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NO TA B E N E 2 01 0The School of Business & Technology
SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE
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BOOK REVIEWS GLOBAL MBAPROGRAM
SBT ALUMNI
FEATURE STORY BY TWITTER’S @JACK DORSEY
DEAN AKANDE
From the Dean: Benjamin Ola. Akande is the dean of Webster University’s School of Business and Technology, and professor of Economics. As the chief academic officer of the 13,000-student business school, Dean Akande leads a faculty of 1,500 spanning multiple campuses in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Since joining Webster as dean in 2000, Akande has provided leadership that has elevated the business school to new heights.
Table of Contents: From Dean Akande page 1
Twitterview page 2
Making the World Immediate page 4
SBT Alumni page 6
Book Reviews page 8
SBT Faculty page 10
Becoming Best for the World page 12
SBT by the Numbers page 14
SBT Mission and Student’s Bill of Rights page 16
Twitter: The New MathematicsMy favorite equation in mathematics is the original equation, one from which all other equations evolve. In my opinion, it is the Holy Grail, the irrefutable law of mathematics. It is the convention in conventional wisdom. 1+1 equals 2. And so may I dare suggest to you that this universal truth may become something of our recent past? The reason: Twitter.Twitter has successfully created a new equation that states that, 1+1 equals countless possibilities.
1+1 is equal to 3, to 300, to 3 million. It is equal to the power of the written word—140 characters, succinct and precise. Twitter is equal to the possibility to make a difference and to be a contributor to society for the greater good of mankind. Twitter is becoming the definitive equation of our time not just for its simplicity but also for its exponential potential of increase.
Jack Dorsey, the man who created Twitter and Webster University’s Person of the Year 2009, came to campus recently to share his story with us. It was a narrative of dismantling the constraint of time and space then em-powering the young and the young at heart to share and stay connected the world over. It was a story of bringing immediacy, transparency and approachability to everyone.
@Jack’s story got us thinking: What can higher education learn from this modern day phenomenon? How do we better fulfill our mission and engage our students, alumni, faculty and staff in a continuous and even more meaningful way?
So you will find Notabene 2010 dedicated to social media, which melds humanity with technology to bring our world closer every minute of every day. Facebook alone, which celebrates its 6th anniversary this spring, boasts more than 350 million users around the world who post 55 million updates daily and share more than 3.5 billion pieces of content with each other every week. A relative newcomer in comparison, Twitter launched in 2006, attracted 58 million visitors in one month last year and continues to expand in countries such as Japan and Germany. Inside you’ll read its creator’s story as @Jack Dorsey shares his vision in creating a communications utility designed to allow users a window seat to what is happening in the world.
Notabene 2010 also highlights the international experience of our Global MBA graduates through their blog entries, our outstanding alumni through Facebook postings, and our international faculty and their research via Wiki. After reading Notabene 2010, visit our magazine online at www.webster.edu/nota-bene2010 for more stories, additional pictures and special videos. All are designed to share the SBT with you and make it the most immediate, transparent and approachable business school in the world.
