nexus spring 2004
TRANSCRIPT
warwick business school alumni association magazine: spring 04
marketing issuethe
diary
spring 2004www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni/nexus.cfm
4 Academic Fund for Excellence
6 Brands, Identity and the Postmodern Consumer
8 Super marketing
12 Sales and Account Management Strategy
14 Olympic challenge
15 Rankings
16 Project MBA
17 Careers and networking
18 Event reviews
SINGAPORE EVENT9 March 2004Host: Professor Bob Johnston
BANGKOK EVENT16 March 2004Host: Professor Bob Johnston
LONDON EVENING SEMINAR24 March 2004Speakers: Professors Stewart Hodgesand Mark SalmonTopic: New research related tomeasuring market risk
MIDLANDS REGIONAL EVENT25 March 2004Speaker: Stuart ChambersTopic: SME’sVenue: tbc
BEIJING EVENT17 April 2004Speaker: Dr Simon Collinson
SHANGHAI EVENT20 April 2004Speaker: Dr Simon Collinson
HONG KONG EVENT24 April 2004Speaker: Dr Simon Collinson
WBS ANNUAL DINNER13 May 2004IoD, London
MBA SUMMER BALL16 July 2004Stratford Moat House
news:
www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni/forthcoming.cfm
Designed by Parenthesis +44 (0)24 7622 9658
keep in touchTo get the full benefits of your
membership, please check that
your details are up to date by
using our online facility at
wwww.wbs.ac.uk/alumni
and follow the links for ‘Your
membership’ or by emailing
International biopharmaceutical company, Cephalon Inc.appointed WBS alumna Dr Susan Sullman (DLMBA 1986–89), as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs – Europe, in July. Susan hasmore than 25 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry,working with several multinational companies. In her latest role,she has responsibility for regulatory affairs throughout Cephalon’sEuropean operations and is located at the company’s UK office inGuildford. Susan earned her PhD from London University and herBSc in Microbiology and Biochemistry at Leeds.
VP appointment
The Times reported the return to the winner’s circle of
WBS alumnus David Harding (MSc Marketing
Management 1980–81) on 9 September. Now Chief
Executive of William Hill Bookmakers, David gambled
successfully on a return to profit for the company,
which joined the stock market in June last year.
An interview with WBS alumna Louise Liu (FMBA 2000–01)appeared in the Hong Kong Economic Times in September. In the article, Louise explains how, when choosing WBS, sheconsidered course content, ranking reputation and location.Talking about her experience of studying in the UK, she says,“The good learning atmosphere helped to develop mythinking ability and meeting students from all over the worldbroadened my horizons, enhancing a better understanding ofdifferent cultures.” A view of WBS lecture theatre M1 appearedalongside the article.
In the Winter issue of InBusiness, CBI West MidlandsCouncillor Profiles featuredfull page interviews with twoWBS alumni Nick Horler(DLMBA 1987–91), Powergen’sManaging Director, Retail andGeoff Percy (EMBA 1985–89),Chief Executive, AccantiaHealth and Beauty Limited.
Second Lieutenant KatherineAllt (MA Organisation Studies 2001–02) made news in TheSussex Express as the fourthgeneration of her family toserve in the Army. Her motherwas the first woman tocommand a signals corps, herBrigadier grandfather was alsoa Royal Signaller and her great-grandfather served with the Royal Engineers. Katherinejoined the 21st SignalRegiment (Air Support).
good odds CBI profiles
army family new year’s honoursOur congratulations to Monder Ram (MAIR 1988, PhD
1992), who was awarded the OBE for services to black
and ethnic minority business in the New Year’s
Honours. Now Professor of Small Business at De Montfort University,
and co-ordinator of small business research at DMU Business School,
Leicester, Monder has extensive experience of working in, researching,
and acting as a consultant to ethnic minority businesses. He is
co-author of ‘Managing to Survive – Working Lives in Small Firms’, and
‘Ethnic Minorities in Business’ and is the only academic to be appointed
to the Department of Trade and Industry’s advisory forum on ethnic
minority businesses.
Dr S
usan
Sull
man
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WBS in the news
It is with great sadness that we report the recent deaths of five WBS alumni.
Dame Sheila McKechnie (MAIR 1970–72) died after a long battle with cancer on 2 January 2004. Sheila was appointed Director of the Consumers’ Association in 1995.She was also awarded an OBE in 1995 and created a Dame in 2001. A detailed obituary for Sheila appears on wwww.wbs.ac.uk/news/features
Jonathan Smout, (FMBA 1998–99), tragically died in a skiing accident whilst on holidayin France over the Christmas break. Jonathan lived in Leamington Spa and worked atBarclays on the Westwood Heath site.
Asim Humayun (FMBA 1998–99) died in London as a result of a tragic accident on 23 December 2003. After attending the Warwick MBA as a Chevening Scholar, Asimreturned to Pakistan and became Vice President of AMZ Technologies, Karachi.
We have also been notified that Colin Dixon (MA Industrial Relations 1985–86) and Lynn Fordham (PG Diploma Business Administration (DL) Class of 1991) died in November 2003.
The staff and alumni of WBS extend deepest sympathy to their families and friends.
rise in world rankings for WBSIn the Financial Times full-time MBA world rankings published 26 January 2004,Warwick Business School has gained a further two places from last year and is nowplaced at 32 in the world. Only two other UK schools were placed higher than WBS,London and Oxford. Additionally, the WBS Doctoral programme has been confirmedas number one in the world.
“We are delighted at our rise in these rankings. It is a deserved recognition of thequality and efforts of our staff, our current and former students, and our corporatepartners, who have all contributed to this good result,” said Professor HowardThomas, Dean of WBS.
obituaries
outstanding feedback
WBS appeared regularly in international, national
and regional press, magazines and broadcast media
during the last year, increasing slightly over the
previous year’s coverage. An encouraging trend was
that international coverage almost doubled, now
accounting for almost 20% of the total media
coverage. National coverage came in at 54%, and
regional at just over 26%.
Who is it who can take the credit for getting
WBS in the news? Just over half (53%) is achieved
by ongoing teaching and research activity.
This means that just under half is down to alumni
and current students. WBS is very grateful to the
many alumni and students who are willing to take
time to talk to journalists and whose achievements
and honours lead to this coverage.
In addition to the PR activity we also have a
carefully targeted advertising schedule for the MBA
programme that is both international, eg The
Economist and the Financial Times (to fit with our
recruitment fairs) and UK national, eg The Times.
Plus we have a new flexible WBS ad style that is
being used consistently across programme and
recruitment ads. So you will have seen WBS
promoted in The Times, The Guardian, BizEd and
The Economist during December for various activities.
A huge thank you to everyone whoresponded to our invitation to feedback on the ‘new look’ Nexus last issue. As well as much appreciated approbation – a particular favourite was ‘it stands outfrom the rest, just like WBS’; we alsoreceived ideas and suggestions for contentand design.
Requests for more academic articles havebeen addressed, as this issue featuresarticles from two of our new professors in Marketing, and details of some of thecurrent research being carried out at WBS.
So keep that feedback coming, we want tohear your views on your magazine.
WBS host high level DTI forumFor the second year, WBS Industrial Relations
Research Unit (IRRU) organised and hosted
high level round table discussions on
controversial draft employment legislation at
the request of the Department for Trade and
Industry (DTI). Professor Paul Marginson,
director of IRRU, chaired the meeting and
Gerry Sutcliffe MP, the DTI minister
responsible for employment relations,
competition and consumers, outlined the
government’s approach to the draft
Regulations and heard participants’ views.
