Business school performance culture. Are we targeting the right things?

Those of us working in higher education at the moment must recognise that some of the targets to which are business schools work are leading to dysfunctional outcomes, for example staff being taken away from front line teaching and student support duties so that they can write articles for obscure academic journals.

AACSB Annual ICAM Conference 2013: Emerging Markets and Business School Strategies

One of the last sessions at the AACSB ICAM 2013 was a panel discussion moderated by David A. Wilson, President of GMAC on the role of emerging markets and their strategic impact on business schools. The panelists were Edward A. Snyder, Dean and William S. Beinecke Professor, Economics and Management, School of Management, Yale University, Richard K. Lyons, Dean, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley and Kathleen A. Getz, Dean, School of Business, Loyola University Chicago.

AACSB Annual Meeting (ICAM 2013): The European Affinity Group and the challenges of accreditation for European schools

At the AACSB Annual ICAM Conference 2013, the European Affinity Group organized a session on the special challenges for European business schools in obtaining accreditation. This began with Rachael Weiss, Head of Student Experience and Accreditation at the University of Sheffield, entitled “QAA and UK challenges with Assurance of Learning” This was then followed by a discussion between different regions of Europe with some proposals on how continue with the work that has already been done.

AACSB Annual Meeting (ICAM 2013): Building Your School’s Brand Through Executive Education (Elaine Eisenman, Kai Peters)

At the AACSB ICAM 2013 Conference, Elaine Eisenman, Dean of Babson College, and Kai Peters, Chief Executive of Ashridge Business School, set out some of the main issues in executive education today. Peters described the period as being one of the “most Schumpeterian times for executive education” and business schools in general. The presentation entitled “The Ideal, the Real, and the Deal” first dealt with some of the key misconceptions concerning education. 

 

AACSB Annual Meeting (ICAM 2013): Learning, Leading, and Teaching in the 21st Century (Tony Wagner, Technology & Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard)

At the AACSB ICAM 2013 Conference, Tony Wagner, Innovation Education Fellow at Technology & Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard, talked about the learning gaps that are affecting students across the world, and gave some strategies for how to prepare them for the new global knowledge society. 

AACSB Annual Meeting (ICAM 2013): Lead by Choice: Lessons for the B-School (Sheena Iyengar, Columbia Business School)

“I am always looking for cool pictures.” said Sheena Iyengar at the end of her excellent presentation on how to “Lead by Choice”. The quote was all the more remarkable in that the director of the Global Leadership Matrix (GLeaM) at Columbia Business School is totally blind. The objective of the talk was to highlight “what effective leaders need to know about choice” and how you can choose your way to success. Indeed, there is so much information available that it has become imperative today to know how to choose.

AACSB Annual Meeting (ICAM 2013): 5 Essential Social Media Practices for Academic Leaders (Dr. Michael Williams, Pepperdine University)

At the AACSB Annual Conference in Chicago, Dr. Michael Williams from Pepperdine University gave an excellent, practical talk on some of the strategies we can adopt for using different social media efficiently in our jobs. Dr. Williams recognizes that “we are all trapped in a high flow information world” and struggling to cope with all the different media forms that exist. The meeting was organized by the Associate Deans Affinity Group and was attended by 70 delegates. 

Global Power Struggles

Two news stories grabbed my attention over the last few days.  In my opinion both are indicative of a where we are with globalisation and the shifting powerbases of the global economy.  First, Apple apologised for the perception that they showed arrogance to their Chinese customers.  Secondly, The Indian Government refused to extend the patent of a cancer drug made by Swiss Pharmaceutical giant, Novartis.

From Grenoble to “Skyscrapers and Bricks”: A Bentley University Experience

Two students from GEM, Dyveke and Andrea, are currently studying business at Bentley University for a semester, an experience they both describe as “American, but with European aspects.”  They are really enjoying their exchange in the United States, especially living on campus in Waltham, just a half an hour shuttle ride away from Boston.

Study Abroad : Justine Lhoste talks about her double degree programme at the Laval University, Canada

Laval University, situated in Quebec City, was quite a change for Justine Lhoste. As a GEM student, Justine is pursuing the double degree opportunity and wanted to experience a new culture, as she has already studied abroad in Ireland and Australia. From the start, she knew that she needed to be prepared to work a lot in her competitive Marketing MBA pursuit, and when she arrived in Canada, her expectations became reality.