Benjamin Akande, @benjamin_akande on Twitter
Webster UniversityDr. Elizabeth (Beth) J. StroblePresidentDr. Neil J. GeorgeChancellor
The School of Business & TechnologyDr. Benjamin Ola. Akande Dean
Patricia Masidonski Associate Dean
Caprice Moore Director of Operations
Charla Lord Director of Communications
Ron Van Fleet Director of Alumni & Development
Anne Browning Director of Global MBA
Denise Harrell Associate Director, Global MBA Admissions
Lauren Kleve Coordinator, Institutional Planning and Research
Bradley Wolaver Coordinator, Faculty Development
Academic ProgramsDr. Debbie Psihountas Chair, Department of Business
Al Cawns Chair, Department of Math & Computer Science
Dr. Jim Brasfield Chair, Management Department
Notabene2010Editor Charla Lord
Designers Steve Hartman, Creativille, Inc.Donna Franquemont
Photographer Rebecca Barr, RBarr Photos
www.webster.edu/sbt
@WebsterU_Biz
SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE
SPEAKERS SERIES
FACULTY MISSION WEBSTER SBTBY THE
NUMBERS
STUDENTS
BOOK REVIEWS GLOBAL MBAPROGRAM
SBT ALUMNI
FEATURE STORY BY TWITTER’S @JACK DORSEY
SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE
SPEAKERS SERIES
FACULTY MISSION WEBSTER SBTBY THE
NUMBERS
STUDENTS
BOOK REVIEWS GLOBAL MBAPROGRAM
SBT ALUMNI
FEATURE STORY BY TWITTER’S @JACK DORSEY
SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE
SPEAKERS SERIES
FACULTY MISSION WEBSTER SBTBY THE
NUMBERS
STUDENTS
BOOK REVIEWS GLOBAL MBAPROGRAM
SBT ALUMNI
FEATURE STORY BY TWITTER’S @JACK DORSEY
SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE
SPEAKERS SERIES
FACULTY MISSION WEBSTER SBTBY THE
NUMBERS
STUDENTS
BOOK REVIEWS GLOBAL MBAPROGRAM
SBT ALUMNI
FEATURE STORY BY TWITTER’S @JACK DORSEY
SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE
SPEAKERS SERIES
FACULTY MISSION WEBSTER SBTBY THE
NUMBERS
STUDENTS
BOOK REVIEWS GLOBAL MBAPROGRAM
SBT ALUMNI
FEATURE STORY BY TWITTER’S @JACK DORSEY
SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE
SPEAKERS SERIES
FACULTY MISSION WEBSTER SBTBY THE
NUMBERS
STUDENTS
BOOK REVIEWS GLOBAL MBAPROGRAM
SBT ALUMNI
FEATURE STORY BY TWITTER’S @JACK DORSEY
SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE
SPEAKERS SERIES
FACULTY MISSION WEBSTER SBTBY THE
NUMBERS
STUDENTS
BOOK REVIEWS GLOBAL MBAPROGRAM
SBT ALUMNI
FEATURE STORY BY TWITTER’S @JACK DORSEY
SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE
SPEAKERS SERIES
FACULTY MISSION WEBSTER SBTBY THE
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FEATURE STORY BY TWITTER’S @JACK DORSEY
Windows Live
MySpace
Baidu
Orkut
Hi5
deviantART
Source: comScore
Who will be my friend?Social-networking sites, total unique visitorsOctober 2009, m
0 50 100 150 200
430.2
What’s happening? 140
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Benjamin_Akande #Twitter has successfully created a new equation that states 1+1 equals countless possibilities. 1+1 is equal to 3, to 300, to 3 million!
WebsterU_Biz It is equal to the power of the written word in 140 characters. Succinct and concise #Twitter has become universal in sharing ideas.
So on Sept. 18 @WebsterU_Biz honored @Jack Dorsey, creator of #Twitter, as @WebsterU ‘s 2009 Person of The Year at one-of-a-kind TweetUp.
Hundreds on @WebsterU ‘s #STL home campus, thousands online and millions via #Twitter took in @Jack’s story.
They learned how the #entrepreneur took his passion for innovation, and in 2006 built #Twitter in two weeks. Now users help rebuild it.
“We learned a lot from #Twitter. A lot of what you see today is from the users; the @, the word #tweet and #retweet came from our users
So we became really good listeners to how people were using this system and really good editors to reflect what they wanted,” @Jack said.
“This work has inspired and distilled three concepts that I have dedicated my life to: immediacy, transparency and approachability.
If you have immediacy you can inspire transparency because people become ‘of the moment’ and every word they write is valuable.”
Jack And what that inspires is approachability. It makes organizations, it makes systems, and it makes humans more human.
dbsaia “Immediacy + transparency + approachability = human connection.”
WebsterU_Biz The “Tweet Me in St. Louis” Tweetup included a giant screen where @Jack saw live #tweet comments and questions from all over the world.
Lorifeldman “They’re showing live #jackatwebster tweets up on the screen. A hush falls over the audience as thumbs get shy.”