Major Award for Warwick ProfessorAlyson Warhurst, Professor of Strategy and
International Development at WBS has been
awarded the first European Faculty Pioneer
Award by the European Academy of Business
in Society (EABIS) as part of a global initiative
‘Beyond Grey Pinstripes’ and in conjunction
with the US-based Aspen Institute and the
World Resources Institute. The award took
place at the 2nd colloquium of EABIS in
Copenhagen, Denmark.
The year 2004 sees a further step
change in the breadth and depth
of our faculty and support staff.
This is particularly evident in the
area of Marketing, the theme for
this edition of Nexus.
Warwick Business School has a
strong reputation for quality both
in its research and teaching of
Marketing. Therefore in Autumn
2003 we strengthened the
Marketing expertise of the faculty
with two new appointments:
Richard Elliott – Professor of
Marketing & Consumer Research;
Nigel Piercy – Professor of
Marketing. Nigel was a recent
recipient of the highest academic
degree of DLitt, from Edinburgh
Business School and the
School of Management at
Heriot-Watt University.
In this issue Nigel discusses his
research into an area of marketing
that often accounts for the largest
proportion of budgets and
headcount – sales – and discusses
the future evolution of the sales
organisation. Richard expands on
the socio-cultural approach of his
research and in particular, how
people use brands in a
postmodern consumer culture.
As well as academic research,
we hear from senior marketing
practitioners who exemplify the
greater kudos that marketing now
enjoys in the corporate world at
senior board level. Tim Mason –
WBS Advisory Board Member –
shares with us his philosophy as
Marketing Director at Tesco.
Closer to home, we have been
addressing the complexity of
marketing Warwick Business
School for some time. I am
pleased to announce that by the
time you receive this copy of
Nexus we should have appointed
to the new position of Director of
Marketing. This role will afford us
the ability to not only co-ordinate
our diverse marketing activities
into a coherent strategy for the
School but will crucially enable
us to raise the awareness of
Warwick Business School in our
target markets.
As part of the overall marketing
effort, the strengthening of the
Alumni network and your
participation in events is
extremely important and I would
urge you to attend at least one of
the regional or national events
this year. If you are a recent MBA
graduate (less than three years
since graduation) you can make
an even more direct impact to the
reputation of the School as
Professor John McGee describes
in his article on
Surveys & Rankings.
I think that you’ll agree that, as
ever, we continue to make exciting
progress as one of the world’s
foremost business schools. To help
advance WBS’ development, I
would encourage you to contribute
to the Fund for Academic
Excellence, details of which are
provided below. With the support
from our strong alumni network,
the vision for 2004 and beyond
will be accomplished.
I wish you all belated best wishes
for the year ahead and look
forward to meeting you at one
of our many events throughout
the year. Thank you for your
continued support.
Howard Thomas
: a message from the Dean
the WBS Fund for Academic ExcellenceWarwick Business School has developed into a leading Europeanbusiness school, with acknowledged excellence in teaching andresearch. As such, it offers a comprehensive provision of degreeprogrammes at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level. WBS has also formed significant partnerships with global, national and local organisations for executive development and research.
Those who have studied at Warwick chose WBS for its quality andits teaching and research excellence. We are committed toimproving our performance over the next five years to become thebest European Business School. Your continued commitment canhelp us achieve this goal.
We are most grateful to those of you who have already supportedus, from attending alumni events, to making generous gifts.Building upon this foundation, we are pleased to establish the WBS Fund for Academic Excellence. Through this fund, yourcontributions can help to enrol and teach the very best students;recruit and retain the best academic staff; and to help develop andmaintain the highest quality facilities.
WBS is already in a unique position within Europe as a leadingbusiness school providing academic excellence spanning the full-line provision of teaching and research. Your gift will helpfurther WBS’ success and ensure our future.
If you are interested in the WBS Fund for Academic Excellence or would like to make a gift, please contact Ben Plummer, Development Executive by emailing [email protected] or telephone t+44 (0)24 7652 2813
Ben Plummer has recently joined theDean’s Office at WBS as our DevelopmentExecutive. He has moved from theUniversity’s International Office where he worked as a Liaison Officer.
“I’m delighted to be joining WBS. Havingstudied at Warwick and worked within themain University administration, more thanever I believe Warwick to be a fantastic
University and an institution of academicexcellence that continues to develop fromstrength to strength. Additional investmentwill ensure that WBS, and the University atlarge, are able to secure their futures asleading international institutions.Combining our current resources with thegenerous gifts that our alumni are makingwill ensure that WBS’ vision is realised.”
advancing the future of business knowledge
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hot off the press
This is merely a selection ofsome of the research contractsand programmes recentlystarted at WBS:
Launched in London in Novemberwith a keynote address from LordSainsbury, Under-Secretary of Stateat the Department for Trade andIndustry, a new researchprogramme at WBS isinvestigating UK firms’ ability to adapt to the demands of aknowledge-based economy.Professor Harry Scarbrough,who leads the Evolution ofBusiness Knowledge programme,warns that the loss of call centreand similar jobs to countries suchas India will hit the UK low-skillsector, and that UK firms willneed to be ready to adapt to thesecoming changes.
Latest research on servicemanagement and quality fromProfessor Bob Johnston(Operations Management) hasdemonstrated that team-work and
close working relationships notonly provide customers withbetter service, but also enhanceemployee performance. His newreport ‘Delivering ServiceExcellence: The View From theFront Line’, explains among otherthings how the mechanic whokeeps up a constant stream ofrepartee while working under thebonnet of your car may hold thekey to world-class customerrelations. “It all comes down tothe personal touch and a largepart of that is the use of banter.”he says. (It’s good to talk!)
A research contract worth almost£1 million has been won byProfessor Jean Hartley and theLocal Government Centre toundertake a five year evaluation of the Beacon Council Scheme, to raise standards in localgovernment by identifyinginnovative and excellentperforming councils and helpingthem spread best practice.
Dr Martin Corbett (IndustrialRelations & OrganisationalBehaviour) has received muchmedia coverage for his research onthe use of music in the corporateworld, including ‘aural branding’– the use of an anthem or adaptedpop song to promote an
organisation. Martin’s researchwarns of the dangers of gettingthese motivational songs wrong,including derision fromcompetitors and customers, and loss of morale within the organisation.
research news
Nigel Piercy, Professor in Marketing at WBS,has recently published Total Integrated Marketing:Breaking the Bounds of the Function, withcolleagues from Columbia Business School,Mac Hulbert and Noel Capon. Published by The Free Press in New York and in the UK byKogan Page. The focus of the work is on themanagerial challenges in moving frommarketing as a department to marketing as a set of cross-functional and cross-boundaryprocesses to deliver superior customer value.
wwww.simonsays.com
WBS Professor of Finance Lucio Sarno, incollaboration with Professor Mark P Taylor hasa new publication The Economics of ExchangeRates, published by Cambridge University Press.This publication provides a selective coverage ofthe literature on exchange rates, focusing ondevelopments from within the last fifteen years.Clear explanations of theories are offered,alongside an appraisal of the literature andsuggestions for further research and analysis.
