MBA Update Recap
Fall 2007
The Innovative Organization
Professor John Graham
On September 27, 2007 Professor John Graham presented an informative session
on The Innovative Organization. Participants learned about
the origins and processes of creativity, tools and techniques to enhance creativity,
and how to apply those tools to solve business problems. Professor Graham also
explained how creativity helps companies sustain an advantage in the competitive
business world.
The session explored keys to creativity: freedom, individualism, egalitarianism,
and diversity. Additionally, several innovative concepts were presented, including:
The Ten Faces of Innovation, The Revised Technology Adoption Life Cycle, and
Keys to Creative Negotiations.
One other key concept presented by Professor Graham in this session was ‘Open
Innovation’. ‘Open Innovation’ is the practice of leveraging
internal and external sources of ideas and being open to using other avenues
for launching and commercializing new offerings, such as licensing or through
partnerships. Professor Graham explained how this approach not only allows companies
to generate ideas and products more quickly; it allows them to bring those products
to the market faster and more efficiently.
Managing Employee Performance
Professor Jone Pearce
On October 11, 2007, Professor Jone Pearce presented a session on Managing
Employee Performance.
Performance management is one of the most important tasks a manager performs.
In this session, Professor Jone Pearce discussed how managers can motivate employees,
establish accountability, measure performance, and create formal and effective
performance appraisal systems.
Participants learned proven applications to understand motivational problems,
set clear expectations and give effective performance feedback by: basing feedback
on objective information, describing actions, not personalities, and describing
the effects of the actions. Participants also learned how to make any performance
appraisal system work by making sure that: the system is motivating the actions
wanted, internal inequities are managed, and that attention is directed to organizational
performance.
In this highly interactive session, Professor Jone Pearce explained how effective
performance management requires information and accountability (through feedback
and performance appraisals), an understanding of organizational incentives,
and knowledge of what motivates employees.
Coaching for Excellence
Dr. Angela Tripoli
On October 25, 2007, Dr. Angela Tripoli presented an exciting session on
Coaching For Excellence. Participants learned about Executive Coaching
and why coaching is important in the competitive and dynamic environment.
There are various reasons an individual might want to hire a coach; some include:
- To become a strong leader that adds value
- To help navigate new challenges with a new promotion or job
- To be the best at what they do
- Frustration from difficult relationships, politics, or conflict
- Being at a crossroads and contemplating a career or life direction change
- Wanting a better quality of life
Effective leaders need three sets of coaching skills:
- Being a partner
- Figuring out the real issue
- Supporting action and alignment.
Dr. Tripoli discussed how coaching is a professional partnership that supports
the achievement of results. Coaches can help individuals clarify and align their
visions and goals and establish strategies. Because coaching is a partnership,
coaches also are responsible for holding individuals accountable for their actions
and for providing honest and confidential feedback and guidance.
Dr. Tripoli explained that effective coaching results in higher performance
in employees, less guidance over time, better relationships, and greater satisfaction
and retention, but careful consideration needs to be made when selecting a coach
to ensure a good fit.
Business Process Improvement
Professor Reynold Byers
On November 1, 2007, Professor Reynold Byers presented an exciting and informative
session on Business Process Improvement.
Professor Reynold Byers demonstrated the Process and Enterprise Maturity Model
(PEMM), which is a tool to evaluate a company’s “readiness”
to engage in deep process change. He emphasized that a firm’s success
is dependent on the firm’s “readiness” for change. Real-life
company examples were used to demonstrate the importance of process audit and
management.
Participants then engaged in self-evaluation exercises to help determine their
own company’s capacity for process improvement, and then discussions took
place to help individuals better understand the implications of their findings.
In this session Professor Byers also discussed how a firm’s success is
affected by the inherent link between a firm’s operational structure and
organizational structure and how it is important for them to be matched and
managed carefully.
Spring 2007
Building Strong Brands
Professor Imran Currim
On March 29, 2007, Professor Imran Currim presented a session on Building
Strong Brands.
A brand is intangible but it may be the most important asset to your company.
Participants learned theories, models and tools for branding decisions. Professor
Currim showed participants how to use valuable tools, such as Factor Analysis,
a Brand Value Calculator, and Product Life Cycle Analysis, to enhance the sustainable
competitive advantage of their companies.
Leading in 21st Century
Professor David Blake
On April 12, 2007, Professor David Blake presented a session on Leading
in the 21st Century.
Leadership is never something that one has. It is always earned and given.
Having a position may help with the exercise of leadership, but many people
have the title as a leader but do not have leadership skills.
Leadership is developed through behavior and performance, and the reactions
of others to that behavior and its implementation. It is neither personality
nor a collection of traits. Instead, leadership is doing--- doing a lot of very
different things all of which contribute to effective leadership. Leadership
behavior and leadership strategies do and should vary depending upon the situation;
therefore, it requires an arsenal of thinking patterns and actions.
At the “Leading in 21 Century” seminar, participants learned various
effective leadership skills, such as shaping organizational culture, and managing
leadership and fellowship. They also examined reasons why and how leaders fail
in leadership.
Competitive Intelligence
Professor Leonard Lane
On April 26, 2007, Professor Leonard Lane presented a session on Competitive
Intelligence.
You want to improve your business but so do your competitors. You have their
business information but they also have yours. How can you gain a competitive
advantage in your industry that is cluttered with too much information?