WebsterU_Biz The result was more than 1400 tweets making the #jackatwebster discussion one of the top 10 trending topics on #Twitter.
cosmosgirl “Who ever said #STL wasn’t tech savvy was wrong! Awesome job @WebsterU #jackatwebster is now trending (via @scorchagency, via @sbolen)
Webster U_Biz @Jack himself tweeted about his day 37 times to his 1.3 million followers
WebsterU_Biz @Jack also broke the news that his hometown of #STL would play a part in his next company being announced soon.
True to his tease, the new mobile payment service #Square announced in December is now being used by businesses in #STL.
Following his address @WebsterU and a luncheon with @Websterpres Beth Stroble, @Jack received the Keys to The City of #STL.
MayorSlay Whereas @Jack founded @Twitter Whereas that’s a big deal Whereas Jack is ours Therefore I, @MayorSlay call 9/18/09 Jack Twitter Day in #STL.
WebsterU_Biz The #STLCards then honored this notable innovator by putting @Jack on the mound for the first pitch of the #CardsCubs baseball game.
The #STLCards ended up winning as did the world by getting a glimpse inside #Twitter through the man who made it happen
Jack Thanks you WEBSTER! You are AWESOME!
@WebsterU_Biz with @Jack: Twitter, the part-blog part e-mail social networking site, took off in 2009. Tweets bore witness to the swearing-in of Barack Obama as the first African-American U.S. president, they described outer space directly from astronauts in orbit and documented a revolution from the streets of Tehran. Twitter also made news at Webster University (@WebsterU) when creator and co-founder Jack Dorsey (@Jack) said “yes” to our tweet to speak on campus.
Twitter registered more than 1400 tweets about @Jack’s visit to Webster, making our special #JackatWebster hashtag about the event Twitter’s No. 6 trending topic for the day. To read all the tweets, including @Jack’s from that day, go to www.webster.edu/notabene2010.
On 9/18/09 @Jack was named our Person of the Year, received the Keys to The City of #STL & threw out the first pitch at the Cards/Cubs game
SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE
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FEATURE STORY BY TWITTER’S @JACK DORSEY
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In 2006 Jack Dorsey invented Twitter. The 33-year old entrepreneur now serves as CEO for the social media phenomenon that insiders project will have more than 26 million users by the end of 2010. Dorsey recently unveiled his latest creation, Square: a mobile device that allows credit card payments by cell phone.In 2008 Bart Decrem founded the American software and video game developer Tapulous. Within a year, the entrepreneur watched as his company rocketed to the top of its industry with the most popular download for the iPhone, Tap Tap Revenge. Crowned as one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business, Decrem’s mark on the industry can be found at the fingertips of millions of consumers around the world.
Making the World Immediateby Jack Dorsey @WebsterU September 18, 2009
I am absolutely honored to be with you today, this morning. This is a fantastic program, and a fantastic university. You have an amazing staff and you have an amazing student body. I’m humbled to be here. Thank you very much.
So what I really liked about this meeting was it was framed as a Tweet Up. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, this is something that came from our user base. A TweetUp is a meet up of Twitter users. They spend about 5 minutes talking about Twitter, then get into beer, cocktails, whatnot. Then a conversation divulges. The point
is to bring people together and to share what is going on with the technology and more importantly to share what is going on in the world around them. And that was the big inspiration and the big philosophy behind the technology itself.
At Twitter, we had a lot of ideas on where the technology was going. When the company started we thought is was going to be the best thing ever for junior high and high school students. It turned out it was the best thing ever for old UNIX hackers with beards. That was surprising. It was a very long road to get where we are today in terms to user base.
We learned along the way was that we were very bad initially at communicating to the public about what we were doing. We had some very public and infamous failures and down time. We weren’t telling anyone why it was happening or what was going on. Here we were building a communications technology that’s focused on transparency and we were being closed off. Not only did that realization help our approach to the company, it helped our approach internally as well. One of the biggest problems with any start up or any company in general is internal communication and working together. What kept me up at night was not that the servers were going down. It was that this programmer was not agreeing with this programmer. They were at a stalemate and we could not step together as a cohesive unit. That kills us and that was our greatest competition and still is to this day.