wbooks.cambridge.org/0521485843.htm
Fourth edition: Operations Management, Slack,Chambers and Johnston. Published by Financial Times Prentice Hall. This revised and fully updated edition ofOperations Management by WBS ProfessorsNigel Slack, Stuart Chambers and BobJohnston continues to provide a clear, well-structured and comprehensive treatment of the subject, balancing a logicalapproach with the insights that come fromoperations practice around the world.
wwww.booksites.net/slack
Simulation: The Practice of Model Development andUse, by Stewart Robinson. Publishers John Wiley& Sons Ltd. Dr Stewart Robinson, SeniorLecturer in Operational Research, offers guidancethrough the key stages in a simulation project interms of both the technical requirements andthe project management issues surrounding it.Readers will emerge able to develop appropriatevalid conceptual models, perform simulationexperiments, analyse the results and drawinsightful conclusions. wwww.wileyeurope.com
Members of the Corporate Citizenship Unit havecontributed chapters to Business and HumanRights – Dilemmas and Solutions. Published byGreenleaf. From the inside looking out: amanagement perspective on human rightsRory Sullivan, Insight Investment, UK, and Nina Seppala, WBS. Elimination of child labour:Business and local communities Bahar Ali Kazmiand Magnus Macfarlane, WBS.
wwww.greenleaf-publishing.com
Howard Davis of the Local Government Centre has contributed a chapter on Ethics andstandards of conduct to the publication: PublicManagement and Governance edited by TonyBovaird and Elke Löffler and published byRoutledge. He has also just published a report of the Local Government Association’s ‘Six Commitments’ initiative. Howard led thisproject and the work was undertaken by a smallteam from Warwick and Birmingham.
Research by Dr Scott Dacko,Marketing & StrategicManagement Group, shows thatWarwick MBA participants uptheir skill levels by over 30% invital management competencies.Scott’s research, now in its third year, examines theperceptions of both the full-timeparticipants, and, crucially, of thecompanies for whom theyundertake their managementconsultancy project.
Employers rated initiative as aparticular strength exhibited byour participants, as well asmarking them highly for
planning and organisation,leadership skills, and for theirwritten and analytical abilities.Scott confirms, “This is the onlystudy of its kind in the UK.Given the enormous investmentof time, money, and energy thatgoes into studying for theWarwick MBA, it is vital that we develop our participants’skills to make them the bestleaders and managers of thefuture. We are making sure thatboth employers and participantsget the best return on theirinvestment in terms of time,talent, and money.”
brands, identity and the postmodern
consumer
he research I have undertaken
adopts a socio-cultural approach
which draws on contemporary
cultural studies, anthropology and
social theory rather than relying on
just the cognitive, information-processing
approach traditionally taken in marketing.
In particular, I am interested in how
people use brands in a postmodern
consumer culture.
Central to postmodernism is the recognition
that the consumer does not make consumption
choices solely from products’ utilities but
from also from their symbolic meanings.
As consumption plays a central role in
supplying meanings and values for the creation
and maintenance of the consumer’s personal
and social world, so advertising is recognised
as one of the major sources of these symbolic
meanings. These cultural meanings are
transferred to brands and it is brands which
are often used as symbolic resources for the
construction and maintenance of identity.
Brands can be used by the consumer as
resources for the symbolic construction
of the self. The symbolic consumption
of brands can help establish and communicate
some of the fundamental cultural categories
such as social status, gender, age, and such
cultural values as family, tradition and
authenticity. But brands can also be used to
counter some of the threats to the self posed
by postmodernity, such as fragmentation,
loss of meaning and loss of individuality.
t
by Richard ElliottProfessor of Marketingand Consumer Research
Brands, Trust and FragmentationOne of the prime features of the postmodern
experience is fragmentation, where the
inherited self-identity of history is no longer
a stable, secure fact but requires active
construction: ‘A self-identity has to be created
and more or less continually reordered against
the backdrop of shifting experiences of day-to-
day life and the fragmenting tendencies of
modern institutions.’ This construction is
achieved partly through developing coherent
narratives of the self and partly through
finding opportunities for the investment
of trust in institutions other than the
traditional ones such as the church.
Brands offer consistency in an ever-changing
world and this reassurance is a vital element
in their added value. As in human social
relationships, from consistency over time
develops predictability, then dependability
and eventually trust in the brand. In large
part, trust in a brand evolves from the
delivery of consistent benefits over time,
that is from lived experience of using a brand.
However, the viscous meaning derived from
the mediated experience of advertising can
enhance the consumer’s experience and give
a narrative coherence to it by giving words to
thoughts they ‘may know but can only speak
of incompletely’. Volkswagen has captured
perfectly this ability of the brand to replace
other less reliable relationships: ‘If only
everything in life was as reliable as
a Volkswagen.’
Brands and Deep MeaningBrands can acquire deep meaning for
consumers by their involvement in the
socialisation process, and from then on
brands can evoke profound feelings of
nostalgia and provide comfort from insecurity.
The history of brand use, brand loyalty and
intergenerational transfer in families with a
recent history of emigration has shown that
certain moments in our lives become powerful
memories that connect brands, people and
places and that ‘family brands become part of
the tool chest in strategies for survival during
critical life passages.’
Consumers have been found to buy brands
that evoke memories of their grandparents,
often through the smell which instantly
returned them to the time and place of their
childhood. It seems that there is a ‘sensitive
period effect’ for products, where early
childhood and, particularly, adolescence are
periods when we are most likely to develop
preferences. Brands that we have lived
experience with during sensitive periods may
acquire a depth of meaning unattainable by
brands at later stages in our lives. If we have
frequent sensual experience, particularly,
olfactory experience with brands during
childhood, then at later stages of our lives we
may use them in nostalgic activity, and/or to
restore a sense of security.
Again, behavioural signification through lived
experience with a brand seems by far the most
potent source of meaning, but advertising can
provide a narrative structure for concretising
these emotional meanings. Hovis bread and
Yorkshire tea are both masters at providing
consumers with a narrative identity that
encapsulates both nostalgic reverie and
current life situations. The adolescent
sensitive period is perfectly captured by Levi’s
with their provision of symbolic meaning
through heavy advertising support which
provides teenagers with ‘scripts for living’.
Mass-Market Brands —Individual MeaningsThe ubiquity of brands in developed
capitalist societies is such that we live in a
rich ‘brandscape’ from which we must select
a personal ‘brandspace’ in which to live.
In large part, the creation of personal
brandspace will be achieved through the
creation of deep meaning and the
development of trust, but brands can also
facilitate the development of personal
involvement by the encouragement of the
meaning transfer processes of personal ritual
and social interaction.
Four ritual activities are important in
transferring meaning from consumer goods
to the individual: exchange, possession,
grooming and divestment rituals. Each ritual
presents an opportunity for the individual to
affirm, assign or revise the meanings derived
from advertising and construct an individual
meaning for themselves.
The elusive audience of Generation X
may be encouraged to actively interpret
advertising by using deliberately ‘weak’
advertising texts which encourage ‘strong’
reading. This openness relates to a lack of
specific narrative direction and explicit
meaning context. Instead these open ads
feature the product and simply evoke a
positive general response to the ad from the
consumer, by using music or imagery for
example. The consumer views the deliberately
‘open’ ad and because it lacks any strong
intended meaning is empowered to perform
a very strong reading of it. As a result
the consumer derives a very personal
interpretation of the ad’s meaning related
to their own individual life situation
and history.
