nexus spring 2007

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Warwick Business School Alumni Association magazine: spring 07

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Friday 20 July Lakeside Marquee

Book a table of 10 and have your ticket free!

Why not have a reunion with friends from your year – use the online directory to help fi nd your classmates. Ask [email protected] if you need help with this.

Let the occasion carry on over the weekend and come along to the WBS Open Day on Saturday 21 July – a family fun day, tour of the new facilities, taster lectures, buffet and drinks, with overnight stays available at Radcliffe or Scarman. innovative

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celebrating

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It is an honour to be writing to you as graduates of WBS in the year in which we celebrate 40 years of success of management education at Warwick.

Two years after the establishment of the University of Warwick, in 1965, the Warwick School of Industrial & Business Studies was founded, which subsequently became Warwick Business School. Since then development has been dramatic.

Our business school is now home to 7,500 students and 315 staff. Combined with an alumni community of 21,000 in over 125 countries the strength of WBS is growing. Physically, we have new state-of-the-art facilities, with plans to further expand these once funding has been secured. We also have one of the largest and most distinguished faculties of any business school in Europe. Such striking growth has been no accident; it is a strong reflection of the ambitious ethos of the business school over those 40 years, and I must thank my colleagues who have gone before me, and each of you, for playing your part in making WBS what it is today.

As globalisation changes the face of modern education, our vision to be the principal thought leader and innovator among business schools globally is no small challenge. However, if in 40 years we can become one of the leading schools in the UK and Europe, envisage our position after another 40 years on the world stage. As the world becomes smaller, we aim to break into the top 10 institutions for business and management education globally.

The Financial Times has already rated us in the top 20 schools globally for the quality of our Executive MBA (see P6). WBS ranks second in the UK for teaching and contact hours in new research by the Higher Education Policy Institute and it is no accident that WBS was ranked as the best overall undergraduate business education provider in the UK by The Times in 2006. While we take time to celebrate we are reminded of the words of the late Peter Doyle, Professor of Marketing and Strategy, ‘success builds success.’

And so it is my challenge as we look to the future to ensure that this success continues to grow. Our priorities for the year ahead include maintaining a strong and dynamic research focus in preparation for the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) (in the last RAE WBS was one of only three schools in the UK to be given the highest 5* ranking), to build on our position in rankings and league tables through high quality standards, to continue to look for alternative sources of funding to ensure that lack of resources is not a barrier to our success, and of course, to celebrate our successes to date and engage the alumni community in supporting WBS in its future endeavours.

I ask every one of you to tell the WBS story wherever you can and encourage you to come back to Warwick in 2007 (see calendar on centre pages 16/17 for opportunities or contact [email protected]). I hope that you look back on your time here with as much warmth and enthusiasm as I do on mine so far, and it is with that dynamism, energy and entrepreneurial ambition we want to embark on the next 40 years.

Howard Thomas

message from the dean

4 research review

Professor Andrew Sturdy, Professor of Industrial Relations & Organisational Behaviour, has recently completed a research project that reveals new insights into the world of

consulting, especially its role in the spread of management knowledge.

As Andrew explains, ‘The image of management consultants as experts – the shock troops of the latest approach to management – doesn’t match their day-to-day work with clients. Knowledge transfer is often not a priority as clients and consultants are more concerned with

Andrew Sturdy IROB

nexus: spring 07

It is well-known that small firms are more likely to face Employment Tribunal (ET) claims than large ones, and raw figures suggest that they tend to lose cases that reach tribunals. New

research by the Industrial Relations Research Unit at WBS shows that small firms are not in fact disadvantaged if they follow appropriate disciplinary procedures. The researchers found that a key influence on success at a tribunal was having procedures in place and actually using them. Simply having procedures, or an HR department, made no difference in itself. Small firms are the least likely to have and to follow procedures, and it is this fact and not the size of the firm which is key. An absence of procedures means that problems are not resolved within the firm, and that a claim to an ET may be an employee's only recourse. Commentators also suggest that the small firm is disadvantaged as cases proceed through the 'pipeline' from claim to tribunal. The research found no evidence of this. Dropping out of the pipeline at various stages was not related to the size of the firm. Professor Paul Edwards, Industrial Relations Research Unit, states, 'small firms have the benefit of being able to handle employment relations issues informally, but informality can be an excuse for a lack of professionalism. Formal procedures do not need to be complex or bureaucratic, but they must be consistent and fair. Proper procedures help to avoid ET cases'. The research is based on statistical analysis of the 2003 Survey of Employment Tribunal Applications, which provides a representative sample of ET cases.W www.wbs.ac.uk/faculty/research/irru.cfm

Paul Edwards IRRU

Howard Davis, Principal Research Fellow and Research Manager, Local Government Centre (LGC) and Katrina Ritters, Senior Research Associate, addressed a session at the annual conference of the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) in October. The ICS is the professional body for customer service, with members drawn from across the private, public and voluntary sectors.

This major gathering seeks to provoke new ideas in the delivery of outstanding customer service. The conference theme was 'Raising customer service standards for the 21st century' and their session was titled

Howard Davis and Katrina Ritters: LGC

Dr Shahed Imam, Assistant Professor in Accounting, and colleague Dr Zulfiqar Shah, are conducting research on ‘The Global Accounting Standards and its impact on academic curriculum’. This global accounting standard convergence is expected to have major implications for the way in which accounting is undertaken in practice and accounting is taught in universities.

According to Shahed, ‘We are aiming to conduct a survey of academics in early

Shahed Imam and Zulfiqar Shah: AFIN

'Customer service in local government: learning for the future'.

Howard says, ‘Our research aims to examine through case studies the adoption in local government of customer service strategies, systems and practices originally developed for the private sector and consider the evidence of their effectiveness, upon which similar cross-fertilisation could be undertaken in the future. The research involves working with a total of eleven local authorities and recognises the value of customer service transfers in both directions (from public sector to private, and from private to public).

Our interim findings show customer service is most successful where it is seen as a vehicle for cultural change across the authority as a whole; but it requires investment, drive and commitment for its benefits to be fully realised.’

W www.wbs.ac.uk/faculty/research/lgc.cfm

2007 and disseminate the findings through conference and refereed journals. A questionnaire has been developed which was pre-tested last year. With a better understanding of the attitudes of academics about global accounting standards, standard setters and regulatory bodies might be able to promote these standards more effectively to countries (and universities) that currently do not adopt them.’

‘The views and insights from academics will be useful for the practitioners to recognise to what extent and how their expectations from the university graduates are being met. They will also be helpful to their colleagues in the universities who are considering integrating these into their curriculum. We believe this study will have a global impact in accounting and business education.’

W www.wbs.ac.uk/faculty/subjects/acc.cfm

managing projects and getting the job done. Consultants are typically seen as organisational and knowledge outsiders, bringing ideas and techniques new to their clients. However, prospective commissioning clients are unlikely to welcome consultants if their knowledge is ‘too new’. Also, the clients consultants work with are often very knowledgeable themselves, sometimes with similar backgrounds and education to the consultants.’

‘The real outsiders then, become those clients not working in the project team. This includes the most senior management and the rest of the client organisation. This is important as it means consultants are not as innovative as is often thought. But this can help in their role as knowledge brokers. The main barrier

becomes that of implementation, typically still the preserve of managers more than consultants.’ These and other findings are the outcome of a three year in-depth study of consultancy projects combined with a survey of the annual Management Consultancies Association (MCA) competition entrants. The project, ‘Knowledge evolution in action: consultancy-client relationships’ was carried out by researchers from a number of UK universities as part of a programme of research – ‘The evolution of business knowledge’ funded by the government’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

Further information, including copies of a summary report, is available. E [email protected] W www.ebkresearch.org

5research review nexus: spring 07

Research by Dr Zoe Radnor, Senior Lecturer, and Paul Walley (MBA 87–8), Lecturer, Operations Management Group, has found that the methods employed by Toyota, to make their production system ‘Lean’, can be applied to public sector services. This could have a positive impact on employee morale, customer satisfaction and process

Zoe Radnor and Paul Walley: OM

efficiency. In a project funded by the Scottish Executive, the WBS team investigated eight case examples and three pilot studies of the implementation of Lean thinking in public sector organisations as well as surveying many other organisations. The applications included parts of the National Health Service, Local Government services and Government Agencies. Public sector use of Lean generated a number of outcomes. These included improvements in customer waiting times, service performance, processing times, customer flow and quality; achieving more for less; generating a better understanding of the process; better joined-up working; improved use of performance data; increased staff

satisfaction and confidence, and embedding a continuous improvement culture. The scale of these changes can be substantial, with waiting times or throughput times halving as a consequence of the adoption of Lean.

However this is not about a quick fix. ’The research recommends a steady process of implementation,’ says Paul. ‘We suggest many organisations are not ready to adopt Lean immediately, as they do not possess the change management experience or the right leadership style to make the transition straight away,’ confirms Zoe. For a full copy of the report visit W www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/06/13162106/15

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WBS newsthe strategic sales organisationProfessor Nigel Piercysweet successNatasha Aggarwalexamining the global economyProfessor Colin Crouchleading the fieldJasni MohamedUK event review2007 event calendaroverseas event reviewsthat’s edutainment!Joanna Hotungcoping with the threatProfessor David Wilson & Dr Bridgette Sullivan-Taylorafrican connectionIan Ferrao & Alex SimuyandiWBS alumni boardWBS development programmeWBSS update and DLMBA tutorsin the media and hot off the pressalumni news

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Front cover: Frozen Sky Installed in the atrium of WBS Scarman Road, Frozen Sky, designed

by Langlands & Bell, is a sculpture of moving neon. The 45 three letter acronyms are the codes used by the air transport authorities to

identify destinations around the world.

contents

contact detailsAlumni AssociationWarwick Business SchoolUniversity of WarwickCoventry CV4 7ALUnited Kingdomt +44 (0)24 7652 2813f +44 (0)24 7652 3719E [email protected] www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni

Pam BarnesAlumni Publications Officert +44 (0)24 7652 4396e [email protected]

Sue Cresswell & Emma Brandon-JonesEvents Coordinatorst +44 (0)24 7657 3967T +44 (0)24 7615 0171e [email protected] emma.brandon-jones

@wbs.ac.uk

Caroline HughesAlumni Relations Executivet +44 (0)24 7652 8487E [email protected]

Emily Jamieson & Paul Snow, Development & Alumni Relations AssistantsT +44 (0)24 7652 2813E [email protected] [email protected]

Tracy LynchAlumni & Development Office ManagerT + 44 (0)24 7657 5835E [email protected]

Nathalie WalkerHead of Alumni RelationsT +44 (0)24 7652 4176E [email protected]

In-house photography by John Weatherly nexus is the magazine of the Alumni Association, Warwick Business SchoolT +44 (0)24 7652 4306

The views contained in nexus are those of contributors and not necessarily those of Warwick Business School or the University of Warwick

Design by Morse-Brown Design w www.morsebrowndesign.co.uk

focus on global community 17

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multimediaSince the last issue, WBS podcasts have been a great success. Selected events at WBS are recorded on high quality digital video, edited and posted on the web site as a video file, converted into audio files for podcasts and burnt onto DVD to send to anyone who wants a high quality copy.