We also learned from Twitter that we can learn from Twitter. We didn’t have all the ideas. We didn’t have the direction. A lot of what you see on Twitter today is from the users. The @ reply, the @ symbol itself, did not come from the company or anyone at the company. It came from our users. The word “tweet”, we didn’t come up with (laughs). That was all our users and again it was something we resisted for a long time. So this is a very important lesson for us as well. We became very good listeners to how people were using the system and more importantly, we became good editors of that listening.
This work has inspired and distilled three concepts I have dedicated my life to and that I love. The first is immediacy, allowing people to immediately create and consume and participate in these services with no barriers and no walls. People get in, they use it and they make their own value on top of it. If you have immediacy you can inspire transparency because it is easier to talk about what you want to say. Text is a very freeing abstract notion and we learned a lot about people through text where we wouldn’t through speech. This is where the constraint comes in of the 140 characters and so instead of asking someone to write a big thesis on the wall or on a blank page you ask them to write it on the size of the paper in a fortune cookie. Any mark on that paper is valuable and that is really important. We have more transparency because people are updating more, they are communicating more, and they are reacting more . And then what that inspires is approachability. It makes organizations, it makes systems and it makes humans more human.
Go to www.webster.edu/notabene2010 to watch @Jack’s entire address, including his first public mention of his new business Square.
At the Intersection of Mobile and Social5 minutes with Bart Decrem, CEO of Tapulous
What’s your Webster story?The funny thing is in a way our company Tapulous was born here. I started the company in January 2008 with only me and a cofounder in California. But we had two developers in Iowa and this really talented young designer named Louie Mantia who was a student at Webster University here in St. Louis. When we were getting everybody together we decided to meet in St. Louis. Louie hosted us and we spent three days here on campus at Emerson Library. It was here we mapped out our plan and out of that came Tap Tap Revenge.
Where do you see social media going?There are a couple of big waves that are all coming together. The phone is becoming our main computer and it is inherently social. So the social wave has become the center of computing and the center of what we have been doing on the web over the last couple of years. Social connections are the main filters in which we experience the web. Another part of it is the ebb and flow between the forces of centralization on the internet and the forces of decentral-ization. We are now in a phase where the power is on the periphery and the most influential people are the ones that I know who recommend things and who talk to me. The conversion of social and mobile computing is really exciting and is going to be a dominant force in the next 10 years. So my sense is that for the next decade I’m going to be at the intersection of mobile and social.
Go to www.webster.edu/notabene2010 to watch all of Bart’s video interview,
his address at Webster as well as presentation from all our speakers.
Twitter's @Jack meets Webster University president Dr. Beth Stroble, @Websterpres
Twitter creator and co-founder Jack Dorsey speaks at Webster University
Dean Benjamin Akande presents @Jack with personalized baseball bat and glove
@Jack receives the Key to St. Louis City from Mayor Francis Slay
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Home Profile Friends Inbox
Home Profile Friends Inbox
What’s on SBT Webster Alumni Minds?
Elizabeth Ventura (MA ‘90/MBA ‘92), Senior Vice President of Communications, NBA: I found myself in an odd and exciting situation: moving to Bermuda to start a new life and at the same time, bumping into immigration laws that prevented me from practicing the career I’d gone to college to pursue. The solution was Webster University’s international campus on the U.S. Navy base in St. David’s, Bermuda. Through Webster’s innovative international network of campuses, I was able to achieve the goal of getting an M.B.A. and another Master’s degree in Management, and retrain for a new profession in business. A quality education facilitated by top-notch professionals, many of whom were working in the fields in which they taught, without having to travel to another country, was invaluable. Equally impressive were the quality of the students – professionals from all walks of life whom I had the privilege to both study with and learn from. In fact, I still keep in touch with some of the faculty and student-professionals from my “Webster Days” in Bermuda. My education from Webster has served me well, having helped me to broaden and combine my undergraduate study in communications with a solid foundation in business and management. Because of my Webster education, I am a much more versatile professional and have found employers even in these difficult times interested in my background and what I might bring to the table. My education has definitely opened doors to new opportunities for me.