At this point, in need of the social
confirmation all X’ers crave, the consumer
discusses the meaning of the ad with others
who share the same basic interpretation of
advertising. Thus an advertising literacy event
occurs and the individuals form an
‘interpretative community’, not purely by
demographic or psychographic factors but by
their shared interpretation of the meaning of
the advertisement. These interpretive
communities have the potential to provide
exciting new ways to segment markets and
build profitable ‘icon brands’.
Richard Elliott is a visiting
professor at ESCP-EAP Paris, ESSEC
Paris, Université Paris II, and
Thammasat University, Bangkok.
He is also Associate Editor of the
British Journal of Management and
European Editor of the Journal of
Product and Brand Management.
Richard is very active in his research
which focuses on the symbolic
meaning of brands, consumer
culture and identity, and the
dynamics of brand ecology.
He has published books on Strategic
Advertising Management, and
Interpretive Consumer Research. He has
also published over 100 research
papers in many and various journals.
profile
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supermarketing
Tim MasonMarketing Director, Tesco
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esco reigns supreme in the battle
of the supermarket giants.
Warwick alumnus Tim Mason,
Marketing Director, provides a
unique insight into the strategy
that keeps Tesco ahead of the rest.
“The most important thing is that the
business is genuinely customer focused
and then that it actually does something
about what it learns about its customers.
What we say at Tesco is that our job is to
create value for our customers, to earn
their lifetime loyalty,” affirms Tim.
To achieve this Tesco abide by the ethos:
‘nobody tries harder for their customers’
and ‘treat people in the way that we like
to be treated.”
In a service industry, it is vital to know
what both customers and staff are thinking
and make sure something is done
about it. So it is most important to
maximise staff feedback and one of the
things Tesco take very seriously is face to
face communication.
Tim explains one of the current initiatives,
which is proving extremely successful, “We
have a programme going on in stores at the
moment called ‘Living Service’, which aims
at getting all levels of people working in
stores to work together to improve the
customer service in the business. One of
the things it has definitely achieved is to
make the store more free flowing in terms
of communication and to encourage
people from the frontline to grab hold of
the manager. It is all about feeling
empowered and learning life skills. Helping
people to understand they can choose the
attitude that they bring to work, which
they are finding incredibly helpful in
managing both work and personal life.”
To obtain direct feedback from customers,
Tesco also host Customer Question Times,
where customers are invited into their
local store to talk to store managers and
head office managers about what their
shopping experience in that store. Tim
says, “What you find out is that customers
say exactly what the staff say to you
because the customers tell them (the staff),
for example, when there is no bread or
products have been moved. This goes back
to treating people how we would like to be
treated ourselves. When members of staff
tell us something is wrong, we need to
act on it.”
“To be good at marketing is tounderstand customers and whatthey want.”Higher quality market research and the
development of their loyalty Clubcard,
ensure Tesco has the information about the
shopping habits of its customers necessary
to achieve its marketing goal. “To be good
at marketing is to understand customers
and what they want,” Tim emphasises.
As some rivals opted out of customer
loyalty schemes, Tim explains the thinking
behind Tesco’s continued commitment to
this method of creating more value for
customers. “We trialled Clubcard for a long
time and basically what we found was that
people enjoy using it. Previous to this, we
were talking about an industry that didn’t
know the names and addresses of people
who spend thousands of pounds in their
stores. This means, in fact that you don’t
know very much about the business that
you run. We would find it unthinkable to
operate without this information today
because it enables us to do a much better
job for our customers.”
Tim quotes an example: “About 18 months
ago, we launched a range of ‘Free From’
products, for people with lactose or wheat
intolerance. It did reasonably but not
fantastically well. So we said, let’s just have
a look at who is buying these products,
whether new or existing customers and
whether they are spending more or less
with us. What we found was that quite a
lot of people purchasing this range were
new customers and that existing customers
were spending significantly more. So if you
did not have a store card and therefore
access to customer buying information,
you could make the decision to stop
selling some slow-moving lines.”
Just how much information Tesco knows
about the contents of its customers
shopping trolley becomes clear when
Clubcard holders receive the money off
vouchers with their quarterly statement,
t
super marketing continued:many of which relate to items they
purchase on a regular basis. The statement
is addressed personally, with a message
from Tim in his role as Clubcard Director.
Sustainable competitive advantage lies in
customer retention by constantly meeting
their needs. Tesco is now about much more
than groceries, as can be seen by the vast
array of products in the Clubcard deals
scheme, from Air Miles to leisure breaks,
for which vouchers can be exchanged,
increasing their value to the customer.
Moving on to advertising, Tim maintains,
“Retailers relatively speaking do not spend
as much money as other industries on
advertising.” He then points out that the
key criteria are accessibility to a modern,
clean local store, staffed by well-trained
and committed, local people.
“Actually we do a bit of advertising,” Tim
adds. “or us it is very important that our
advertising is likeable. In the case of our
TV advertising, that it makes you laugh or
smile. There is no doubt that the ‘Dotty’
TV ad campaign is very popular. You see
Dotty you know it is Tesco.” Prunella
Scales plays Dotty with Jane Horrocks as
her long-suffering daughter in the long-
running campaign by top ad agency Lowe.
‘Every little helps’ is the slogan that
denotes Tesco, it features on all the
advertising and the Clubcard, signifying
value for money and a caring organisation.
Eight years ago, Tesco was the first
company in the UK to provide internet
shopping, which has proved a fantastic
success. They took a purely pragmatic
approach by using their stores rather than
warehouses and their staff rather than the
robots used by others. This enabled the
building of a business for virtually no
capital outlay and the business is still
growing at an incredible rate. Taking more
than 110,000 orders per week, Tesco.com
is the world’s largest on-line grocery
retailer. The service covers 96% of the UK
population and also operates in South
Korea, the Republic of Ireland and as
Groceryworks on the West Coast of
America. For the six months up to August
2003 sales grew by 32% with profits of
£11 million. Tesco made almost the same
profit in the first six months of 2003 as it
did in the whole of 2002.
According to Tim, “Tesco is certainly the
most profitable e-grocer in the world by a
long way. Internet shopping is a business
we manage a lot better for having had the
loyalty card. dot.com is about managing
customers as individuals. Supermarkets are
essentially self-service but we have been
learning to look at customers as
individuals and have been able to build
that learning and thinking into our
dot.com business.”
glowing reportCongratulations to Annie Frères (BSc InternationalBusiness 1999–2003), who won the Association of Business School’s undergraduate award and a £3,000 prize in their 2003 Awards for Businessand Management Students, sponsored by TheGuardian. In the finals of the National BusinessAwards she came a close second in the UKBusiness Student of the Year Competition.
A Belgian brought up in Germany, Annie did herinternational baccalaureate in Oxford beforechoosing WBS. During her work placement in theexport department of cosmetics giant Coty in
Paris, she found herself designing a database andproducing the company export newsletter. Her fluent French proved invaluable in the PRwork she carried out for the launch of theJennifer Lopez range, Glow by JLo.
“The prize money has come in very useful forfundraising and buying the kit I need for my tripto Chile with Raleigh International”, reportsAnnie. “I’ll be working on conservation andenvironmental projects in the national parks, as well as improving the infrastructure in remotevillages by building community halls.”
Anni
e Fr
ères
Tim is a keen supporter of WBS. He is
a member of the Advisory Board and
came to campus in January to speak at
a WBS Forum.