Over recent months we have recorded press conferences; guest lectures including WBS forum presentations from Peter Davies (BA Economics 69-72) Chief Economist for BP: Tim Kelly (BA Philosophy & Politics 76-9) Chief Operating Officer at RHM plc, Henri Winand (EXMBA 99-03) Chief Executive, Intelligent Energy, former Chairman WBS Alumni Board; Anne Gunther (MBA 89-91) Chief Executive, Standard Life Bank, WBS Advisory Board member; posted a podcast by Dr Bridget Woodman on renewable energy and recorded the MBA/Specialist Masters’ summer graduation lunch and graduation ball.

‘This has proven to be a great tool for external and internal communications,’ confirms WBS Director of Communications, Vincent Hammersley.W www.wbs.ac.uk/news/podcasts/

nexus: spring 07 global community WBS news

the big moveOctober saw completion of the £9m Phase 3 Stage 1 of the WBS Scarman Road building and the first occupants start to move in. Students were seen making use of the fantastic new facilities and next to move were faculty and support staff, who soon settled into their brand new offices. The full-time MBA team relocated and all MBAs are now taught in and around the MBA Teaching Centre in WBS Scarman Road.

The former MBA Teaching Centre adjacent to Radcliffe House is now used by the PhD programme and for Specialist Masters’ teach-ing. Groups from Social Studies have also now relocated to WBS Scarman Road Phase 2. The Alumni team is to be found on the third floor in Phase 3, rooms C3.22, C3.23 and C3.25

project sponsorship opportunities

Don’t miss the opportunity to tap into a pool of immense talent and potential. By choosing to sponsor a project for students on one of WBS Masters programmes, organisations enjoy several benefits.W www.wbs.ac.uk/faculty/consultancy/

• The MSOR and MSISM projects evening will be held on Monday 29 January

• The Warwick MBA projects evening will be held on Wednesday 7 February

For further details contactE [email protected]

awardsRobin Wensley, Professor of Policy and Marketing, Director of ESRC/EPSRC AIM Research Initiative was recently presented with an Award of Life Membership of the UK Academy of Marketing ‘in recognition of extraordinary and distinguished services to marketing’ at the Annual Conference Dinner of the Academy in London.

Val Gooding CBE (BA French Studies 68–71) Chief Executive of BUPA and Co-chair of WBS Advisory Board, received a PwC Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2006 CBI Real Business First Women Awards. The awards recognise women who are pioneers in business and whose achievements have helped to remove barriers and open up opportunities for others to follow. Val is also a lay member of the University of Warwick’s Council.

latest rankingsWBS’ Executive MBA (EMBA) programme has been judged to be in the top 10 in the world and top 3 in Europe of single school providers, in a Financial Times survey published in October. The annual survey aims to rank the world’s top providers and WBS is the top UK school outside London.

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual Which MBA? Guide, announced its full-time MBA ranking results for the world’s top 100 business schools in October. WBS has retained its high placing, coming in 31st position. The top 100 represent one percent of all the world’s business schools, giving a true indication of the stature of the School. WBS undergraduate degrees Accounting & Finance and Business Studies were again ranked in the top 3 in The Times Good University Guide. The University of Warwick retained its 8th position this year.

New research by the Higher Education Policy Institute shows that WBS is in the top two UK business departments for teaching and contact hours.

The contribution by current students and alumni to our ranking performances through participation in media surveys is hugely appreciated by staff at WBS and the wider university.

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Sunny skies greeted WBS graduands attending the Summer Graduation ceremonies at the University of Warwick on Tuesday 11 and Friday 14 July. The School hosted a buffet lunch for the graduates, their families and friends, in a luxurious marquee sited by the lake at the side of WBS Scarman Road. Conversation flowed over lunch to the accompaniment of music by The Melodia String Quartet on Tuesday and The Zenith Hot Stompers jazz band on Friday. Prizes were presented and an excellent time was had by all. Howard Thomas, the Dean of WBS congratulated all the graduates on their achievements and wished them every success in the future. Nathalie Walker, Head of Alumni Relations, welcomed them as members of the WBS Alumni Association – a network of around 20,000 former students in 121 different countries.

summertime for graduation

nexus: spring 07 global communityWBS news

Throughout 2007 why not re-engage with WBS, meet with fellow graduates and enjoy the opportunities on offer through our comprehensive events programme.

WBS is proud to boast one of the most active alumni programmes of any UK business school and in our celebratory year there are several key opportunities to engage with alumni, faculty and friends of the School. Details are online at w www.wbs.ac.uk/40

Events are also listed in the calendar on P14/15. Online booking is already available for many events and throughout the year you will receive

40th anniversary celebrations

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email updates, so please ensure your details are correct by returning the enclosed update form or visiting w www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni

Academic update series: WBS has one of the largest faculties of any European business school and throughout 2007 we will be showcasing their work in a series of academic updates. On 10 March, the first will focus on 21st century management. Full details are online and booking is now open. w www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni/forthcoming.cfm

Campus celebrations: In July we hope to reunite many WBS graduates with each other and with campus. The Summer Ball takes place on Friday 20 July (this year will see a 1960s theme – thinking back to the founding years of WBS!) On Saturday 21 July, enjoy tours of the WBS facilities,

guided tours of campus, family friendly activities, light-hearted lectures and a garden party style lunch by the lake. Full details will be available online soon.

If you are keen to track down former classmates use the online directory at w www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni/networking.cfm e alumni.wbs.ac.uk

A global community: On 15 November we aim to unite the WBS community around the globe by encouraging alumni wherever they are to have dinner together or meet for drinks. If you would like to get involved in organising a gathering, or need help reuniting your classmates, email [email protected] to register your interest. Members of faculty will be travelling to places with large concentrations of alumni and all events will receive an events support package.

Two top WBS graduates were awarded prizes for their excellent work on marketing during their final year of study. Emma Birch, 21, from St Austell in Cornwall, and Lisa Davies, 22, from Pontypridd in Wales, graduated in July with a BSc in Management.

Emma won the Fujitsu Best Marketing Student Award, sponsored by Fujitsu Services. Their Commercial Marketing Director, Ian Hunter, who organised the sponsorship this year, coincidentally started his business career with a BSc in Management Sciences from WBS in 1982. Lisa won the Star Chamber Award for the best student in Marketing Communications, given by the Chief Executive of The Star Chamber, John Wringe, who regularly delivers lectures to students at WBS.

dean visits Hong Kong and ChinaDean Howard Thomas visited Hong Kong and China in November on his first visit to this region as Dean of WBS. During his stay in Hong Kong he spoke at the DLMBA anniversary celebration lunch and academic update, alongside Professor Colin Carnall, Associate Dean for Executive Education. (See P16). He also presented certificates to graduands.

Dean Thomas commented, ‘After my visit to Hong Kong, I spoke at the CEIBS (China Europe International Business School) Conference on Leading China’s Future, Future Chinese Leaders. It was my great pleasure to be representing WBS at such an esteemed event.’

prize-winning students

Hong Kong graduates

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Following posts in retailing and in business planning with Nycomed Amersham, Nigel was the Sir Julian Hodge Chair in Marketing and Strategy at Cardiff University, and lately Professor of Strategic Marketing and Head of the Marketing

Group at Cranfield School of Management. He has held visiting posts at Columbia School of Business, New York; Fuqua School of Business, Duke University; Texas Christian University; the University of California, Berkeley; and the Vienna University of Economics.

He has global experience in executive education and management development with leading companies. Nigel has published more than 200 books and articles in Europe and the USA. He is currently editor of the Journal of Strategic Marketing.

that there are major strategic weaknesses in the way in which many of these approaches have been implemented. These revolve around the real attractiveness of increasing investment in the least profitable and most powerful customers a company has, based on exaggerated claims for customer loyalty and the benefits of inter-organisational ‘partnerships’ in the value chain.

We have set these reservations out in articles in the Journal of Business Strategy and the European Management Journal. Further, we have become concerned with the ethical and moral dilemmas created for executives by key account strategy and have made the case for greater attention to these issues in a paper forthcoming in the Journal of Business Ethics. While these contributions are controversial, we think they are important balances to the apparent and widely-advocated attractions of collaborative strategic account relationships between buyers and sellers.

In each of these research themes, key publications are available from the authors on request, and further detail of the SAMS research programme can be found on

W www.sams.org.uk

the strategic sales organisation

the author in minute

Professor Nigel F Piercy, Marketing & Strategic Management, describes some of the themes of his latest research.

Sales, strategic account management and customer business development all

describe the ‘front-end’ of an organisation, where it meets its customers and markets. This process is a major focus for companies aiming at enhancing productivity and building superior customer relationships. Yet, in spite of the practical importance, the transformation taking place here has received very limited attention in business school research and teaching.

The many relevant research questions raised are the focus of the Sales and Account Management Strategy (SAMS) research unit at WBS, headed by Nigel Piercy and Nikala Lane, and working with research partners in business schools in the United States and Europe. A related development has been the establishment of the Sales and Strategic Customer Management (SSCM) practitioner network, to link research directly to practice in major organisations. Over the last year, there have been several themes to the research thrust in strategic sales and account management at Warwick, which can be summarised as follows.

The Strategic Sales OrganisationThe mandate for the strategic management of customers as assets leads us to identify several imperatives for the strategising of the traditional tactical or operational sales function: involvement of sales leadership in strategy development and the management of the customer portfolio; intelligence from the sales organisation providing the basis for building and sustaining competitive advantage; integration across functions and partners to deliver superior value seamlessly to customers; internal marketing by sales executives to ‘sell’ the customer to the organisation, as well as to sell the company to the customer; and infrastructural change in sales and account management processes and systems. These ‘6Is’of sales organisation transformation have been presented to several management audiences as a framework for change, and have provided keynote publications in The Marketing Review and the Journal of Change Management. Sales Management ControlA central research question in sales management concerns the move from traditional outcome-based approaches to controlling sales efforts (emphasising financial incentives) to behaviour-based

nexus: spring 07 global community

approaches (emphasising sales management intervention to enhance and sustain the quality of selling activities in developing long-term customer relationships). Projects in this area include the publication of a major synthesis of control theory in the sales area in the US Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management.