Webster SBT: The NBA drafted a top player in naming Elizabeth Ventura (MA ‘90/MBA ’92) its Senior Vice President of Communications. With more than 20 years experience, Ms. Ventura has long been recognized as an industry
leader in strategic global communications. Before suiting-up for the NBA, Ms. Ventura served as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Standard & Poor’s, Senior Managing director of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications at The Bear Stearns Companies and Head of investor Relations for the Zurich Financial Services Group.
Susilo Bang-Bang Yudhoyono (MA-Management ‘91), President of Indonesia: Webster graduates do get jobs. I’m grateful to Webster University for the invaluable academic training they gave me.
Webster SBT: President Sulilo Bang-Bang Yudhoyono of Indonesia received his MA in Management from The School of Business & Technology in 1991. In 2004, he was elected President of the Republic of Indonesia. His landslide win in July
of last year makes him the most potent politician of the post-Suharto era and the first Indonesian leader to be elected and re-elected as president by direct vote.
Colleen Cashill, (MA-Human Resources Management ‘96), Vice President, Global Human Resources, T. Rowe Price: Not only am I a former student, I’m faculty now and thankful for the incredible impact Webster’s Lee Trovas has had on me professionally and personally. I finished the HRD program with Lee as my capstone instructor, and he now supports me in the faculty role. Within 10 months of finishing the Webster program, I was hired as an HR manager, and in the 13 years since I completed the program, I have risen to HR Assistant VP and now serve as VP of HR at T. Rowe Price.
Webster SBT: As Vice President of Global Human Resources at the global investment management firm of T. Rowe Price, Ms. Cashill is continually called on to use her areas of expertise in organizational development, leadership development and
employment law. Ms. Cashill was recently honored with an ASTD (American Society for Training & Development) Best Award for the creation of EDGE, a leadership development program for T. Rowe Price.
Become a Fan of The School of Business & Technology at Webster University Facebook page www.Facebook.com/SBT.Webster.
Webster SBT Alumni
Alumni: If Facebook were a country it would be the third most populous nation after China and India. That’s why we use it to share stories of and about our SBT 110,000 graduates all over the world. They are presidents ofcorporations, leading CEOs of companies and even heads of state. Each has insight and expertise recognized around the world. You call them leaders. We simply call them our alumni.SUCCESS TO
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Brian AshworthRita Pollozhani
Tony Thompson
Go to www.webster.edu/NotaBene2010 to read about and see more pictures of our outstanding alumni
The Best of 2009 Book Reviews: Business books pack store shelves with promises to improve leadership skills or help manage in the midst of a recession with just one read. At the SBT we are always researching and absorbing the latest publications for their merit because we know that keeping up-to-date with what is going on in the world of business is essential to educating the next generation of global leaders. Here we’ve highlighted just a few of Dean Akande’s book reviews and interviews with the business world’s best-selling authors.
The Best of 2009 Book Reviews
The Best of 2009 Book Reviews
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Billion Dollar Mistakes
Fresh off their corporate jets to ask Congress
for help with a financial bailout, the CEOs of the
top three U.S. automakers exhibited the kind of
corporate hubris that Paul B. Carroll and Chunka
Mui describe in their book, Billion Dollar Lessons.
It’s this same attitude, the authors contend, that
was at the root of such monumental failures as
Kodak completely missing the digital camera trend and the failed
acquisition strategy of U.S. Airways. Can we all learn from our
failures? Yes, but this book’s in-depth study of 250 of the most
spectacular boardroom blunders finds most can’t be blamed on
dismal economic climate, poor timing or bad luck. The fault goes
to flawed strategy.
Corporate CEOs work in an environment where taking a
do-nothing approach is just as dangerous as following unsound
policy. What is unforgivable, the authors contend, is for a corpora-
tion to make the same mistakes - theirs or others - over and over
again. As my dad told me years ago, learn from other people’s
mistakes, because you can’t live long enough to make them all
yourself.