A keen rugby player, Tim played for the
University in his first and second year.
From Warwick he went to Unilever as a
trainee, joining Tesco three years later,
where he held a number of positions
before being appointed Marketing and
E-Commerce Director, Tesco plc, with
responsibility for Property and Ireland
in 1995. He also has responsibility for
Tesco’s Personal Finance and Telecoms
business. Tim featured in the September
issue of Marketing under the headline
‘Marketers who have made it to the Top.’
Tesco — Facts and FiguresTesco plc operates in 13 countries,
including the UK, employing 300,000
staff across 1,245 stores. The group looks
after almost 32 million customers per
week, who generate annual sales of £15
billion. In their interim statement of
results for the 24 weeks ended 9 August
2003, pre-tax profit increased by 21.3%
on 2002 with sales enjoying a 17% uplift
in the same period.
wwww.tesco.com/corporateinfo/
Tesco has stores in Ireland, Czech
Republic, Hungary, Poland, Turkey,
Slovakia, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan,
Japan and Malaysia.
profile
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ARE YOU QUAL IF IED TO BE A D IRECTOR?
T 020 7766 8842 E [email protected] W www.iod.com/charteredQuote ref: wbs03
As a director and an MBA, you are just a short step
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CIS strongly supports the Chartered Director programme, which providesa ’gold’ standard in director training and development. When voting on
the election of directors and assessing candidates’ suitability, we shall takea very positive view of those who have achieved Chartered Director status.
CIS, founded in 1867, have 4.5 million customers and over £20 billion of investments
Call us now to find out more
The IoD and WBS Alumni Association
are offering a special opportunity for you
to qualify as a Chartered Director,
the professional qualification for directors.
any approaches to how
we teach and research
marketing tend to
ignore the fact that the
largest area of
employment in marketing is the sales
function, and for many companies sales
and account management costs vastly
outweigh resources devoted to other more
visible areas of marketing.
Correspondingly, the amount of research
attention given to the sales area by major
business schools has been very limited,
and sales rarely features prominently in
how marketing is taught.
In fact, the potential for innovative and
insightful research activities in this large
but neglected area of economic activity is
huge. It is also an area where there is
substantial management interest in
research findings that enhance
understanding of the factors driving
effectiveness in the sales organization.
In an era where business strategy
emphasizes new forms of buyer-seller
relationship and partnering, it follows that
there is intense interest in managing sales
operations to deliver superior customer
value, not simply to take and process
orders from customers.
However, cynical observers might suggest
that the time has passed for the sales
organization – perhaps the only real
interest is how rapidly sales operations can
be downsized. Certainly, there is a scenario
where the role of the traditional sales
organization appears doomed. The figure
below identifies this scenario. As direct
sales channels and Internet initiatives
provide more effective ways to handle
customers with low service and
relationship requirements, and key
account management structures handle
the most important customers, there
seems indeed to be a shrinking domain
for the traditional sales organization.
m
great potential forresearch andmanagement impactby Nigel PiercyProfessor of Marketing
strategysales and account management
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Certainly there have been a number of
prominent traditional salesforce closures
and downsizing in many sectors like
financial services. But the paradox is that
at leading Internet companies like Dell
Computers, the view is that the Web does
not remove the need for salespeople – it
frees them to sell and manage customer
relationships, which is what they were
there to do in the first place.
However, as the function of the traditional
sales organization moves from order
taking to the more complex role of
managing customer relationships, there
is an urgent need for new knowledge and
understanding about the factors
impacting effectiveness in this new
business scenario. For this reason, our
current research projects address issues
like the following:
Salesperson performance – traditionally
salespeople have been evaluated in terms
of outcomes (sales, share of customer,
costs, and so on), but research indicates
that it is salesperson behaviours of several
kinds that drive outcomes and
effectiveness – but often not the
stereotypical behaviour and characteristics
associated with the traditional salesforce.
Sales management – in conventional sales
organizations, sales management focuses
on commanding and scorekeeping, while
the research indicates that in the most
effective sales organizations managers
devote substantial efforts to managing
salesperson behaviours, i.e. monitoring,
directing, evaluating and rewarding
activities, not simply crude control against
outcomes. The move from outcome-based
to behaviour-based sales management
control strategy is controversial, but the
research suggests numerous gains, and
sometimes surprising benefits, for those
who pursue this direction.
Sales compensation systems – there is
widespread belief in the need for financial
incentives to achieve superior salesperson
performance, usually in the form of
volume-based commission. Our research
suggests very weak links between financial
incentivization and performance. When
customer relationship-building matters,
effective sales control strategy requires
more than volume-based commission.
International comparisons – companies
in the US and Europe have tended to
export their sales management
approaches into international operations.
Our multi-country research suggests
that culture and tradition in many
overseas markets mandates different
management approaches to achieve sales
organization effectiveness.
Together these research programmes are
building into a major challenge to
conventional management approaches
in the sales organization. That challenge
suggests the need for managers to address
a quite different agenda to that of the past
in seeking effective buyer-seller
relationships in the new environment
they face. The transformation of the sales
organization from order taking to the
management of customer relationships in
a global setting demands quite different
approaches to managing sales operations.
We plan to focus research efforts on these
issues through the formation of a new
research unit at WBS – Sales and Account
Management Strategy (SAMS) – to
continue the stream of research studies
listed above and to extend them.
International collaborators exist in
business schools in the US, Europe,
Australia, as well as the UK. The potential
for SAMS extends to a manager and
company network as a framework for the
dissemination of research results and a
means to identify productive and relevant
new research directions.
It really does seem time that sales and
account management came in from the
cold. As the largest employer of people in
marketing and one of the most expensive
parts of marketing, the sales area is
overdue for systematic research attention
and an established place in the business
school curriculum.
Prior to joining WBS, Nigel was Professor of Strategic
Marketing and Head of the Marketing Group at Cranfield
School of Management, and previously held the Sir Julian
Hodge Chair in Marketing and Strategy at Cardiff University.
He has been a Vice Chair of the American Marketing
Association’s Marketing Strategy Special Interest Group, and
a Vice Chair of the Academy of Marketing Science in the US.
His research interests span several areas related to the
development and implementation of marketing strategy.
He is currently working with international collaborators
on various research projects related to sales organisation
effectiveness and the sales/marketing interface. Piercy has
published sixteen books and over 200 articles and papers in
management literature globally. He is author of Market-Led
Strategic Change: A Guide To Transforming the Process of Going
to Market (Butterworth-Heinemann, 2002), and is
co-author with David W Cravens of Strategic Marketing
(McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2002).
profile
➡
➡
➡
➡Customer Sales Level/Potential
SMALL
Customer Service/Relationship RequirementsLOW HIGH
Direct channels/
internet-based sales
The shrinking domain for
the traditional salesforce?
Key/Global account
management
LARGE
WBS alumna Michelle
Sartorio (FMBA
1999–2000) discusses
the challenges she
faces in her new role as Marketing
Communications Manager for
British Council, Brazil.
“Having had three hectic butfantastic years working in Marketingwithin the Telecommunicationssector, at Portugal Telecom, thenIntelig Telecomunicações, I was attracted to this particular postbecause of the challenge of creatinga marketing communicationsstrategy from scratch working withthe Head of Comunications todefine our targets. British Council,Brazil is only just now starting toappreciate marketingcommunications as a tool to leverageits works,” explains Michelle.