Empirical studies have extended the examination of behaviour-control models into international markets, leading to an article published in the USA managerial journal Organisational Dynamics. This paper tests behaviour-control/sales performance relationships in studies in the UK, Austria, Bahrain, Greece, Israel, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia. We find that the control model appears to be valid in diverse contexts, though extreme differences in culture, political stability and economic development undermine its validity. There are important practical implications for companies globalising their customer management operations.

Another project in the control area examines the links between salesperson organisational citizenship behaviour and performance, and particularly the impact of sales manager control approach on salesperson perceived organisational support and citizenship behaviour. Our study adds insight into a number of issues underpinning superior sales performance which have not been previously examined. This work has been presented to a number of management audiences and published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science in the USA earlier this year. The next phase of the control studies is concerned with managerial control competencies, using data from a large study of UK sales managers. Early findings underline the large impact of manager competencies on sales unit performance, and the negative effects of lower levels of competencies on manager stress, motivation and performance. We will be publishing the results of this work over the next few months.

Key and Strategic Account ManagementStrategic account management approaches by suppliers to handle relationships with very important customers have been widely recommended and increasingly adopted by companies. However, our research suggests

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sweet successWhen Natasha Aggarwal (BSc Management Sciences 01–4) graduated from WBS, she returned to India to set up Mama Mia! – a brand of premium Italian ice-cream or ‘gelato’ shops. Here she explains how WBS played a significant role in her success.

The idea of Mama Mia! was conceived while I was in my last year at Warwick. I came across the concept of Italian gelato while backpacking with friends in Rome. The product differs from regular ice-cream being low in fat (the cream gelato is 96% fat free and fruit sorbet 100% fat free), made with natural ingredients and fruit pulp imported from various parts of the world and made fresh daily in small batches. Seeing a gap in the premium segment of the ice-cream industry in India and the growing trend towards healthy eating and low fat, I felt there was scope for exploiting this niche.

After graduation, I arranged for some training with a chef in Italy to learn about making gelato and its various technicalities. I spent a month in an Italian gelato factory, gaining hands-on experience. From a business school graduate with a prestigious degree, I was now a chef! This was a joke among many of my friends and fellow students who failed to understand why I would forgo a high salaried job in some investment bank or Wall Street company to ‘open a little ice-cream shop.’

The first Mama Mia! shop was set up in my hometown of Calcutta in May 2005. Initially I was playing the dual role of chef and salesgirl – making the ice-cream in the morning and selling it in the afternoon and evening. The response was overwhelming and totally unexpected. Today, just over a year later, Mama Mia! is a national chain, boasting 14 shops across Mumbai, Bangalore and Calcutta with other cities in the pipeline. Having started off with only three employees, there is now a team of around 80, comprising employees, franchisees and business partners.

Success is about ‘not following the path but setting the trail yourself’. This was the underlying message I received during my years at WBS, be it through academic courses, professors and tutors, colleagues or friends. I believed that this new concept or idea, combined with the right marketing, branding and positioning, could generate tremendous results.

WBS played a large part in my transformation. I was a quiet, shy girl from India, having lived a very protected and

unexposed life. However, the experience of living independently and making my own decisions, the opportunities given to me while running various societies, including WBSS, attending training and skill workshops and most importantly, the interaction with such a diverse international community, have all contributed in developing my confidence, broad vision and ambition and turned me into a person willing to face challenges in life.

The knowledge and skills learnt from my course at WBS have played a significant role in my success so far. The various theories, cases and strategy in Marketing have brought me a long way; as have efficient management of operations learnt in Operations Management, the challenging task of dealing with people taught in Organisational Behaviour lectures; the first step of writing a business plan and seeking finance that Entrepreneurship taught me; and of course, investing the company profits wisely, from Finance.

I do have to say that, in reality, things do not always go according to business school theories. As exciting as it sounds, being an

entrepreneur is not easy. Every step has its share of unforeseen problems, pressure, risk and emotional stress. Initially, the main challenge I faced was getting people to take me seriously as my age often worked against me. For the first four months I was working seven days a week, selling ice-cream and clearing tables till midnight, while everyone else was out having fun. Today, my life is hectic with tiring travel schedules and solving a new challenge each day. Dealing with competitors and their sly tactics has taught me that there is no place for ‘good guys’ in today’s business world. Each day is a learning experience, that makes me wiser and smarter.

This is just the beginning and there is a long way to go for Mama Mia! Further expansion plans and ongoing marketing, innovation and improvement to strengthen the brand are the prime focus. On a personal note, I only want to grow to the point where I enjoy my work and can balance my life. The day work becomes pressure and is no fun, it just isn’t worth it.

W www.mamamiaindia.com e [email protected]


Natasha Aggarwal

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examining the global economyProfessor Colin Crouch, Chair of WBS Institute of Governance and Public Management, explains the findings of the OECD report Competitive cities in the global economy.

What used to be a paradox has become a cliché: globalisation implies

localisation. There are two sides to this process. Firstly, as global firms acquire a certain ability to pick and choose their locations, they tend to reach similar conclusions to each other about the best places to put certain activities: for example, advanced pharmaceuticals tend to go to San Francisco or Munich. Far from localities all coming to resemble each other as globalisation smoothes out differences, the opposite often takes place. Secondly, as city and regional policy makers realise what firms are doing, they try to develop the unique selling points of their areas in order to attract them.

The result is a sorting process. Some parts do indeed have their characteristics smoothed out as they become caught in a downward spiral to attract inward investment competing on cost alone. Others, more fortunate, are developing niches of distinctive advantage. One consequence of this is a shift of population to a relatively small group of rapidly growing cities and regions.

A new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) – Competitive cities in the global economy – draws attention to the 78 largest such urban agglomerations among its member states – broadly the 32 richest nations in the world. While a small number of these, mainly in central Europe, have been declining, the majority have been growing faster than their surrounding countries, and are often the points at which economic growth and dynamism are most concentrated.

Most of these heavily urbanised metropolitan regions have populations between 1.5 and 7 million. A group of larger ones, including those around London and Paris, concentrate around 7 to 12 million. Finally there are some ‘mega-cities’, such as Mexico City and New York (19 million), Seoul (23 million) and Tokyo (34 million).

Available data does not yet allow us to generalise about these regions, and indeed they are not all developing in the same way. Prominent among them are areas based on capital cities. The footloose activities of the post-industrial economy concentrate


in these because of their proximity to important policymakers and the usually superior qualities of their physical and cultural infrastructure and transport connections. Capitals, together with a small number of other very prominent cities, are also becoming increasingly linked with each other, creating a family of global cities that house similar ranges of governmental and corporate headquarters activities, as well as major cultural events. They are densely linked by air routes and other communications channels, and they house the world’s increasingly mobile and multi-residential wealthy elites. This is where dynamism is concentrated; this is the global community.

But it is a glittering community with a dark side. The OECD report raises questions surrounding these less attractive aspects, and poses the dilemmas presented by the confrontation between them and the gains that dynamic metropolitan regions represent. For example, is heavy concentration of dynamic activities a cause of growth in itself, or just its consequence? If the former, these areas need to be encouraged, as other regions of their countries will gain from the tax revenues generated in the growth engines and from various trickle-down effects. But if the increasing size of large cities is simply a consequence of their being favoured, their tendency to attract capital and talented workers away from other regions may do

Professor Colin Crouch, Chair of WBS Institute of Governance and Public Management, was academic advisor to the OECD team who produced the report Competitive cities in the global economy. Colin was previously Professor of Comparative Social Institutions at the European University

Institute, Florence. He has also held positions at LSE and Oxford. Chairman of The Political Quarterly, and past President of the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE). Colin is a Fellow of the British Academy and External Scientific member of the Max Planck Institute for Social Research at Cologne.

Research interests: structure of European societies, with special reference to labour market, gender and family issues; economic sociology; neo-institutional analysis; local economic development and public service reform.


more overall harm than good.Large urban structures are expensive to maintain. They generate high congestion costs, and large agglomerations of people and activities usually inflict environmental damage. Levels of social segregation, including along ethnic lines, are high, creating tension and an obsession with security. Is there a choice between economic dynamism and having a liveable city? Multi-national firms usually want both, as they seek pleasant environments for their headquarters’ staff. Governments wanting to attract these activities are strongly tempted to concentrate major cultural, sporting and infrastructural projects in what they regard as their key cities, particularly capitals, at the expense of other parts of the country.

Tackling these issues creatively requires a capacity for strategy at the level of the whole urban agglomeration, but there is rarely a tier of government at this level, these regions sprawling across local government boundaries. Whether this requires a reform of local and regional government structure or the creation of ad hoc authorities for specific region-wide functions is the main issue of governance and public management now being presented by these major by-products of the global economy.

Capitals, together with a small number of other

very prominent cities, are becoming increasingly linked with each other, creating a family of global cities that house similar ranges of governmental and corporate headquarters activities, as well as major cultural events... This is where dynamism is concentrated; this is the global community.

11

leading the fieldJasni Mohamed (BSc Accounting & Financial Analysis 90–3), Co-Founder and Managing Director of Sportswork Group, gives us an insight into the world of sports marketing.

In essence, sports marketing is both sports products marketed to sports consumers

as well as consumer or industrial products or services using sport as a marketing platform. Sports marketing in the USA and Europe developed greatly after the ‘Reaganomics’ of the ‘80s and formation of the European Community single market/currency in the ‘90s. It effectively generated economic growth to both regions.

The growth created intense competition where companies were forced to find alternative methods of communication in order to achieve the required differentiation. This heralded the birth of Sportswork four years ago in Malaysia.

The company was started by three people from different but complementary backgrounds; advertising, media sales & television production, and sports marketing. The founding partners of Sportswork believe that sport is the future growth industry in this part of the world. Armed with a combined working experience of over 30 years, it provided the best mix of expertise to create a sports marketing start-up. As managing director, I was tasked with managing finances, setting the company direction and formulating the services to offer.

Our company’s philosophy is to aggregate expertise and enhance our skill set to provide thought leadership in terms of advice to our clients. There have been many challenges over the past four years and we have had to develop the relevant skill sets to manage them.


Jasni is currently Co-Founder & MD of Sportswork Group, based in Kuala Lumpur. Sportswork is a sports marketing company specialising in sponsorship consultancy, sports television production, sports event management, public relations, and sports personality management.

After tenure in the investment banking world as a stepping stone, Jasni created a niche for himself in the sports marketing arena. He has subsequently worked on numerous ventures advising on the conceptualisation, organisation and management of events, sponsorship consulting, television packaging, as well as athlete management. His work experience has included working in IMG, and Grey Worldwide.


Jasni Mohamed

The first hurdle was the lack of track record as a company; even with the wealth of experience the respective individuals brought to the company. This is where our reliance on networking skill was at its most critical. This was down to securing the first project, which thankfully began within our first year, handling the Badminton Association of Malaysia.