You Are the Games You Play
As a child growing up in Nigeria, I enjoyed play-
ing ping-pong, but there was one problem: I lost
consistently. But from those losses, I gained much.
My repeated defeats taught me about resiliency and
the willpower to rise above failure. The idea that
play is not just the stuff of childhood, that it holds
the secrets to adult success at work, is gaining
popularity in the business world. And in The Red Rubber Ball at
Work, author Kevin Carroll adds his voice to those who believe
that play is more than it appears. Carroll contends that childhood
play translates to specific proficiencies in adults that enable them
to succeed professionally. He suggests that introducing play into
work not only enhances production output and improves employee
loyalty: “I envision a future where an acceptable job interview
question will be: What games do you play? As we face the uncer-
tainty and overwhelming challenges of the global economic crisis,
perhaps it’s time to recall the attributes that we learned from our
youth. In these memories we may rediscover ideas and insights
that will help overcome the obstacles we face today.”
Great Business Success is Not a Fluke
Leaders don’t say “if” or “when.” These conjunc-
tions can kill a business’ acceleration before it even
leaves the gate. “When we get the next hot item to
sell” or “If we have a strong quarter” puts the power
to succeed in the hands of fate. And as authors
Chuck Feltz (SBT alumnus), Joe Calloway and
Kris Young contend in their best-seller, Never By
Chance, that great business performance isn’t a fluke. To succeed,
everything from upgrades to employees must be deliberately
aligned with a vision and never left to chance.
Never By Chance succeeds by outlining why deliberate guid-
ance matters and how business strategy can be accelerated
through it. By making your moves intentional and adopting
the mindset that “every resource that can be valuable, will be
valuable,” leaders can get the results they need in a time when
everyone is doing more with less.
To read all our 2009 reviews and listen to our author interviews go to www.webster.edu/notabene2010
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Faculty: Research spotlights the good and opens doors of discovery to improve the bad. By unearthing the unknown, educators go beyond their computer, their classroom and their campus to give their knowledge to the world. Both physically and influentially, Webster’s 1,300-plus SBT faculty encircle the globe. They use their expertise and research to open doors from St. Louis to Shanghai and from the Great Lakes to Geneva. Why? Because “research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought,” and to use it to make a difference is what Webster’s School of Business & Technology does every day.
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That loyalty to their discipline can be seen in our
SBT faculty’s unprecedented three-year research
agenda. This program which underscores our edu-
cators’ unfaltering dedication to their area of exper-
tise is unique at Webster to the School of Business.
It gives our faculty the resources to make impactful
progress in their fields and allows our best, like Drs.
Niu and Maher, to become even better.
For a complete list of our full-time faculty research agenda, go to www.webster.edu/notabene2010.
Links
Links to Dr. Niu’s research, “Virtual Worlds–Past,
Present, and Future: New directions in social
computing” and “Business Models in Emerging
Online Services, can be found at www.webster.
edu/notabene2010.”
More on Dr. Maher’s research and the publi-
cation “Weaving Agile Software Development
Techniques into a Traditional Computer Science
Curriculum” can be found at www.webster.edu/
notabene2010
Finding the Fraud
Fraud and graft are the stuff prime time is made of.
But unlike a TV detective with an hour to solve a
crime, law enforcement around the world relies on
an accountant’s pen to be mightier than a sword.
Forensic accounting is just one of the many
forward-thinking specialty areas professors
at Webster University practice in business,
take into court for clients and then share with
their students on campus.
