossible to man- Z. Posner in Leadership Chal- tive’s realization that his age that way: the human component lenge. While they’ve conduct- own life consists of three that encompasses both employees ed new research for the busy rings crowded with and customers. In HumanSigma, fourth edition of this classic, it demanding acts. Counsel from the John H. Fleming and Jim Asplund overwhelmingly supports their orig- ringmaster brings this executive to explore the ways human interactions inal conclusions, first presented some basic truths: “Not all acts can affect business success—and

70 BizEd november/december 2007 ADDMC_ad.qxd 10/12/07 1:47 PM Page 1

Associate Deans Conference Data Management Conference how they can be managed to do so. December 13-15, 2007 These interactions can’t be rigidly Tampa, Florida, USA scripted, they warn, or managers risk focusing too much on processes and not enough on outcomes. Instead, they insist that emotion will under- lie any good employee-customer interaction and that employee and customer experiences must be measured together if the results are to mean anything at all. Once managers understand the way employer- customer relationships work at their companies, they can improve them, Increasing even if that requires widespread organizational change. Is it worth Your Margin of the effort? According to the authors, companies that applied Human- Effectiveness Sigma management principles have outperformed their peers by 26 percent in gross margin and 85 percent in sales growth. Worth it, indeed. (Gallup Press, $25.95) Register by 101 Leadership Tips is a charming little November 13, 2007, to save 200 USD book in which Danny R. Arnold with the early registration discount. and Ahmad Tootoonchi of Frost- burg State University come across Maximize your impact and your dollar with this two-for-one as wise uncles sharing years’ worth event designed so you can create your own agenda! of accumulated wisdom. The tips Combine sessions from two of AACSB’s most sought-after are divided by topic—remember- ing your human side, communicat- meetings. The Associate Deans Conference offers you performance ing with followers, developing a strategies and problem-solving techniques to successfully manage decision-making process—but all your increasingly complex business school. This conference of them are presented in the same covers strategic planning, accreditation, benchmarking, conflict straightforward, friendly tone of a management, faculty development, and leadership. At the Data respected elder offering really good Management Conference, you will learn how to make better, more advice. “Everyone has ambition. informed decisions by maximizing available data resources. You Show only a little of it,” they recommend. Also, “A good leader inspires also will examine ways to use data to support continuous his or her followers. You should improvement and strategic planning. attempt to convert simple jobs and projects into quests.” The book isn’t Visit www.aacsb.edu/conferences ground-breaking, but it’s insightful; for the latest information. it lays out an action plan and a code of behavior that any leader would do well to follow. (Pearson Custom Publishing, $22.67) ■z AACSB International Conferences

BizEd november/december 2007 71

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Spotlight Employers need it.

Brian Callen (BBA ’06), Jennifer Gaisor (BBA ’06), and Renee Parker (BBA ’07) are past participants in the Mason School’s Wall Street internship program. Parker also took part in the school’s Double Mentor program, which was added to the internship program this summer. All three now work on Wall Street at JP Students want it. Morgan Chase.

hope this program increases their potential of being offered full-time jobs at the end of the summer.” And for those interns who, half- way through their summer internship in investment banking, realize that investment banking simply isn’t for them? The Double Mentor program offers them insights into other fields

Richa rd F r ee d a they would not have gotten through their internships alone. For instance, Horgan describes Do you have it? A Mentor Program one intern who worked at a small private equity boutique firm. She That’s Bullish was matched with a mentor who Give your students what employers say they need: Skills The Double Mentor program doubles students’ chances of winning on Wall Street. worked at a large private equity to systematically manage projects in a global environment. firm. “The mentor helped her think Over the past eight years, the Mason with mentors who work in distinctly through the pros and cons of work- Organizations everywhere are demanding the best professionals to run their School of Business at the College of different firms and positions. ing for a small firm versus a large multi-national projects, and students are eager to learn. You can attract William & Mary in Williamsburg, The goal is to expose recent firm,” says Horgan. these top students and maintain your reputation as a cutting-edge institution Virginia, has worked to place more graduates to a range of Wall Street The Double Mentor program also graduates in summer internships on opportunities, explains Rhian Hor- includes group events where interns by offering courses in project management. Wall Street, taking them on tours gan, founder and and mentors come ® of Wall Street firms and providing supervisor of the “The idea is to maximize our together to socialize. Project Management Institute (PMI ), the leading global association for the them access to mentoring and career program. Horgan is Even in such social project management profession, offers academic services that can help counseling with W&M graduates. also the global head interns’ performance and settings, the interns establish your program, including standards, academic case studies, Still, the school wanted to take of equity deriva- to get them savvy about learn how important publications, research grants, conferences, and professional credentialing. its Wall Street internship program tives at JP Morgan networking will be PMI also supports the Global Accreditation Center for the accreditation of one step further, both to increase Private Bank and a for their careers. Wall Street.” —Rhian Horgan project management degree programs. the number of its recent graduates 1999 W&M gradu- “Because the mar- landing jobs on Wall Street and to ate. The Double Mentor program ket has been good for the last two strengthen its alumni network. To aims to help students expand their years, students might underestimate Help your students meet the challenges of the real business world by achieve those objectives, the school network of contacts and broaden the importance of developing ties,” adding project management methods content to your curricula. launched its Double Mentor pro- their perspectives on the career tracks says Horgan. The Double Mentor To learn more, visit pmi.org/bized.htm. gram last summer. As its name sug- Wall Street has to offer. program is designed to help students gests, the Double Mentor program “The idea is to maximize our cast a wider net, so they can start pairs each summer intern with two interns’ performance on the job and making those ties early. “If the job Wall Street mentors. The program to get them even more savvy about market turns bad,” she says, “they’ve deliberately matches each intern Wall Street,” says Horgan. “We already established connections.” ■z Making project management indispensable for business results.®

80 BizEd november/december 2007 © 2007. Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved. “PMI,” the PMI logo, and “Making project management indispensable for business results” are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.