Since sports marketing is still in its infancy in this region, our second challenge is to manage the level of expectation with our clients. They know what to expect from advertising agencies, but not sports marketing agencies. This particular challenge is a balancing act of understanding our clients’ business, inter-personal skills, encouraging teamwork, enhancing motivation, time-management, creativity and service delivery systems.

The third challenge is people management within the company. Our end objective is to develop human capital and for team members to feel they are constantly learning and contributing to the growth of the company, as well as themselves. We like to meet the team members individually on a regular basis to discuss their objectives in the company and life in general to see if we are able to assist in any way.

Lastly, the challenge for me professionally in managing a fledgling company is keeping focused on the company’s objectives and not to stray too far away from the core business. Currently housing a total of 12 employees, the company’s revenue has tripled in the past four years. Among Sportswork’s list of clients include Malaysia’s largest bank and telecommunications companies.

Studying at a top university like Warwick taught me how to think analytically. A skill honed during lectures as well as through rigorous intellectual discourse with lecturers, fellow students and friends at the university outside classes. In my opinion, WBS provided a valuable platform to harness our thought processes by being among people of high intellect. One moment that has stuck with me is Joan Ballantine in one of our Financial Reporting lectures where student participation left a lot to be desired.

She immediately woke us up by questioning our intent in attending University; was it to pass exams or were we there to learn? Unfortunately, it was in my third year and it was too late to mend my ways!

In the context of Malaysia, business schools from the USA remain top with a handful of European schools outside the Top Ten. As a young upstart, there is still room for improvement for WBS. The graduates are proud to be associated with WBS and are aggressive in promoting its pedigree, but it needs time to seed the global community with more WBS graduates and reinforce it with strong local alumni entities.

e [email protected]

Our company’s philosophy is to aggregate expertise

and enhance our skill set to provide thought leadership in terms of advice to our clients. There have been many challenges over the past four years and we have had to develop the relevant skill sets to manage them.

12

regional groups roundupInformal networking in 2007 will see a continuation of regional group social events with at least two events in the South West, Oxford, Midlands and London – First Friday. Activities take the form of evening drinks and often dinner in a city-based pub or bar and all WBS graduates and students are welcome to come along.

Group events throughout 2006 were well attended and a big vote of thanks must go to our group coordinators who have worked very hard to make things happen. Two of our regional coordinators are stepping down this year: Alex Clark (MBA 00–1) Oxford Group and Rob McCulloch (BA Management Sciences 72–5) North West group. Our thanks to Alex and Rob for their sterling service in the interests of gathering WBS alumni together to network and talk about old times.

would you like to organise a regional event?Would you like to volunteer to organise a regional event?We are currently looking for enthusiastic volunteers to organise events for 2007 in London, Oxford and the South West. Hosting an event involves:

• securing a suitable central city venue, without extra cost and preferably with a separate area that can be used for WBS alumni

• letting us know the details (always a 6.30pm start) • arriving at the beginning and staying until the end of the evening • chatting to people attending the event and introducing them to

other alumni.

SIGsOur alumni Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are now well established and members get together in a variety of ways: from blogs and forums, through teleconferencing to face to face events. All the SIGs are volunteer-led and we would not be able to run them without the commitment of our volunteers – thank you all. SIGs exist in the following areas:

Entrepreneurship Brand managementPublic & Voluntary sector network Telecoms

If you are keen to get involved in any of our groups or would like to find out more, then please contact Caroline Hughes E [email protected] or visit the website at W www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni/networking_groups.cfm

new SIG: aerospaceWBS alumnus and Alumni Board member Nick Jessett (EXMBA 85–9) is keen to set up an Aerospace SIG for interested WBA alumni and students. Suggested activities include: face to face events with guest speakers, networking, sharing experiences and regular communication via an online forum. We are gauging interest at this stage – if you would like to be part of an aerospace group or would like to help run it please contact Caroline Hughes (see above).

WBS alumni regional dinners coming to a city near you! Based on our very successful regional group model, these events are for alumni who can’t usually make it to one of the regular regional group meetings, either because they live too far away or because the timings don’t work.

These one-off dinners are an opportunity for you to meet with other WBS alumni living in your area and to find out about what is happening at WBS. A member of WBS faculty or doctoral researcher will be present at each dinner, along with staff from the Alumni Office to keep you up to date with news from WBS and to answer any questions. All dinners will start at 6.30pm for drinks followed by dinner at 7.30pm. Venues will be advertised closer to the time and the dates are as shown.

new in 2007

Reading 22 February

Peterborough 13 March

Leeds 24 April

Milton Keynes 15 May

Cardiff 26 June

Manchester 4 September

Southampton 18 September

Edinburgh 10 October

yes minister Reviewed by alumnus Derrick Dyas (MPA 02–4)

The Institute of Governance & Public Management (IGPM) series of ‘conversations’ between academics, key senior managers and strategists continued in November, with a frank and insightful presentation from Sir Gus O’Donnell, Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service. An economist by profession, Sir Gus described his efforts to address issues of performance in the Civil Service through professionalism, pride, passion and pace – concepts not always associated with the public sector.

In his view it is a mistake to confuse the Service’s impartiality for lack of passion, which must exist when working with hard to reach groups and delivering social programmes to improve people’s life chances. The image of the gifted amateur should be replaced by that of highly committed professionals that are part of a diverse Civil Service, have equality of esteem with their more managerial colleagues, and are prepared to develop their professionalism into wider strategic and joined up thinking.

Trust in the State, Sir Gus revealed, is pretty low but trust in the Civil Service had seen growth in recent years – especially for the

uniformed sector and those in contact with the public. It was good to see his ‘Model of Public Service Reform’ encompassed frontline user feedback, after considerable effort and capability reviews, whilst the quest of the Cabinet Office – to make Government work better and more flexibly – is being taken up across all departments.

12

UK event reviews

Professors Jean Hartley and John Benington with Sir Gus O’Donnell (right)

13

20th anniversary dinnerReview by Clive Rahn (DLMBA 98–03)

Has the course really been going for that long? The 20th Anniversary event brought me up to date with changes in the DLMBA programme and WBS. Sue Beech, Programme Manager for the Warwick MBA by distance learning, described how the course had evolved over its 20 years. I finished my MBA in 2003 so I bridged some of the biggest changes: the increased use of the internet as a teaching medium, and the development of the ‘one MBA’ at Warwick.

The Dean, Howard Thomas, discussed strategy using quotations from Childs, Chandler and Rumelt – which brought back memories – how those names stuck in the mind before going into the exam room! Howard then used the balanced scorecard as a vehicle for illustrating the School’s future strategy. Both Sue and Howard highlighted the new and unique way the MBA is being developed to provide ‘blended learning’ so it’s not all exams any more.

We were all well dined and wined in the Panorama Suite at Rootes – again those memories. It was great to chat with staff and alumni alike, and reminisce on the distant times when I studied for the MBA!

To receive your copy of the booklet, ‘Warwick DLMBA, the first 20 years’ please contact Emma Nugent. E [email protected] T +44 (0)24 76 524313

WBS-Detica city seriesReviewed by Toby Cross (DLMBA 01–6)

WBS City events are always guaranteed to generate some lively debate and offer some biting insight and the first WBS-Detica event in November did not disappoint on either count. Delegates were shocked by an insight into cutting edge criminal detection systems with Dr David C Porter of Detica speaking on Combatting fraud and organised crime within your company. This was demonstrated graphically by sophisticated network analysis highlighting anomalies amongst the millions of electronic transactions that we engage in on a daily basis.

This uncomfortable view of reality was followed by a glimpse of the darker side of strategy, with a preview of research into the strategic impact of global terrorism; research that had only been unveiled to a senior audience at Chatham House the day before. Dr Bridgette Sullivan-Taylor and Professor David Wilson co-presented their research entitled Leading your organisation through a world under siege (see article on P18/19).

The audience then unleashed the usual barrage of incisive questions ranging from the impact of culture on contingency planning, to the responsibility of government and the security services in corporate strategy. Finally we repaired to the excellent buffet to continue discussions informally and to catch up with old friends. An excellent evening and I look forward to seeing more of you at the next event on Wednesday 7 February, with a Financial Services theme.

On a beautiful sunny evening in July, the popular WBS Summer Ball had a James Bond theme. Graduates and guests came dressed to kill and posed for photographs by the silver Aston Martin, then adjourned to the patio overlooking the lake to sip dry martinis (shaken not stirred), joined by WBS faculty and staff.

The marquee interior was decked out in dramatic black and gold, with guests seated at tables denoted by Bond characters, from Dr No to Scaramanga. After an excellent dinner, Professor Bob Johnston entertained everyone with his anecdotes. His speech was followed by a special moment, when the WBS MBA Sailing team displayed the trophies awarded for their successes in the MBA Cup and the Global MBA Trophy.

Then the fun really got underway with the Casino Royale roulette and blackjack tables and a Bond shoot out game. A big hit was the vodka luge – 007’s signature Walther PPK gun crafted in ice that delivered shots of vodka. The Dr Teeth Big Band were followed by a disco which kept guests on the dance floor until the early hours. What a night! W www.photoboxgallery.com/digiquick_sales

WBS-Detica City Series, sponsored by Detica Group plc. A series of events in London that aims to unite WBS academics and leading practitioners in their field.

UK event reviews

13

007 @ WBS

WBS forums – new seriesBuilding on the success of the autumn series of WBS forums (see multimedia P6), the spring series will commence in February. Full details can be found online at W www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni/forthcoming.cfm

14

january27 Alumni Board Away Day30 Winter Graduation and Celebration dinner

february2 First Friday – London5 Dublin drinks7 WBS – Detica City Series: Financial Services7 MBA Projects Evening8 Alumni Board 12 WBS Forum – Peter Couch, Head of Strategy & Regulation, National Grid Wireless22 Reading dinner23 Telecoms Special Interest Group – Teleconference26 WBS Forum – Professor Jan Mouritsen, The Department of Operations Management, Copenhagen Business School

march10 Academic Update – Warwick: 21st Century Management12 WBS Forum12 Bulgaria drinks (Sofia)13 Peterborough dinner14 Romania drinks (Bucharest)19 Portugal drinks (Lisbon)

april13 First Friday – London24 Leeds dinner27 Telecoms Special Interest Group – Teleconference

may2 South West regional gathering10 WBS 40th Anniversary Dinner (invitation only)15 Milton Keynes dinnertbc Academic Update – London: 21st Century Financetbc Oxford regional gathering

nexus: spring 07 WBS events calendar 2007

wbs forums

annual dinner

academic updateFollowing on from the sell-out success of the 2006 Academic Update the 2007 Academic Update Series will see WBS faculty discussing 21st Century Management, 21st Century Finance and 21st Century Leadership and Strategic Change. These events are open to all alumni and their guests and are aimed at those who would like to update their knowledge with reference to the latest research at an incredible price of £65 for each one-day seminar.