From accounting and corporate governance to IT
security and agile technology, professors at The
School of Business & Technology are among the
top in their field in dozens of areas. The SBT is an
ACBSP-accredited school which means we em-
brace teaching excellence. And since the only way
to ensure imparting true knowledge is to always re-
main a student themselves; our faculty also values
the importance of scholarly research. This balance
between the two, teaching and research, is what
makes the difference for our students in classes all
over the U.S., Europe and Asia. It also spotlights
a faculty which remains committed and continues
to quench their own thirst for knowledge so they
can pass on the benefit of that education to their
classes as well as the world.SBT’s New Faculty 2010 L-R Larry Granda (math & computer
science), Run Niu (business), Xiaoyuan (Sue) Suo (math &
computer science), Rich Dippel (business), Julie (J.P.) Palmer
(management) and Ece Tencel (management). Not pictured:
Arnoldo Rodriquez (business) and Eric Rhiney (management)
Dr. Run Niu, assistant professor, business
Research focus: business and education implications in virtual environments
Virtual environments, where thou-sands of people can interact simultaneously within the same three-dimensional environment, represent a new frontier in social computing with critical implications for business, education, social sciences and our society at large. One of Dr. Niu’s research areas is the applications of these environments in business and education.
Since virtual environments are places to do business and educa-tion efficiently in new ways, impor-tant research questions have arisen in the areas of business strategy, market research, advertising, general marketing, retailing and services, organizational management, man-agement information systems, and organizational collaboration. Dr. Niu is working on defining successful and sustainable emerging business models of virtual environments and a hierarchy of four types of educational engagement in which virtual envi-ronments can be used for distance education.
Dr. Pete Maher, assistant professor, math and computer science
Research focus: agile methodologies
Agile methodologies represent a successful, modern method by which software can be developed. They emphasize high quality and speed of development in the con-text of rapidly changing require-ments and are becoming more prominent in the global software industry as a major transition in the evolution of software development techniques. Their flexibility pro-vides the means to address many common problems faced in the development of modern software systems such as changing busi-ness requirements, staff turnover, delayed deadlines, cancellations and applications failing to match customer requirements. These common global challenges are faced by organizations throughout the world, and transitions of this magnitude are rare, even in such a fast-changing field. The overall goal of my current project is to study the way in which agile meth-odologies are utilized in industry, and to learn how they are being incorporated into university cur-ricula in order to satisfy the current demands of industry. It includes the study of the highly success-ful Asian software industry, where companies must satisfy the needs of local industry as well as strive to meet ever-increasing outsourcing demands. Furthermore, universities in that area have been quick to rec-ognize these changes in the indus-try and have reacted by embracing agile techniques and incorporating them very successfully into informa-tion technology-related curricula.
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FEATURE STORY BY TWITTER’S @JACK DORSEY
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Becoming Best for the World: Graduates from Webster’s Global MBA inaugural class graduated in July andare in the world’s marketplace now, with the knowledge needed to determine how cultural differences impact product, price and promotion. In 11 months they lived and studied in 5 countries in the SBT’s one-of-a-kind program, which allows students to totally immerse themselves in each international location. Globalist Theresa Maier, GMBA ’09, blogged about their travel as well as their personal and professional growth inside and out of the classroom.
Becoming Best for the WorldI have always struggled with the privilege that I was born with, not just from my family, but
also my nationality. After a little bit of growing up, I realized the best thing I can do to alleviate that is to live up to my potential and use the gifts I have to give back. It took some guts and a lot of tears, but going back to school was the turning point for me and it’s been a gradual realization that I absolutely, without question, made the right decision.
The Global MBA program has opened up a wealth of opportunities that I didn’t even know ex-isted. Being immersed in one culture is something, but diving into 5 very distinct cultures in such a short time period is unheard of. Viewing American culture and business from the outside has been in-valuable as well. In the long run, not only do I get a degree but I also get the “I did that” experience – you know, the one where everyone says, “I wish I’d done something like that.” Well…I did.
Tmm
August 23, 2009Well, I made it to Geneva….it was a long day, but the views as we were landing made up
for the lack of sleep. Our building is about a block away from the banks of Lake Geneva, which is called Lac Léman in French, and if the sky is clear, you can see Mont Blanc in the distance. Last night (Friday), we went to the local bar, called Artist’s Pub, for a few beers, af-ter which the big plunge took place. The coast guard was very receptive to the crazy Ameri-cans swimming in the lake and was kind enough not to arrest anyone. Au revoir for now!