In the Competitive Intelligence session, participants learned to ask the right
questions and implement the right research methods for their competitors and
industry. By learning Key Intelligence, they improved their skills in analyzing
competitors’ behaviors and strategies. Some of the tools that Professor
Lane reviewed were Porter’s five forces model, benchmarking, SWOT analysis,
and scenario analysis.
Sharpening Your Negotiating Skills
Professor Lisa Barron
On May 12, 2007, Professor Lisa Barron presented a session on Sharpening
Your Negotiation Skills.
Are you tired of negotiating at work and in your personal life? Negotiation
is a skill that most people have to learn and practice. At this seminar, Professor
Barron assisted participants in developing the ability to use effective techniques
to generate agreements. They gained insights into their own feelings and beliefs
about negotiation, and developed a repertoire of negotiation skills. As a result,
participants learned to maximize the value obtained in making deals while minimizing
conflict.
Fall 2006
Mergers and Acquisitions
Professor Philip Bromiley
On October 6th, Professor Philip Bromiley presented a session on Mergers
and Acquisitions. The session explored the rationale for Mergers and
Acquisitions by identifying both financial and strategic reasons a company would
want to acquire or merge with another.
The session focused on the fundamental issues underlying most decisions of
mergers and acquisitions:
1. Does the acquisition improve the company?
2. Can the company improve the acquisition?
Improvements can come in various forms which lead to consideration of economies
of scale, economies of scope, improving operations excellence, acquiring new
or improved technologies, acquiring new and necessary products, acquiring new
capabilities and the corporate restructuring. Throughout the session, Professor
Bromiley and the participants discussed these issues in the context of real
mergers.
The session was characterized by a highly interactive format which was encouraged
by Professor Bromiley. Thus participants took advantage of the vast experience
and insights that Professor Bromiley brought to this important and timely topic
that has become a significant approach in many strategic decisions.
Corporate Social Responsibility and the Bottom Line
Professor Dennis Aigner
On November 3, Professor Dennis Aigner presented a session on Corporate Social
Responsibility. The session explored what the role of American business is in
society and examined ways to go above and beyond the three key areas of compliance:
- Environment
- Worker health & safety
- Community investment
Participants learned that there is a correlation between financial success
and socially responsible action. Corporations are impacted by policy, economic
drivers, values/ethics and media filters when determining how to balance these
two areas. There are different theories about corporate responsibility and the
role of management to improve profits and social welfare. Companies now are
under more pressure to be socially minded and environmentally conscious. Socially
responsible investing is the fastest growing part of the US mutual fund economy.
Professor Aigner provided many real and current examples of the growing awareness
and increased actions on the part of corporations to attend to the issues surrounding
the protection of the environment.
This session was characterized by a highly interactive format which was encouraged
by Professor Aigner. Thus participants took advantage of the vast experiences
and insights that Professor Aigner brought to this important timely topic that
has become a significant approach in many corporate decisions.
Spring 2006
Building and Sustaining Growth Strategies
Professor Brad Killaly
Professor Brad Killaly addressed the critical issue of how organizations build
and sustain a growth strategy. To crystallize this discussion, professor Killaly
began with a detailed presentation of the sources of competitive advantage.
His premise is that only when the source or sources are understood, can organizations
then decide on appropriate and effective growth strategies. The discussion also
included rich examples and implications for how competition is conducted in
various industries.
Most importantly, analysis of where and how organizations grow is essential
to developing a viable strategy. Professor Killaly discussed aspects and implications
of vertical and horizontal growth, including the analytical perspective on “make
or buy” decisions, outsourcing, and growth through mergers.
Overall, highlighting what growth means for a particular organization, considerations
on alternatives in developing growth strategies, and clearly focusing on competitive
advantage, resources, and capabilities, as essential to sustaining growth were
major factors in the model and discussion of this important subject.
The Innovative Organization
Professor John Graham
On April 7th Professor John Graham presented an interesting and informative
session on “The Innovative Organization.” The session was one
of a series of presentations on current thinking in management as part of our
MBA Update program.
Professor Graham began by exploring the approaches to stimulating creativity
in organizations and identified ten “mental” blocks that keep individuals and
organizations from unleashing creativity and innovative thinking. An interesting
facet of the discussion was the personal perspective on the particular roles
individuals are likely to play in the exploration of innovative ideas. Clearly,
the valuing and management of diversity may be an important key to creative
ideas in organizations and teams.
Discussion of the adoption of innovative products was based on the Geoffrey
Moore book, Crossing the Chasm, which is the latest perspective on how segments
of the population respond to new production and the implications for marketing
strategies. Professor Graham made specific suggestions regarding available techniques
which can help to develop an innovative organizational culture. Overall, the
session was unique, informative, and relevant in today’s pressure filled marketplace
where innovation may in fact be a matter of survival.
Executive Leadership
Professor Lisa Barron
On April 28th Professor Lisa Barron explored the interesting and important
nuances of Executive Leadership. The session was highly interactive
and included exercises that elicited perceptions of effective leadership practices
from the participants. Critical questions like “what makes an effective leader?”,
“what specifically are the characteristics of effective leaders?”, and what
really is the difference between leading and managing were dissected and debated.
Professor Barron was able to relate the conclusions reached from discussion
to one of the current leadership models receiving much attention. The perspectives
provided from participants seemed to match closely the model presented by Posner
and Kouzes in “The Leadership Challenge.” This did provide some credence to
the notion that this particular model is in fact derived, for the most part,
from the experience of those observing leadership practices.
Overall, the spirited discussion could well characterize the session. Professor
Barron’s skill in facilitating and summarizing the debates was extremely productive
and useful in providing ideas and suggestions for leadership development.