The aim of British Council, Brazil isto build lasting relationships betweenBrazil and the UK. It works toconnect people and learningopportunities from both countries.According to Michelle, “My mainresponsibility is to define andmanage national communicationsstrategy in order to increase BritishCouncil’s exposure to its wide rangeof stakeholders and customer, or‘target groups’, as defined by theorganisation. These groups includeBritish Council, UK, as well asstrategic partners such as governors,professors, artists, alumni, andstudents interested in studying in the UK.”
Expanding on the main challengesof her new role, she says, “There’s ahuge geographic distance betweenthe five British Council offices inBrazil, a country with continentalproportions and differences, sothere are difficulties in aligning
internal and externalcommunications within anorganisation like this. Most othercountries only have one BritishCouncil office! We always analysethe experience of other officesbefore taking a strategic decision: I’ve found myself asking forresearch documents from BritishCouncil, India and for onlinenewsletters from Singapore.’
Another challenge Michellerecognises is the diversity of themesand areas British Council wants topromote. “From music and artsevents to missions of State Secretariesto the UK, it is always hard todetermine priorities and find theright way to promote each of them,considering we want always to use an integrated marketing andcommunications strategy for each event.”
However, Michelle is confident in her team and her secret weapons:“Hopefully the communicationsteam in Brazil and I will build a well-structured and operationalcommunications plan. My Kotlerbook, WBS online Business SourcePremier journals, and MBAMarketing folders, are all standingme in good stead!” she confirms.
strategy fromscratch
August 2004 will see Athens hosting the Games
of the XXVIII Olympiad. Planning for this momentous
event began back in 1999 and Vassilis Lazaris (FMBA
1995–96) plays a vital role in the organisation.
Vassilis joined the Planning Division of the OrganisingCommittee Games of Athens in 1999. From September1999 to March 2001 he covered the key position ofGeneral Manager for Security for the Games. Planningbegan in earnest in March 2000, and the final pieces are now in place to ensure safety and security for all at the event.
Vassilis explains, “The role involves co-operation with the security community here and abroad. This includes the CIA, FBI, British, French, and Israelisecurity services, among others. They have been ableto offer advice on potential risks and help my fact finding.”
Elements that Vassilis had to consider include planningand policy issues such as disaster and crowd control,communications, intelligence, and co-operation, as wellas security measures and administration and support. He said, “We took a structured approach, linking eachstage from policy to procedure and workingcollaboratively with all relevant authorities.”
He continued, “The committee have created amasterplan, not for world domination, but to coveraudit for human resources and technology, budget,timelines, detailed actions etc as well as tactical elementssuch as risk assessments and procedure design. We’vehad to cover both internal and external security issues too.”
Vassilis was able to draw heavily upon the businessstrategy he learnt at WBS. “I started with Peter Doyle’svoice ringing in my ears ‘what do you need to formulatestrategy?’ I remembered his advice about the importanceof good intelligence and getting hold of it. Vassiliscombined this approach with military tactics learntfrom textbooks – another of his passions. Thanks toWBS and military planning, come 13 August 2004 8pmwe’ll be ready!” he confirms.
For further information regarding the
Athens Olympic Games visit
wwww.olympic.org/uk/games/athens/
Mic
helle
Sar
torio
olympic challenge
Vass
ilis
Laza
ris
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The Financial Times published its rankings of full-time MBAprogrammes in January 2004 andof executive MBA programmes inOctober 2003. Warwick BusinessSchool has been steadilyimproving on its rankings overthe last four years. We are nowranked 32nd in the world, 9th in Europe, and 3rd in the UK forfull-time programmes and 35thin the world, 9th in Europe, and5th in the UK for executive MBA programmes.
The Financial Times uses a set ofkey indicators that it believesdemonstrate a high quality MBAprogramme. These indicators canbe divided into two broad classes.The first is based on surveys ofbusiness school alumni. Thesecond is based on returns frombusiness schools about the natureof the school, its programmesand its faculty. The alumnisurvey is by a questionnaire thatcovers salary data and othercareer related information. This accounts in total for about50% of a school’s final ‘score’.The returns made direct from the
schools relate to criteria that the FT regards as indicative ofquality, namely proportion ofwomen faculty, the internationalcharacter of the school in termsof curriculum, students, faculty and governing body, and research.
At WBS, we take rankings veryseriously. We all know that allrankings schemes have problemsand difficulties and that thediversity of business schools andtheir market positioning cannotbe fully captured by a commonset of criteria. However, rankingsdo reflect some importantcharacteristics of MBA educationthe most obvious one being theemployability of its graduates.Rankings should not and do notdrive our fundamental strategybut they do have an importanteffect on external perceptions ofWBS and to some extent onmorale in the school and in thealumni body. We have beenpleased by our progress up theFTMBA rankings over the lastfour years (moving upwards by25 places) but feel we are capable
of making further progress. We are especially concerned toimprove our position on theexecutive MBA rankings (for usthis means the Evening andModular MBA programmes)where we believe that thefundamental quality of theprogrammes is not adequatelyreflected in the current ranking.
What can you do to help?
We would very much appreciateyour help in contributing to theFT surveys. You will be surveyedthree years after graduation andyour responses will be retainedover three years of surveys in amoving three year average.
It is very important that we have a high response rate to theFT surveys. To give a trulyrepresentative picture we shouldachieve a 75% response rate fromour alumni. This enables thesurveys to pick up both the rangeof salaries and their rate ofincrease over time. At present theresponse rate is only 45%. It isalso important to realise that all
the questions in the survey must be answered for yourresponse to be valid. This doesmean being explicit about datathat is both personal andconfidential. But please bereassured that the FT guards thedata very carefully and does notunder any circumstances releaseit to third parties.
You may also be contacted byother publications that conductrankings, for instance, The WallStreet Journal, The Economist,Forbes, and Business Week.Not all of these rely on alumnisurveys to the same degree as the FT but we do urge you torespond when asked.
Rankings may be imperfect andindeed different rankingsmeasure very different attributesof business schools. But they doimpact directly on the School’sreputation and the reputation ofits graduates in employmentmarkets. Therefore we hope thatyou will be able to join with usin advancing all our reputations.
rankings: by Professor Howard Thomas, Dean of WBS and Professor John McGee, Associate Dean, MBA Programmes
the best courseGary Jackson was one of the first 12 students
to undertake the MA in Organisation Studies
when it was launched in 1996. As a mature
student, he sacrificed a year’s earnings as a
Business Lecturer in further education to help
enhance his career prospects. Not only did he
enjoy the course immensely and learn a great
deal, his decision eventually resulted in his
career taking an unexpected turn.
Gary explains, “Mention the Belfry to most
sport-minded people and they instantly
associate it with some of the greatest
moments in Ryder Cup history. The deeds
of Christy O’Connor Jnr, Sam Torrance,
Paul McGinley et al will be etched on the
memories of European golf fans forever.
What most people probably don’t realise is
that the Belfry is also the Headquarters of the
Professional Golfers’ Association and houses
the National Training Academy. I was only
vaguely aware of this fact as a result of some
students I had taught but, when I saw the
PGA required someone to manage and
develop their business management training
programmes, I applied. Fortunately, my
qualifications, background in business
education and my love of sport were just
what the PGA wanted and I duly started the
job in August 2002 (5 weeks before the Ryder
Cup – but that’s another story!).”