Throughout the autumn and spring terms WBS hosts a series of eight lectures targeted at bringing together post-graduate students and alumni to hear world class speakers on campus. At the time of going to press not all speakers for the spring series have been confirmed, but autumn speakers included the Chief Economist of BP and the COO of RHM plc. Full details will be available online in early 2007.

The fifth WBS Annual Dinner will be held at Tower Bridge (in the long room between the Towers!). All our key volunteers will be invited by way of thanks for the hard work they put in for the alumni community and to promote WBS to the wider world. The new Vice-Chancellor Professor Nigel Thrift, and the Dean of WBS, Professor Howard Thomas, will use this event to share their vision for the future with members of the WBS community.

anniversary dinner

15nexus: spring 07 WBS events calendar 2007

june First Friday – London 1 Telecoms Special Interest Group – face to face event 20 Cardiff dinner 26 Alumni Board 28

july 40th Anniversary Summer Ball 20 WBS Open Day & Opening of the second phase of WBS, Scarman Road 21 Midlands group summer picnic and open air theatre tbc

august First Friday – London 3

september North West dinner 4 Telecoms Special Interest Group – teleconference 7 Southampton dinner 18 Academic Update: 21st Century Leadership & Strategic Change tbc

october South West group 3 Alumni Board 4 First Friday – London 5 Edinburgh dinner 10

november Oxford regional gathering 8 40th Dinners across the Globe 15 Telecoms Special Interest Group – teleconference 16 40th Dinner in the City tbc

december First Friday – London 7

global dinners

city dinner seriesWBS alumni in the UK are clustered around London and the Midlands. In 2007 it is our aim to support alumni networking in more sparsely populated regions with a series of dinners. Faculty will be attending each event to provide some intellectual stimulation, along with other members of the WBS team who will bring you up to date with developments from the School. Be sure to receive your invitation by updating your details at www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni

For one night only… on 15 November we aim to unite the whole of the WBS global community in a series of ad hoc dinners or drinks receptions where ever you may be around the world. If you would like to organise an event that starts at 7pm local time wherever you live, work or will be visiting then please contact [email protected]. It is our aim to set a record for the number of WBS alumni gathering together in a 24 hour period! Resources will be provided by WBS to help make your event a success.

16

overseas event reviews

16

Hong Kong Canada

alumni reunited at the DLMBA anniversary celebrations

As part of the 20th DLMBA anniversary celebrations, alumni in Hong Kong enjoyed an afternoon of intellectual stimulation, ceremonial splendour and networking opportunities when Professor Howard Thomas, Dean, and Professor Colin Carnall, Associate Dean Executive Education, visited Hong Kong en route to a conference at CEIBS in Shanghai.

Following a replica graduation ceremony for alumni who were unable to graduate in person at Warwick earlier this year, the two senior faculty members delivered thought-provoking and challenging presentations on strategic thinking; the future of WBS and the challenges associated with managing change. WBS hopes to run more academic seminars like this wherever we have large concentrations of alumni, ensuring that geography is not a barrier to learning from the latest academic research generated from WBS.

Miriam Mason, Manager, Warwick MBA by Full Time Study and Sam Brook, International Exchanges & Student Services Coordinator, hosted an informal gathering at the Toronto Marriott Bloor Yorkville, prior to attending the Partnership in International Management (PIM) conference. Members of the Toronto alumni community, full-time students on extended exchange with PIM partners in North America and a current DLMBA student were also joined by Professor Robert Dyson, who had just arrived in the city.

In November, Emma Nugent, Assistant Programme Manager, DLMBA, and Ann Jackson, Marketing & International Relations Officer, met with WBS alumni in Greece for a drinks gathering at the Hard Rock Café in central Athens. Spyros Papadatos (MBA 00–1) spoke about his vision for the Athens regional alumni group, ‘Our aim is to organise a big conference for WBS alumni – also inviting other top business schools alumni – with a panel of speakers including WBS professors as well as prominent speakers from the Greek marketplace (WBA alumni or not).’

Greece

From left to right: Stefanos Polymenopoulos, Tina Iordanidou, Maria Chryssoulaki, Spyros Papadatos, Maria Stefanopoulou, Eirini Drakaki

around the worldThe MBA team would like to thank alumni for all their help at fairs on the recent World Tour. Alongside the MBA fairs, alumni events took place in Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, New Delhi, Toronto, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Moscow, Paris, Milan, Zurich and Athens.

Alumni in Singapore enjoyed a more informal evening on the terrace at Raj Shourie’s house (DLMBA 91–9). This event was targeted at bringing senior professionals within Singapore together to network, as a complement to the existing alumni activities in Singapore that have long been championed by Ray Choa (MBA 00–1).

In 2007 WBS looks forwards to an increasing presence in Singapore with the launch of the Singapore Diploma in Service Leadership which will see faculty members, including Professor Bob Johnston and Andrew Hardwick, regularly visiting the country. Hopefully the alumni network will benefit from an increasing faculty presence in Singapore and also the appointment of a University Representative in Singapore, Mavis Ow (MA International Relations 99–00).

Singapore

Ray and Elaine Choa with Ben Plummer

17

When reflecting on her WBS experience recently, she related that it always

reminds her of when her children were born, yet Joanna’s MBA experience gave birth to one other exciting thing as well – Kids’ Gallery, a unique concept in arts enrichment education for children founded in Hong Kong in 1996.

Joanna started her career as a graduate trainee on the competitive Marks & Spencer graduate management training programme at its Baker Street, London Head Office. After successfully completing the two-year programme, she moved into management consultancy at Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers).

Following a move back to her native Hong Kong due to her husband’s work, she found out that she was expecting her first child. Not wanting to continue full-time work with a newborn, she decided to embark on the Warwick DLMBA, finding it to be the most comprehensive and flexible distance learning MBA available. She was particularly interested in the modules on entrepreneurship and small business enterprise, believing that eventually starting her own business would be the best way for her to continue to work while raising her family. Through the DLMBA she was thereby able to combine motherhood with her desire to stay in touch with her career and developments in business and management.

As a mother of young children, Joanna was disappointed with the lack of creative, arts-based learning opportunities for children in Hong Kong. Friends with children shared her desire for arts-based learning and education programmes for children, as well as other young families she met. Like many entrepreneurs, the concept of launching Kids’ Gallery became one she could not ignore. Joanna cheerfully noted that ‘arts education for children makes sound business sense because quality children’s programmes are experiencing rapid growth and, even in difficult economic times, parents will cut back on luxuries for themselves rather than discontinue activities that prepare their children for the future.’ There is even now a term coined for this new industry – edutainment.

that’s edutainment!Completing a distance-learning MBA through WBS is challenging enough, but Joanna Hotung (DLMBA 92–6) also gave birth to her two daughters during the three and a half years it took to earn her degree.


Originally Kids’ Gallery focused on the Visual Arts, including arts and crafts, sketching, and oil painting. Further programming in Performing Arts initiated experiences for children in speech and drama, musical theatre, and singing. Realising that the original concept would work as well in other Asian cities, Joanna started expanding the business outside Hong Kong. Now, if you were to stop in one of the Kids’ Gallery centres in Hong Kong, China, Japan, or Thailand, you would find a broad range of arts courses, including programmes in Communication and Language Arts designed to enhance English language skills through creative methods, and Digital Arts courses introducing children to web design, animation, and film-making.

Joanna serves as founder and managing director of the fast-growing company that now has over 100 employees across eight centres. Smiling broadly when describing Kids’ Gallery, it is clear that Joanna loves her work. She describes her role as ‘the creative leader of a business that focuses on things I care about, such as children’s education and the arts. This requires that I be able to work with people of all cultures, ages, and backgrounds.’

She explains that the Warwick MBA prepared her for this by filling in the gaps in her knowledge of accounting and finance which she needed to start her business. It also honed her marketing skills, and helped her with the HR skills to grow a service business from a handful of employees to the current operation. Joanna’s final dissertation was based on the business plan for Kids’ Gallery, and therefore led directly into the establishment of her business.

This story is not over yet. Future plans include actively seeking partners in Guangzhou, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Manila, Seoul, Shenzhen, Singapore, and Taipei. Chances are you’re going to walk past a Kids’ Gallery before too long.

w www.kidsgallery.com

Joanna Hotung

Arts education for children makes sound

business sense because quality children’s programmes are experiencing rapid growth and, even in difficult economic times, parents will cut back on luxuries for themselves rather than discontinue activities that prepare their children for the future.

18

Perhaps you are reading this on an aeroplane or having a drink in a

bistro. Are you in safe hands? We don’t mean safe in an operational sense. Airlines, for example, are one of the safest modes of transport if we refer to accident statistics. Operational safety (such as strict maintenance or adherence to regulations) is paramount. But what about the uncertainty facing airlines (and all organisations) from the threat of terrorism? Decision makers have to make difficult decisions over how they assess the risks posed by such threats. They also, for the most part (fortunately) have to take such decisions in the absence of any actual terrorist strike. They have to assess risk, therefore, in a context of very high uncertainty. A terrorist strike may be a risk, but how likely is it to happen? How much effort should managers make to ensure that their organisation has a strong capacity to identify and act upon such threats?

To date, little research has been conducted into how managers deal with uncertainties created by the threat (and sometimes the actuality) of terrorist attacks. A Leverhulme Trust Fellowship attempted to remedy this absence in the form of a pilot study (reported in brief here). A follow-up study is being designed to extend this pilot study and provide future data to help increase resilience.

This research examines to what levels of risk managers choose to expose their organisations. It looks at how they perceive the likely occurrence of a terrorist attack, or the vulnerability of their organisation to potential attack. The threat of terrorism lies in the priority zone for strategists. Speed of impact and importance are both high (figure 1).

Our sample comprises six organisations from the UK/EU international leisure and travel sector (all have high potential exposure to threats of terrorism). Table 2 (opposite) summarises the organisations, the specific ways in which managers interpret risk from the threat of terrorism (thinking) and what strategies they adopt toward this threat (acting).

Managers in the Convention Centre perceived other risks to be of a greater threat to them than those presented by the uncertainty of terrorism. Perceived high-risk decisions revolved around the content and type of work commissioned and presented (rather than the threat of terrorism). Managers also perceived other sources of uncertainty to be more important than the threat of terrorism, singling out the latest foot and mouth epidemic in the UK as an example. In this case, uncertainty was primarily perceived as variations in the flow of tourists into the country and region and the related fall in demand for conferences and events. The Arts and Entertainment Centre informants also did not perceive the highest levels of uncertainty to be associated with the threat of terrorism.


coping with the threatDr Bridgette Sullivan-Taylor and Professor David Wilson of the Marketing & Strategic Management Group, reveal the initial findings of their joint research.