August 25, 2009One of the best parts about yesterday was that
I was able to meet some of the students that I’ll be in class with who are not from my Global MBA group. Here is where they were from: China, Ko-rea, Norway, Switzerland, France, Saudi Arabia and Canada. I’m trying to embrace this as a “life jour-ney” and remember that there are many lessons to be learned, inside the classroom and out.
October 10, 2009A week from tomorrow I will be one-fifth of the way done with my degree. A few thoughts
on leaving Geneva: – I’m sad. I have just started to develop really great friends here. This potential issue never crossed my mind when I signed up for the global program. I enjoy the people in my group, which is nice; however, I LOVE having friends from all over.
paz, Theresa
October 20, 2009Hello Friends!
I’ve been here in Holland since Saturday night and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it already! The progression from Geneva to Leiden is great. And Leiden…from the minute I got here, I LOVED it. It’s a college town with a lot going on. We are right in the city so we can walk everywhere or ride bikes! There are bikes EVERYWHERE! It’s so fun…this is how it should be!
Love, -t
December 19, 2009Well, this is it. I’m two-fifths of the way through my MBA and I feel like I’ve been gone for-
ever! Over the next three weeks I will be in Germany, France, Spain and the U.K., where I will stay until March. I convinced my family to come visit (which I never thought would happen), and I can’t wait to include them in this dream life I’ve been living for the past four months!
theresa
February 28, 2010So here I am at the end of my third term, about
to embark on a journey to the other side of the world with a brief stop where it all started in Egypt. I don’t have much time left here but I think I’ve done OK by London. It’s been really fun to live in London. It’s such a huge city with so many different personalities and scenes. It’d be impossible to know them all. I’ve never lived in a city this big with so much to do and see. What an awesome experience.
peace and love
Webster’s inaugural Global MBA cohort graduated on Saturday, July 18, 2009 in Budapest, Hungary. To learn more about their travels, our GMBA program, and where the Class of 2010 is right now, go to www.webster.edu/notabene2010.
SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE
SPEAKERS SERIES
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SBT by the Numbers:
110,000School of Business & Technology alumni worldwide
13,572School of Business & Technology students worldwide
1,502Number of SBT faculty
26Undergraduate and graduate degrees offered
123Number of countries represented by the student body
182Number of SBT students and alumni currently serving as generals, majors, and admirals in the U.S. military
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University’s Mission:Webster University, a worldwide institution,
ensures high quality learning experiences that prepare
students for global citizenship and individual excellence.
SBT’s Mission:Prepare lifelong learners for professional
fulfillment in the fields of business and technology
through the application of knowledge in a support-
ive academic environment.
Webster UniversitySchool of Business & TechnologyBusiness Advisory Board
Dr. Benjamin Akande
Antoinette Bailey
Raymond Bayer (MBA ‘97, MA ‘02)
Dale L. Cammon
Omar Danial (‘91, MBA ‘97)
Charles A. Dill
Alyn Essman
Robert A. Fischer
Dennis Flatness
Michael Gabriel
Dr. Neil George
Neil George, Jr. (MBA ‘89)
Michael Hejna
Gilbert Hoffman (MA ‘93)
Debra Hollingsworth (MA ‘97)
Michael Holmes (MA ‘93)
Allan Ivie, Iv
Kathleen Mazzarella (MBA ‘02)
Rodger Riney
Dr. James Staley
Dr. Elizabeth (Beth) J. Stroble
Anthony Thompson (MBA ‘88)
Ambassador George Herbert Walker
Bob Wallace
Patricia Whitaker
SBT School of Business & TechnologySBT
SBT, a leading provider of business education worldwide. An interna-tional student body and a network of campuses in the US, Europe, Asia, and cyberspace, put us on a path to succeed in this dynamic global busi-ness environment.
470 E. Lockwood Avenue St. Louis, MO 63119
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2009-10 Global MBA Candidates
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FEATURE STORY BY TWITTER’S @JACK DORSEY
SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE
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FEATURE STORY BY TWITTER’S @JACK DORSEY
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“ Leaders: it’s our job to not just see our companies as they are, but to see them as what they can become.”
– Chuck Feltz, MA ‘89 Co-Author, Never By Chance