Gary is now responsible for managing the
business training of 1000 trainee golf
professionals, 50 students on the Applied Golf
Management Studies degree in conjunction
with Birmingham University and contributing
to the development of a Continuous
Professional Development programme for
over 5000 golf professionals working in over
50 countries. (And no, he doesn’t have much
time to play golf!).
One of the things Gary has discovered in his
year in the job is that the golf business seems
to be sadly under-researched. It is estimated
that worldwide the industry is worth $60bn
but, apart from commercial market
research, it seems to be little studied.
So he has two questions:
1) Does anyone know of any academic
studies into any aspect of the golf business?
2) Is anyone interested in doing research
into the golf business?
If you wish to respond to either question,
then Gary would be delighted to hear from
you. Please email e [email protected]
in the first instance.
For further
information
regarding the
PGA and the
National Training
Academy visit
wwww.pga.info
project MBAOne of many ways WBS alumni support the School is by offeringdissertation projects for the full-time MBA students. From pastexperience we know this benefits organisations with high qualitywork, supervised by a senior member of our academic staff. At the same time it supports WBS and provides our students withan opportunity to apply research and theories learnt on the course to a ‘live’ industry situation.
Carol Sunderland, a student with a marketing backgroundundertook her project with Unipart Logistics, a division of theUnipart Group of Companies (UGC) in 2003. The project wassponsored by Andrew Burtenshaw (FMBA 1991–92), Strategy and Sales Support Manager at Unipart Logistics and an alumnus of WBS.
Carol explains: “The object of the work was to provide the division with a fresh perspective on developing a strategy forgrowth. A resource-based approach to the strategic analysis wassubsequently adopted; followed by an assessment of how thecompetences could be protected, nurtured, and leveraged to sustainand strengthen a distinct competitive position. The projectexperience culminated in a presentation to UGC’s CEO, followed by a presentation to the Logistics board.”
Andrew Burtenshaw confirms: “For the company, the projectprovided an external perspective, strategic insight and theassistance of a neutral intermediary who could elicit frank customerfeedback. It also facilitated constructive debate within the division.”
Meanwhile, Peter Boddy, (EMBA 1991–95) Managing Director of Megabowl Ltd, the largest Ten Pin bowling operator in the UK,offered Andrew Granger the opportunity to critically review thebusiness plan, challenge the way Megabowl operates and providesome innovative recommendations to grow profits.
Andrew reports: “I worked with both the executive team and ateam of site managers, focusing on improving customer loyalty toincrease profits. 300 customer interviews identified aspects of theservice offering that drive customer loyalty. Based on this researchan action plan was developed to improve these elements.
The Megabowl staff were key to the success of the project – always approachable and willing to help.”
Peter confirmed: “Andrew completed a comprehensive piece ofwork in a relatively short time. From Megabowl’s perspective theprocess was both informative and rewarding with the output being a set of actionable recommendations that will add value to the business.”
Projects are the capstone of the Warwick MBA, and their highquality is an essential part of why students benefit from theircourse here. Finding great projects for our students is highlycompetitive however, as many other universities have projects aspart of their courses.
We are very grateful therefore to everyone who has sponsored oroffered to sponsor a project. So far we know of at least three of lastyear’s projects that have lead to permanent positions with thesponsor company. If you would like to find out more about hostinga project in 2004, then please contact [email protected]
WBS is hosting an MBA Project Evening specifically for potentialalumni hosts on Wednesday February 11 from 5pm. Stuart Chambers, Principal Teaching Fellow, will talk on projects,with previous project sponsors and students who completedprojects last year telling their stories. Further details of the eveningare available from [email protected]
Unip
art L
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careers and networking
Û
International Business NetworkPlans to launch the WBS Marketing AlumniGroup are well underway. If you would like to be involved in an organising committee to help set up and direct the group, pleasecontact the Alumni Office on
NetworkingParticipation in the WBS alumni networkwill provide you with targeted networking –establishing new connections and wideningyour contacts. Networking groups are basedon region, year of graduation, country andindustry; and they are complemented by ahigh profile annual events programme. Log into our web resources for alumni andstudents, including the Online Directory,Mentor and Contacts programmes available at
wwww.wbs.ac.uk/alumni following linksto networking.
Careers advice and coachingThe WBS Careers Development Centre will set up sessions for WBS alumni withindependent careers advisors at discountedrates. For more information about thisservice please contact
You can also consult a variety of sources for careers advice and coaching such asone-to-one careers advice from theUniversity of Warwick Careers Service.
wwww.warwick.ac.uk/careers
Vacancies and Employers’ resourcesCompanies and recruitment consultantscontact the Alumni Office regularly withvacancies for our highly sought after WBSgraduates. These are circulated to alumnimonthly in the e-newsletter and displayedon the web site. Employers can submit avacancy free of charge, and job-seekers canbrowse vacancies.
As an alumnus you can now upload yourCV to our website where it will be checkedby the Careers Development Centre anddisplayed online. This and all other careerbased alumni services are available at
wwww.wbs.ac.uk/alumni following links to careers. Employers can view the CVs ofcurrent Warwick MBA students and recent graduates at
wwww.wbs.ac.uk/corporate/candidate_search/
New face on the teamWe are very pleased to welcome EmilyJamieson, who has joined the WBS Alumniteam in the key role of Development andAlumni Relations Assistant.
appointmentsOliver Bonser (FMBA 2001–02) has been appointedsales manager at The Queen Elizabeth II ConferenceCentre in London.
Paul Sacker (FMBA 1992–93) has been appointedHead of Sales and Marketing at FLIR Systems UK(thermographics).
Mark Fletcher (DLMBA 1993–2000), who specialises in public sector consultancy, has been made apartner in RSM Robson Rhodes, accountants andbusiness advisors.
Ranan Lachman (FMBA 1999–2000) has formed a partnership with colleagues to start a financialmanagement consultancy, 2Value Consulting inNew York, USA.
WBS Alumni Board call for applicants
The current Board was constituted in
2002 and meets three times per year.
The October 2003 meeting of the
Board resulted in the ratification of
a Terms of Reference paper governing
the Board mission, governance
and membership.
The WBS Alumni Board is seeking
nominations for new members in
2004 and all WBS alumni are welcome
to apply. If you feel you can make a
difference by serving on the Board,
please read the Terms of Reference
on our website at www.wbs.ac.uk/
alumni/board.cfm for information
about application requirements.
If you would also like to speak to
someone about applying, then
please contact Caroline Hughes on
t024 7652 8487.
The closing date for applications
is Friday 27 February 2004.
Successful applicants will then be
invited to join the Board for the
term May 2004 – end of 2006.
The Board particularly welcomes
applications from WBS Alumni who
fulfil any of the following criteria:
g Industry background in
governance/the public sector
g Industry background in
manufacturing
g An undergraduate degree from WBS
g Graduated in the 1960s, 1970s,
or 1980s.
Caro
line
Hugh
es
sailingThe International Business School Regatta 2003 was
held on The Solent in July. WBS entered two boats, with
crews made up of Distance Learning (DL) and Full Time
(FT) MBA students. The event consisted of six races and
attracted a top class field from the cream of the
European Business Schools. The novice FT crew
achieved a very creditable overall mid table finish but
unfortunately, the DL crew had to retire early due to
technical problems. Well done to everyone who
participated and thank you to the Warwickshire
Brewery Company for their sponsorship of the FT Boat.