Managers in the aviation sector view the highest levels of uncertainty to be potential risks from terrorism, since these can have devastating effects on their business (as well as their passengers). For example, organisations supplying food to airlines recognise that introducing poison or a bomb on board a plane via the supplied cabin food is more likely to happen in terms of probability than is a terrorist getting on board as a passenger. It is simpler to infiltrate the food preparation areas than the plane itself.

Wider variations occur across the sample organisations when looking at practice. Organisations which supply the aviation sector consumables such as catering have traditionally adhered to strict quality standards and risk audit processes. There is always the danger of terrorists trying to poison airline food. Some airlines insist their suppliers comply with their standards of security. For example, British Airways not only secure the site, but also ensure final checks are conducted. Department of Transport representatives also visit un-announced to try and get access to the kitchens, (to find any security loopholes).

CHARACTERISTICS OF UNCERTAINTY:Terrorism as Priority Zone

Figure 1: Prioritising the threat of terrorism

Professor David Wilson & Dr Bridgette Sullivan Taylor

19nexus: spring 07 global community

No-frills airlines prioritise the threat of terrorism but rely on other organisations a great deal for security procedures. Although they reduce exposure to risk by not providing a full catering service in-flight (thereby reducing the likelihood of any catering-related security breaches) they, nevertheless, rely entirely on local airports to manage rigorously other security procedures (passenger checking and profiling).

International tour operators rely upon information from the British government regarding travel to particular overseas destinations to determine whether or not to continue to service particular destinations. The Home Office travel advisory service, therefore, has a significant influence on travel to particular destinations, directly affecting the viability and success of some key tour destinations. The problem is that this information is not always up to date or accurate. One manager observed how British Airways and Air France were forced to cancel many planes travelling into the USA based upon faulty American intelligence, causing considerable disruption to the airlines and their passengers.

In the arts and entertainment sectors, economic uncertainty was viewed as key. Implementing practices to counter the threat of terrorism were problematic. Largely this was because a tight security policy was felt to have a deleterious effect on overall business performance. The economics of business take priority over managing security.

ConclusionsOur research indicates that organisations need to be resilient to the threat of terrorism. Managers need to ensure that their organisation can identify problems, establish priorities and mobilize resources to avoid or cope with damage or disruption. Our limited sample indicates that not all of the six organisations could be described as highly resilient. What about the organisation in which you are sitting today?

We have started to extend our research and, so far, indications are that our six firms are fairly typical. Although the threat of terrorism gets almost daily high profile exposure in the media; boardrooms and decision makers in organisations appear not to prioritise strategies to deal with possible threats. For example, no-frills airlines rely almost exclusively on airports to exercise security checks and regulations. Entertainment centres prioritise economic activities, almost adopting a fatalistic attitude to possible attack once obvious risks such as underground car parks have been averted. Finally, information on terrorism (from governments and other sources) seems both partial and occasionally confusing, making the lives of decision makers even more difficult. Your organisation may be no more resilient than the six studied here. Our future research will be concerned with just this question of increasing organisational resilience.

Watch this space, as well as that unattended luggage!

Professor David C Wilson is Professor of Strategy and Organisation. He was Chairman of the British Academy of Management (94–7); elected a Fellow of the Academy in 1994 and is listed in Who’s Who in Social Science. He was Chairman of the Scholarly Society, the European Group for Organisation Studies (2003–2006) and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal Organization Studies (99–03).

He is a keen cyclist and rides as often as he can, given the UK weather and the demands of an academic job. One of his first ‘real’ jobs was as a guitarist and he still plays in a semi-professional band with other old men who have not yet grown up. He is a devotee of English real ales and French wines (especially Burgundies).

Dr Bridgette Sullivan-Taylor is a Research Fellow in the SOLAR research unit based within the MSM Group at WBS. She has previously held management positions in both private and public sector organizations and in several universities in New Zealand and the UK.

Her research has received the recognition and support of several major funding bodies including the ESRC, Herobc, the Leverhulme Trust and AIM. Her current Leverhulme Fellowship research (reported here) investigates the ‘strategic management implications of global terrorism’ and develops the ‘Think Global, Act Local’ concept further to examine the added dimension of terrorism and its impact on strategic management practices and the challenges of managing under constant uncertainty and ambiguity.

2 authors in minutes

Organisations Strategic Thinking Strategic Acting

1 Supplier to the Aviation Sector

Prioritise the threatof terrorism

Co-operative strategies with airlines to determine minimum standards. Highly restricted access to catering kitchens.

2 Low Cost Airline Prioritise the threatof terrorism

Fast turn-round process means only one extra person is involved in addition to the crew. Try to reduce the complexity & hassle of security checks for passengers. But they depend to a great extent on airport security being effective.

3 International Airport Prioritise the threatof terrorism

Layered security checks. Traveller profiling. CCTV used extensively. High levels of training for staff.

4 International TourOperator

Prioritise other uncertainties over the threat of terrorism

Gathers intelligence from Home and Foreign Offices and reacts accordingly. Has no identifiable other decision practices of its own inside the organisation to combat risk.

5 InternationalConvention Centre


Changed practices using scenarios of what might happen. Decisions made regarding restricting customer access (for example, no underneath building parking).

6 International Arts& EntertainmentCentre


Tried to put in high security, but felt it got in the way of business. Relaxed the level and type of security checks. Sticks with what is felt to be a good compromise between thorough checks and ease of accessibility for patrons. Fatalistic.

Table 2: Organisations & risks from terrorism

20

african connectionAlex Simuyandi (BSc Management Sciences 01–4) is Business Development Manager of AfriConnect (Zambia), the fastest-growing leading Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the country. One of his first moves in the company was to hire a friend from WBS, Ian Ferrao (also BSc ManSci 01–4), as Commercial Manager.


‘Ian and I sat next to each other on the first day our course started. I think we were both struck with the diversity

of the other students; about half were from abroad, and this became an immediate talking point. We knew it was going to be a great opportunity to meet and work alongside people from different cultures and backgrounds,’ recalls Alex.

They worked together on various projects throughout their time at Warwick, and Ian visited Alex when he spent his second year on exchange at York University, Toronto. They often discussed working together at some point after university, but neither of them expected the chance to arrive as soon as it did.

Alex returned to Zambia in late 2005 after obtaining a Masters in International Development. He first started working for AfriConnect on a temporary basis. AfriConnect (Zambia) is part of a group of sister companies that focus on providing satellite connectivity solutions in Africa. There are offices in Ghana and Tanzania, as well as operations throughout the continent. It has a main office just outside sunny Cambridge, England. It was founded by Mark Bennett, who co-founded Zamnet in 1994 – sub-Saharan Africa’s first ISP outside of South Africa.

Alex explains: ‘When I was offered a full-time position, I agreed on condition I could bring in my own members of staff if necessary. I think whenever you undertake a venture, you have to stack the odds in your favour however you can. I wanted to work with someone who I could trust, who I knew I could work with and whose competence was beyond any doubt. For me, Ian fitted those traits perfectly.’

With his decision to leave behind the high flying management consultancy lifestyle and moving from a large global firm to a small business with less than 50 employees, Ian dramatically changed his working environment. ‘The differences between the two are hard to put into words. Within a newly formed small business, there are few processes in place and few

restrictions on what you can and can’t do. Gone are the days where you can get away with procrastination, the corporate Friday nights, the days of spending wild amounts of money on expenses, and most importantly the pointless Powerpoint slides.’ he recounts.

‘Working in a small business environment, it’s far more hands-on and everything you do makes a visible difference. It didn’t take long for the business to become part of me, I don’t really consider what I do as a job any more, it’s more just a way of life. With the sole objective of ensuring success always on the mind, every second counts and so you push yourself to achieve the goals you have set – there is a huge difference between working long hours because you want to and working long hours because you are forced to,’ he confirms.

Ian and Alex found their new work environment stimulating. Job titles mean little; job descriptions aren’t important. Their sole aim is to keep the business operational, whilst expanding using quick but low risk strategies (there is no such thing). These days, sleep and leisurely weekends take very low priority; they wouldn’t have it any other way as the constant challenge keeps their minds stimulated (and stress levels high). Ian mentions Nigel Slack as a professor who characterised this no-nonsense approach to business. Alex also benefited from Nigel’s courses and adds that Francis Greene was another lecturer who developed his critical thinking – especially regarding small business and the nature of entrepreneurship.

When Alex and Ian arrived at AfriConnect, there was a distinct lack of set processes and whilst the business had been operational for 12 months, one could wonder how it managed to survive. On arrival, it was back to basics – work out what money was coming in, what was going out, and how to become operationally profitable. For Ian, it was a far cry from trying to confuse clients with complex consulting tools and jargon. According to Ian, ‘Business really isn’t supposed to be that difficult – improve sales,

minimise costs, manage cash flow, control growth, manage risk, build infrastructure, improve customer service and develop staff capabilities and you are sorted!’ Alex adds to this sentiment, ‘And yet it’s surprisingly difficult to make sure all of these work in sync with each other. New variables are constantly being introduced, which affects the plan of action and often there is little scope for re-adjusting.’

‘I think our roles are characterised by a series of challenges, but that’s the interesting part of the job. Being at the

21nexus: spring 07 global community

forefront of an industry-pioneering wireless broadband service is something I know I’ll look back on with a sense of accomplishment. When I started we were operating in one location with a staff of about 15. In under a year, we have over 40 staff spread across five cities in the country. It’s satisfying seeing the impact of your actions.

I feel particularly proud every time we hire a new employee. With unemployment in the formal sector above 50%, paying someone a good wage and employing them in decent

conditions is important to me,’ says Alex, betraying his background in development.

Despite the fact they are fairly recent graduates, their cohort have spread themselves across the world already. They have friends working on all the major continents (although they’re not sure about the Antarctic), most of them doing interesting things (see Natasha’s story in this issue, for example). Whilst it’s historically very easy to stay in touch, it still remains a challenge to keep up with the fast-moving world of a WBS graduate!

Alex Simuyandi was born in Zambia, and spent most of his childhood there. He moved to England with his family in 1992. After graduating from Warwick, he went on to do a Masters in Development Management at the London School of Economics. His main area of interest is private sector development, and business and public policy. He doesn’t know what he wants to be when he grows up.

Ian Ferrao grew up in Essex and managed to avoid being branded a chav by telling people he actually lived in London. Following graduation from WBS, Ian began a career in management consulting, working in the Strategy and Operations division at Deloitte. Whilst there, he worked on major strategic procurement programmes for clients such as the NHS and Nokia. However, one day he woke up and, realising life was too short, quit his job and booked a flight to Zambia to join Alex, where he was offered a job as Commercial Manager of AfriConnect Zambia.

2 authors in minutes

Ian Ferrao and Alex Simuyandi

In some ways, their story is particularly fitting for this issue of nexus. On the one hand, it demonstrates how far the WBS Diaspora extends. And on the other, the ICT sector that Alex and Ian are working in is the key driver of this ‘Global Community’. It is easier to become a member of a trans-border community as technology continues to facilitate and simplify communication.

W www.africonnect.co.zmE [email protected] E [email protected]

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alumni board

alumni board introspection pays off

During this last year the Alumni Board has been concentrating

on re-evaluating its functions and its fitness to perform these functions. As part of this exercise we made the effort to understand where we are positioned and how we interface with the Business School and its stakeholders.

The diagram above highlights our role as a voice of alumni within the school and as a communications hub linking the business school (especially but not only the Alumni Relations Office); various alumni groups and the alumni body as a whole. One of our biggest insights was to recognise the need to balance two primary responsibilities. The first is to express the views of the alumni body in Alumni Office strategic planning. Secondly we need to facilitate the effective provision of attractive products and services to you as alumni from all the courses provided by the business school since its inception.

Having recognised what we should be concentrating on, we have been further considering a few key topics.

Progress on each of these will further improve the value you enjoy from your association with Warwick Business School. Consequently we welcome any comments or contributions you can make regarding the following:

Products & Services As WBS alumni you currently have access to a wide range of benefits, including various events (social & professional / free and otherwise), email aliases, access to online journals, etc. These must however be of value to you, and with limited resources, choices made regarding priorities. We have already recognised that it is more sensible to segment offering and communications on the basis of interest and need rather than course and graduation date. What is the optimum mix between lectures, seminars, career counselling, social gatherings, conference calls or web forums?

Partners In our professional and personal lives there is competition for our spare time. Professional bodies and alumni

organisations particularly might either compete or complement each other in delivering networking, licensing and Continual Professional Development. How and with whom might we wish to collaborate to deliver the most effective support in our business lives?

Do It YourselfTo enable Alumni activity to mushroom within the resource constraints of the Alumni Relations Office calls for increasing devolution to activists of the right to arrange and publicise their own events. Data protection, branding and consistency of approach can all be supported by Guidelines and other central support rather than relying on the Alumni Office to be wholly responsible for Group activities.

If you have any views on these topics, feel free to express them to the Alumni Board member of your choice:W www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni/board.cfm

In the absence of another, then do email me: E [email protected]

by Mark Whitley (MBA 99–00), Chairman of the Communications Committee

Warwick Business SchoolCommand an international reputation for high quality education and research in management and business in both the public and private sectors

Alumni BoardReview strategic initiatives.Communication from WBS (& back again) through the Alumni Board to the active volunteers (who then communi-cate with the broader community)

WBS AlumniWorking with WBS students as mentors, or interviewers, for example. Ambitious and committed to self development through lifelong learning and networking

Special Interest Groups

Regional Interest Groups

International Groups

Other BoardsAdvisory Board, Corporate Relations Board, & Founders Board

Students & prospective students (prospective alumni)

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a percentage of their salary as a direct debit, on a continued basis. However major single gifts, as a cash donation, cheque, stocks or property can be used to endow a scholarship or professorship, or transform facilities.

Whichever method you choose, please remember that your gift is even more valuable to the School through the Gift Aid scheme, which adds 28 percent to the value of your donation.

If the company you work for operates a matching gift programme, your donation to the school can also be significantly increased.

How to DonateA decision to make a gift of any size is an important one and there are many factors to consider. The WBS Development Office can help discuss with you in further detail fundraising priorities, work with you on defining your gift intentions or liaising with the appropriate department or member of staff on your behalf.

If you would like to discuss a donation in further detail please contact Ben Plummer, Head of DevelopmentE [email protected] T +44 (0)24 7652 4188

You can also give online through the Giving to Warwick website.W www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/development/donate

Business schools are in a highly competitive market. To get into the premier league, they have to attract the best students and the top academics. They need to offer state-of-the-art buildings, IT, lecture theatres and libraries. The top international academic stars [need] dedicated research centres. All this costs money. The Guardian, May 2004

Whatever sector we are working in, we have to recognise that organisations are more focused, more tenacious and more concerned about future position than ever before. Leading global business and management schools are no exception. Now operating in the premiership of business management and education, finance for WBS is critical. The School has created a turnover of £35m, which is a great success, but more is needed to operate within the global league.

As one of the first UK business schools, WBS initially secured over 80 percent of its funding from the government. Nowadays, in real terms, almost 80 percent of WBS revenue is self-generated. This demonstrates our innovative and entrepreneurial spirit in securing additional investment.

Competitor schools have also recognised the need to generate additional investment and have established successful development programmes that include alumni giving programmes, large endowments and secured corporate sponsorship. Three years ago we recognised a development programme for WBS was imperative to securing our future and we are most grateful to our first donors and the advice and support of our Development Board – ‘The Founders’ Association’.

Warwick Business School wants and needs to stay ahead as a leading teaching and research institution, attracting the most able students regardless of opportunity, and moulding outstanding and unique leaders across business and management. In order to achieve these goals, WBS has identified three key priority areas to support via the Fund for Academic Excellence; students, faculty and the learning environment.

WBS development programmeInvesting in future leadersOur students are exceptional. Because we have a reputation for excellence, our courses are usually heavily oversubscribed and we are able to select the most talented and promising students from around the world. We work hard internationally and provide global scholarships to attract the most talented students.

I feel proud to be able to study here and I know that I am getting the very best in higher education that will enable me to achieve my maximum potential. Every aspect of student life has been catered for, from social to educational, and postgraduate to employment opportunities. I feel confident that with a Warwick Business School degree many doors will open.Sarah Sweeney, BSc Management, WGA scholar

Investing in facultyTo be a leader in management education, research and knowledge innovation, WBS needs strong intellectual capital. We need to ensure that we have academic depth as well as breadth to our faculty. 16 new professors have been appointed since August 2003.

Investing in the environmentHaving given priority to students and faculty, the School’s greatest need currently is the learning environment; WBS is in the middle of a major building development which commenced in 2002 with a £17m build complete and a £12m build at the planning stage. This building development is crucial in creating an inspiring and motivating environment that will allow students and research to thrive.

How can you contribute?Our alumni and friends are the key to our success. An investment in WBS is an investment which will help move the School into the global league and in turn enhance the investment made by alumni and current students in their careers. Alumni and friends often ask how much is it appropriate to give? This is, of course, a personal decision. Every gift is greatly valued and worthwhile. Some donors do not have the ability to donate large sums of money. However, accumulative and on-going gifts quickly combine to create scholarships and faculty exchange.The vast majority are committed to giving

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The Warwick MBA by distance learning study programme can be undertaken from anywhere in the world and gives students the maximum flexibility and portability. All students must attend the annual eight-day September Seminar held at WBS, which provides the ideal opportunity for the members of this global community to get together and share experiences.

One of the key features of the programme is the network of tutors who support the programme with practical advice and feedback on assignments to over 1800 multinational and multi-disciplined students. One of the key roles of the tutor is to complement the leading edge theory studied with the tools and techniques to convert that into practice. Many of the tutors are practitioners; about half of the 100 strong tutor network members are themselves graduates of the Warwick MBA or other WBS Masters programmes.

Kim White (DLMBA 85–9) was in the first intake of DLMBA students and was the first graduate to be appointed as a tutor. Kim told us why he enjoys tutoring on the DLMBA: ‘Firstly, it’s good for keeping my knowledge current and I don’t just mean having the material – the networking is really valuable both with other tutors and the students! You’d be amazed how much I have learned from the students over the years. Secondly, it’s a nice little earner. They’re not big sums but several times a year I can indulge my wife and I with a weekend away or some other treat.’

Helena Zak, a recently recruited tutor, graduated from the DLMBA in 1994. Whilst studying Helena lived in France, Taiwan and Poland: ‘I know of the importance of remaining highly motivated in order to complete a programme of self study and know how to provide feedback which sustains morale and motivation. Tutoring on the DLMBA allows me to continue my own professional development by remaining in contact with an innovative business school such as Warwick and the module and course materials are excellent.’

Term one for the WBSS proved an eventful time, with corporate presentations and workshops from sponsors, helping undergraduates sell themselves to the world’s best graduate recruiters. Indeed many of the executive committee have already secured full-time contracts with the likes of Goldman Sachs, UBS, Deloitte, Rolls-Royce and Proctor & Gamble – once again highlighting the high calibre and employment potential of WBS students.

The social calendar has also been equally busy, with the society taking new undergraduates on their first trip to Leamington, not to mention various dining experiences. But the highlight of the year had to be the Business Ball held on 1 December at the De Vere Belfry (of Ryder Cup fame). Setting a new Warwick record, all 350 tickets were snapped up in a single day! Guests were treated to a champagne reception, an extravagant four course meal with after-dinner drinks that accompanied the dazzling fireworks display.

The evening continued with more indulgent treats including fountains of pure Belgian chocolate, ice-blended cocktails, a professional casino, ice sculptures and valuable gift bags.

Term two hosts the return of the hugely successful WBSS Forum, a platform for students to listen and interact with today’s business leaders. This year’s theme ‘The Road to Success’ will continue the tradition of attracting charismatic and engaging captains of industry, including many members of the Warwick alumni network.

To register an interest in the activities of the Society or to find out about how you can contribute to any of our events, please do not hesitate to get in touch or visit our website

w www.wbss.co.uk

graduates become tutors

24

by Robert DownerPresident, Warwick Business School Society (WBSS)

undergrad update DLMBA

Kim White (left) with fellow tutors

The WBSS committee at The Business Ball

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Accounting and Financial System Reform in Eastern Europe and AsiaRobert W McGee and Galina G Preobragenskaya

Accounting Reform in Transition and Developing EconomiesRobert W McGee

Alumnus Robert McGee (PhD 1986), Professor at the Andreas School of Business, Barry University, Florida, USA, had two more books published recently by Springer.

W www.springer.com/west/home/business/accounting?SGWID=4-40518-22-93868010-0&detailsPage=common%7Ctell_a_friend&linktype=image

W www.springer.com/west/home/business/business+taxation?SGWID=4-40531-22-107946321-0

Principles of International Taxation by Dr Lynne Oats, Reader in Accounting at WBS and Angharad Miller, published by Tottel. Aimed at students and practitioners who need a broad understanding of the underlying

principles of international taxation, it provides insight into key issues, the legal framework, double taxation treaties, double tax relief and tax planning pitfalls.

w www.taxationweb.co.uk/tottel/?p=book&isbn=1845923278

Complexity, Learning and Organizations: A quantum interpretation of business is alumnus Walter Baets’ (PhD 89–94) latest publication. In this book Walter argues that we should let go of our drive to control, manage and organise,

in order to be able to create an ideal environment for continuous learning, both for ourselves and for our collaborators. W www.routledge.com

Although the Communications Office is never content with the volume of media coverage for WBS, we are pleased to report that this year our total number of hits increased by around 10 percent. We feel this is a good increase in one year and it is particularly good news that in terms of raising our international profile, we more than doubled our international coverage.