Global ChallengeGaining valuable experience in preparation for the
Global Challenge, the round-the-world race in which
she’ll be participating in October 2004, WBS alumna
and Undergraduate Programme Manager, Trixie Gadd
(MMBA 1998–2002) competed in the 2003 Fastnet yacht
race, The 610 mile Fastnet race starts from Cowes, clears
Lands End and rounds the Fastnet Rock off the southern
coast of Ireland before returning back past the Scilly
Isles and on to the finish at Plymouth. Trixie’s crew
finished a creditable 12th in class.
For the Global Challenge, Trixie will join the crew of BG
Spirit, one of the twelve 72ft yachts taking part. To raise
money for her berth fee she is to undertake a 30,000
metre sponsored row in the Piazza on Warwick campus
on 9 February. For details of how to sponsor Trixie and
to follow her progress in preparation for the Global
Challenge, check out her website at:
wwww.trixiesglobalchallenge.co.uk
The last few months of 2003proved to be both busy andproductive for WBS alumni, withreunions, academic update, jointevents and social events both inthe UK and overseas.
The inaugural Warwick MBA 10 year Reunion took place onSaturday 20 September, organisedby alumna Barbara Oldridge(FMBA 1992–93) and the WBSalumni team. The welcome addresswas given by Howard Thomas,Dean, and was followed bypresentations by Professor DavidWilson, ‘The Developing Worldsof Organisation and the MBA’ andDr Bridgette Sullivan-Taylor on‘The Corporate MBA’. After a drinksreception in the WBS Scarman Roadlounge, a lively dinner was held atthe Forest of Arden Hotel &Country Club, Meriden. Attendeeswere eager to catch up with eachother’s news right from the startand carried on until the early hours.
In October, the 2003 WBS Academic Update gave alumni the opportunity to hear the latestacademic thinking on strategy fromfour senior WBS professors withseminars based on the book ‘Images of Strategy’ co-authored bymembers of the Marketing andStrategic Management Group(MSM). David Wilson opened with ‘Strategy as decision making’,followed by John McGeespeaking on ‘Strategy asorchestrating knowledge’.
Following the address by the Deanof WBS, Professor HowardThomas; Robin Wensley discussed,‘Strategy as intention andanticipation’. The event concludedwith an energetic and engagingdebate between Karen Legge andDavid Wilson on ‘Is Strategy-making a Triumph of Hope overExperience?’ A highly interactivesession which rounded off aninformative and successful day.
What is innovation? How does itunderpin better businessperformance? Why are some firmsmore innovative than others?
These are just some of the issuesaddressed by alumni andpractitioners in November, when A T Kearney and the WBS AlumniAssociation hosted a joint event atATK’s prestigious offices in BerkeleySquare, London. WBS Boardmember Craig Baker, Vice President
events review
Trixie
Gad
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Mem
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of th
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at A T Kearney, opened the evening.Keynote speakers Keith Williams,Vice President, A T Kearney andDr Simon Collinson, WBS,exploring the themes through caseexamples and simple frameworksbringing a practitioner and anacademic focus to illustrate theprocess and practice of innovation.Central to the discussion was theneed to overcome organisationalinertia through appropriateleadership, incentive systems andcorporate architecture forfacilitating creativity andintegrating knowledge acrossintra-firm and inter-firm networksfor innovation. The event sparkedsome spirited audience participationand proved an extremely successfuland enjoyable collaboration.
Plans are well underway for thesecond WBS Annual Dinner, to beheld on 13 May 2004, to be hostedby George Cox, Director General ofthe Institute of Directors, in theimpressive Nash Room at theirLondon headquarters.
OverseasIn November, Ranan Lachman(FMBA 1999–2000) invited fellowWBS alumni in New York to aBritish Business Schools andUniversities Alumni NetworkingEvening held at the BritishConsulate General on ThirdAvenue. Ranan reports, “The eventwas a great success with more than200 participants from most of theUK universities.”
In Canada, Chris Lemassif (FMBA1999–2000) hosted the firstWarwick/Richard Ivey BusinessSchool (University of WesternOntario) joint alumni reunion at his Toronto home on 29 November.“Our gatherings include all Warwickgraduates and recent events haveincluded an initiation to curling,
a weekend in the woods and asnowmobiling weekend is in theair,” explains Chris. “A few of ouralumni also happen to be graduatesfrom the University of WesternOntario, which prompted theinaugural reunion for a winetasting, which promises to be the first of many joint events.”
Congratulations to Isaiah Okoth(DLMBA 1990–95) who has recentlybeen elected Chair of the WarwickGraduates Association Kenyanchapter. We look forward toreporting news of Kenyan events inforthcoming reviews.
RegionalThree UK regional groups of WBSalumni meet on a regular basis inthe Midlands, London and Oxford.Their informal evenings are anexcellent opportunity to meet oldfriends and classmates and networkwith new contacts.
A well supported Midlands Groupevent took place in September,when alums came to campus tohear Nigel Piercy, one of the newProfessors of Marketing at WBS,speaking on: ‘Strategic Marketing:Transformation processes in thetraditional salesforce.’ The Midlandsgroup rounded off 2003 with asocial event in central Birminghamin early December.
The Midlands alumni grouporganising committee: Dave Fidler,Sue Hatton, Richard Luckraft,Vanessa Markey, Oliver Parker,
James Rock and Clive South havenow finalised the schedule ofevents for 2004. For moreinformation, contact
First Friday Group events in Londonare held every two months and areproving increasingly popular, withover 50 people attending events inOctober and December. For detailsof future events contact
First Friday early Christmas drinks in the Sunken Bar at M.A.S.H
The Oxford alumni regional groupmeet informally in the Lamb & Flagpub, St Giles, Oxford, followed bydinner at a nearby restaurant.Check for advance notice of theirnext meeting on the alumni website. Organiser: Alex Clark
If you would be interested instarting a group in your area, thenplease contact Caroline Hughes inthe Alumni Office.
If you feel your company couldhost an event or perhaps youcould speak at an event or just haveideas for topics then we would loveto hear from you. Just e-mail
For details of forthcoming alumnievents:
wwww.wbs.ac.uk/alumni/forthcoming.cfm
Toro
nto
First
Frida
y
Online directory of alumni
Access to Harvard Business Review
Calendar of forthcoming events
Latest school and alumni news
Volunteer alumni mentors
Career resources and vacancies
Networking
To log on to view the directory or to access library
information you will need your alumni number.
This is your old student number and is printed on the
address and update sheet enclosed with your magazine.
Alternatively you can contact the alumni office,
e [email protected], who will supply it to you.
www.wbs.ac.uk/alumnia wwwealth of information
Alumni Office
Warwick Business School
University of Warwick
Coventry CV4 7AL
United Kingdom
T +44 (0)24 7652 2813
F +44 (0 24 7652 3719
wwww.wbs.ac.uk/alumni
Pam Barnes
Alumni Publications Officer
T +44 (0)24 7652 4396
Sue Cresswell
Events Co-ordinator
T +44 (0)24 7657 3967
Caroline Hughes
Alumni Networks Co-ordinator
T +44 (0)24 7652 8487
Emily Jamieson
Alumni Relations Assistant
T +44 (0)24 7652 2813
In-house photography by
John Weatherly.
Nexus is the magazine of
the Alumni Association,
Warwick Business School
T +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.