WBS appeared in the Financial Times almost once a week, on a variety of subjects including business school rankings, government policy for small business, and the nuclear power debate. Dean Howard Thomas appeared in or authored management education articles in Asia Inc, the AACSB’s e-magazine BizEd, the Financial Times, and Global Study magazine.

Other faculty contributing at a high level include Robin Wensley, currently Director of the Advanced Institute of Management (AIM) Research in London, Colin Carnall contributing to policy on management development and leadership training, and David Storey providing expert comment on entrepreneurship and small business needs across Europe. Sue Bridgewater, who leads the teaching on the Football Management Certificate, is another media star.

In terms of specialist business media, WBS faculty were cited in publications such as Public Finance, Computing Business, Computer Weekly, People Management, Personnel Today, Health Service Journal, Local Government Executive, Financial Adviser, Professional Broking, Pensions Week, and European CEO magazine.

As always, WBS alumni lent their support, and your willingness to speak with the media is a major contribution to the past year’s rise in coverage. We are grateful and would ask those who have expressed a willingness to help to be patient; we will call on you when we can. If you are interviewed by the press, please do mention your degree.

Monitoring the frequency with which WBS is mentioned on the radio or television is more challenging than with traditional media, so if any of you see or hear the WBS name being broadcast, please let us know the details.

E [email protected]

To keep up to date with what’s happening at WBS, check out the press centre W www.wbs.ac.uk/news/hot off the press

WBS in the media

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Habitual Entrepreneurs published by Elgar, Paul Westhead, WBS Professor of Enterprise, collaborates with colleagues Deniz Ucbasaran and Mike Wright from Nottingham University Business School, to provide

the first systematic study of habitual entrepreneurs in the UK.

The book reports on the differences his research revealed between ‘sequential’ and ‘portfolio’ entrepreneurs, their characteristics, and the impact of these characteristics on their careers. w www.e-elgar.co.uk/Bookentry_Main.lasso?id=3737

Howard Davis, Principal Research Fellow and Research Manager, LGC, and Katrina Ritters, Senior Research Associate, working with colleagues from PwC, have published three reports on the Freedoms and Flexibilities work they recently completed for the government’s Department for Communities and Local Government.

Don’t forget to send details of your latest and forthcoming publications to E [email protected]

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real worldAnil Sharma (MBA 02–3) was profiled in realworldmagazine.com in November. In the article he explains how he was spurred on to take the MBA having worked in New York and seen how postgraduate qualifications, particularly MBAs, were de rigueur. He borrowed and used savings to fund his studies, taking the long-term view it was worth the investment.

Anil found learning in the pre-allocated syndicate groups WBS uses an entirely new experience and one where he met people from very different backgrounds. ‘The network I formed was the biggest payback of the MBA,’ he confirms.w www.realworldmagazine.com/content_dynamic/display.asp?sector=587&id=159

buyoutFollowing a management buyout by Managing Director Nigel Shanahan (DLMBA 91–00), technology company Wire-e became Rapide Communication Ltd. Nigel set

up the firm, which provides electronic messaging to corporate customers, in 2000. Commenting on the buyout, Nigel says: ‘It’s an exciting time. The management buyout is a perfect opportunity to grow the business from a solid foundation. We have ambitious targets and I’m confident we’ll achieve them.’ w www.rapide.co.uk

feeling the brandiMedia connection recently featured a mini biography of Paul Olliver (MBA 04–5), SVP of Strategic Development at Klipmart, with headquarters in New York, USA. Paul was a founding member of Klipmart in 1999, the largest US provider of online video services to create, deliver, and manage online video advertising campaigns, and was instrumental in bringing the Company to market. Paul’s article Feeling the brand, exploring online’s migration from a physical response medium to an emotional one, completes the feature. w www.imediaconnection.com/bios/bio.aspx?id=3723

PS: Paul recently relocated back to London after his company was sold in June last year. According to Paul, ‘It’s a success that can in large part be attributed to my studies at Warwick.’

following a dreamIan Harwood (DLMBA 91–6): ‘Following several years as a volunteer AIDS buddy whilst working for the British Tourist Authority in Paris, I left my job as VP Global Communications at MasterCard’s New York HQ in 1997 and returned to the UK to re-train in healthcare.

‘After training as a mental health nurse, I was finally accepted into medical school in 2001 at the age of 46. I have been profiled in The Times and Hospital Doctor and featured in a short made by BBC North East on mature medical students in 2004. I also won the Royal College of Psychiatrist’s UK & Ireland Student Prize in 2005.

‘I graduated from Barts and the London School of Medicine in July with a Distinction in Clinical Science, at the age of 51. I managed to get a scarce place on a 2-year academic development programme and intend to train as a psychiatrist. My Warwick MBA was the spark that ignited my desire to follow my schoolboy goal of becoming a doctor. It taught me that it is never too late to dream, to face new challenges and break down barriers of age, social class and rigid tradition.’

alumni news

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new roleIn 2006, Giulio Cerroni (EXMBA 98–00), Managing Director of ABgene, also became Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Life Science Research in Europe. In his new role, Giulio coordinates commercial activities across the multiple LSR

businesses in Europe, providing sales leadership for ABgene as well as Pierce, Endogen, Dharmacon and HyClone.

Giulio has more than 22 years of business development experience within the biosciences field. He joined ABgene in August 2005, and as MD he has worked to guide the business into the large, high-growth biostorage and QPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction) markets. Before joining ABgene, he served as Managing Director for the Biosciences division of Anachem Ltd.

a long walkJohn Wilson (DLMBA 88–91), Senior Regional International Trade Adviser for Derbyshire Chamber and Business Link, put his best foot forward in July. He completed an amazing 40 mile walk in a single day to raise funds for the Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Bigfoot Challenge. No stranger to distance

walking for charity, John practised hard and completed the Limey Way walk in just 16 hours. He says: ‘This was absolutely the toughest challenge yet. 26 miles was the most I had done in a single day prior to this and I was quite apprehensive.’ The MS Society is a cause very close to John’s heart, as his wife was diagnosed with the disease in 1987. w www.justgiving.com/JohnbigfootWilson

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John Wilson (right)

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alumni news

AppointmentsIlias Basioudis (PhD 96–9) has been appointed Chairman of the Auditing Special Interest Group of The British Accounting Association.

David Brooks (DLMBA 98–02) becomes new Business Development Director of Focus Solutions, the provider of adaptive software solutions.

Vishal Jhunjhunwala (MBA 01–2) has joined Tata Consultancy Services in their Global Corporate Marketing team. TCS is Asia’s largest software and IT consulting services provider.

Roger Lovering (BSc AccFin 78–81) has moved to Abbey National plc to take up the position of Managing Director – Cards. Formerly Head of Card Services at HSBC, Roger is a member of the WBS Advisory Board.

Issa Nakhleh (MBA 94–5) has been appointed Chief Financial Officer at Ultrasonix Medical Corporation based in Burnaby, British Columbia.

Geoff Percy (EMBA 85–9) CEO of Accantia and Chair of WBS Founders’ Association has been appointed Vice-Chairman CBI West Midlands.

Graeme Yorston (EXMBA 98–02) joined Principality, Wales’ largest building society as Chief Operating Officer.

Henri Winand (EXMBA 99–03) has joined Intelligent Energy as Chief Executive. Previously Vice President, Corporate Venturing at Rolls-Royce plc, Henri is a former Chairman of the WBS Alumni Board.w www.intelligent-energy.com

David Wreathall (BSc Man Sci 83–6) has set up Direct Hit Marketing Ltd, to work as a freelance marketing consultant. w www.directhitmarketing.co.uk

strong advocateAn article in the Local Government Chronicle features an interview with Jane Scullion (MPA 99–03) Assistant Chief Executive, Strategy, Performance and Governance, at Stockport MBC. One of the first cohort of graduates from the Warwick MPA, she subsequently secured her job with Stockport.

Jane firmly believes doing the course helped raise her game, ‘I was looking for a combination of intellectual stimulation and a cross-fertilisation of ideas with others and not just people in local government and there were a wide variety of people on the course.’ She also welcomed the chance to see local government management from an international perspective. ‘I studied in Brussels and the USA; it was very horizon-widening.’

facing the dragonsRichard Chadwick (EXMBA 00–5) appeared on BBC TV Dragons’ Den in September, seeking a £160,000 investment in his SKYROTA micro wind turbine and patent protected Tricom gearbox.

Reliving his experience, Richard explains, ‘The programme is designed to put the entrepreneur ‘on the spot’. One ascends the stairs and at the top it is sink or swim from the first second. The Dragons’ strands of questioning intertwine and come out at each person’s speed and independent of each other, so you are inundated with questions all the time and on all subjects. It was quite difficult but I hope my business experience and management skills helped to steer a course that was ultimately useful.’

Although not prepared to invest at that stage, the Dragons agreed the renewable energy market is a prime growth area. ‘Since the show, we have had a lot of interest and I still hope to make the project a winner,’ concludes Richard. w www.skyrota.com

the key to successAndrew Dodds (BSc ManSci 01–4) was recently profiled in an article entitled Age no Barrier to Success in the News & Star. The Young Enterprise scheme which turns teenagers into budding business entrepreneurs has been the secret of success for the 22 year old. He attributes the skills learned from Young Enterprise to helping him gain his place at WBS.

In 2006 Andrew became sales support manager at Cumberland House in Carlisle, the head office for the Cumberland Building Society. He is also now chairman of the Carlisle Area Young Enterprise board.w www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/viewarticle.aspx?id=365295

surprise reunion When Jun Ho Park (MBA 02–3) visited Australia in September, the last person he expected to encounter on a street in Melbourne was Grant Atchison (MBA 02–3), a former WBS classmate.

Jun Ho tells us: ‘It was a huge surprise to meet Grant again completely by chance three years after we left campus. I didn’t even know he was back in Australia and he wasn’t aware that I was on holiday there. An amazing coincidence – it’s still hard to believe but we were obviously destined to meet again.’ The pair were able to catch up on old times over drinks before Jun Ho returned home to Seoul, South Korea.

The summer 2007 issue of nexus will celebrate the School’s 40th anniversary and is due out in July 2007.

If you would like to share your memories, photos, anecdotes, and experiences since leaving WBS, then do please email meE [email protected]

Expect your next issue of our sister publication Warwick – the magazine in March.

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nexus spring 2007

Education

business schools

rae wbs

graduates of wbs

years of success

strength of wbs

wbs story

new research

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