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Warwick Business School Alumni Association magazine: spring 08

Having studied at WBS, you already know the quality of our expertise and teaching. But did you know that we have one of the fastest growing executive development departments in the UK? Our focus is on providing tailored solutions to our corporate clients and to date we have developed over 2,500 delegates.

Developing talent in your organisationWe support you in building future business leaders – those currently at or aiming for senior or executive management level. We listen carefully to your requirements and work with you to design development solutions that support your business objectives. Our faculty are practitioners who understand the challenges facing global business, so you can be sure the learning will be relevant to your organisation.

Our clients come from a range of sectors – large multinationals, UK corporates and not for profit. Recent clients include TNT Express, Lloyds TSB, UBS, Network Rail, Capgemini and Transport for London.

Case studyThe benefits of a WBS education, to individuals and to the organisation, are already visible and will be immense over time.James McCormacChief Operating Officer, TNT Express

James came to WBS looking for a way to develop a common business understanding and language across senior management in 26 countries. He wanted a part-time residential development programme that would be accredited by a university, making it portable, but also specific to his organisation’s needs. WBS stood out for many reasons, not least for our 5-star academic reputation, award winning residential facilities, and dedicated postgraduate teaching complex. But it was our flexibility and ability to respond quickly to their needs which really caught TNT’s attention.

Whether you are looking for the latest information on a particular topic, or are seeking a customised development programme, make WBS your first choice thought leadership partner.

W wbs.ac.uk/executive T +44 (0)24 7652 4395E execqueries@wbs.ac.uk

Release your potential

Executive Education

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What has been at the heart of WBS and Warwick from the mid-1960s is academic rigour and excellence. Our vision and mission as a School is the same as at our inception – to provide outstanding teaching embedded in research excellence. As such, we produce citizens worldwide who not only become leaders within their

field, but contribute to society and communities. Academia is an exciting example of this. In this edition of nexus we demonstrate continued investment into aspiring students and Faculty appointments which is furthering business and management teaching and research globally. As I am sure you are well aware, I am passionate about the investment we provide to our students. More than ever, there is great need for investment in those who want to pursue a career in academia and at WBS we facilitate this. For example, I am proud we have one of the leading global doctoral programmes. More than ever leading business schools need to invest in Faculty to ensure we provide the very best in teaching delivery – from revised curricula, to implementing new teaching styles, which embrace self-discovery, technology and blended learning. Building upon this work, at WBS we are implementing strategies to see us embrace our

message from the dean

position within the upper echelon of European business schools with an international profile and global draw. In 2007 I had the opportunity to meet with more alumni than ever before and across the globe – USA, Canada, China and Europe to name but a few – it has been my privilege meeting with you all and gaining your invaluable feedback. We are committed to relevant lifelong business and management education.

Please take the time to look at our events calendar in the centre pages and keep informed through our monthly eNewsletter and online provision. If you’re not receiving eNews or utilising our online directory, let us know – we are here to help you become globally connected. I hope you enjoy the diversity of news in this edition of nexus and that it will encourage you to engage with us even more in the year ahead. I wish you every success in your endeavours, both professional and personal, in 2008.

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contents

WBS newswhat drives service success?Dr Rhian Silvestroletter from AmericaProfessor Robert W McGeetalent warsDr Susan Bridgewatermessage from MarseillesProfessor Walter Baetsat the hubProfessor Roger Mumby-Croftnotes from AustraliaAssociate Professor Ian GlendonEvent calendar 2008update from ArgentinaDr Andrés HatumWBS development programme40th anniversary global dinnersUK event reviews, SIGs and regional groups alumni newsalumni boardalumni relations & development changes

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Front cover: Dr Jungli (Rowena) Wang (PhD 200�–06) at summer graduation 2007

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nexus: spring 084

Howard Davis, Research Manager, Local Government Centre, has been awarded a major contract by the Department for Work and Pensions to evaluate the LinkAge Plus pilot programme.

This is set against the context of meeting the challenges of ageing in the 21st century.

The programme involves a number of pilot authorities seeking to integrate services for older people, which will be designed to meet the needs of each local area. It seeks to build on effective links between central government, local authorities and other organisations and will be driven by the needs and aspirations of older people themselves. This is potentially a major contribution to the goal of providing modern, effective citizen-centred services.

Professor Paul Marginson, Director, Industrial Relations Research Unit, in collaboration with Professor Paul Edwards of WBS and colleagues at DMU Leicester and King’s College London, recently launched the findings from: ‘the first comprehensive survey of employment practice ever undertaken in multinationals operating in the UK.’

The survey gathered responses from 302 firms covering both overseas-owned and UK-owned firms who have at least 500 employees worldwide. In addition, at least 100 employees had to be based in the UK for overseas-owned MNCs, and at least 100 employees in another country for UK-owned MNCs. Analysis is based on extensive face-to-face interviews with senior HR managers responsible for the UK operations.

The survey examines three key aspects of MNCs in Britain:

• the strategy, structure and control mechanisms of companies

• the structure and role of the HR function • four areas of employment practice

The full report of the survey can be downloaded at: w tinyurl.com/2pjh4e

Simon Collinson, Professor of International Business and Innovation, launched the AIM Executive Briefing in September with Adapting to the China Challenge:

Lessons from Experienced Multinationals at a presentation at the China-Britain Business Council. The briefing was a summary of initial findings from his two-year research study in collaboration with Dr Bridgette Sullivan-Taylor, on foreign multinational enterprises in China.

The unprecedented rise of foreign direct investment into China – now running at over $60 billion a year – has created the largest array of international mergers and acquisitions, alliances, joint ventures and partnerships ever witnessed. The research examines British, European and US firms operating in China. There are numerous success stories and examples of how these multinational firms have overcome the challenges to establish profitable businesses.

To download the reportw www.aimresearch.org/executiveseries.html

Lloyd Harris, Professor of Marketing & Strategy, has won the American Marketing Association Marketing Services Paper of the Year award for his published paper:

Harris, Lloyd C and Emmanuel Ogbonna (2006), Service Sabotage: A Study of Antecedents and Consequences, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 34 (Fall), 543 – 558.

Service sabotage is defined as ‘organisational member behaviours intentionally designed to negatively affect service,’ likely to be especially damaging not only to service encounters but to firm profitability and growth. The survey-based findings largely support the hypothesised antecedents of service sabotage and highlight that a range of individual characteristics, management control efforts, and perceived labour market conditions are linked. Further analysis suggests that such behaviours are associated with individual and group rewards, effects for customers and other performance measures.

At the Chartered Institute of Housing’s annual conference in 2007, the then Communities Secretary, Ruth Kelly unveiled proposals described as the widest-ranging

changes to social housing rules in over 30 years. She was responding to a major review of social housing regulations carried out by Professor Martin Cave, Director, Centre for Management under Regulation (CMuR).

Delivering Housing & Regeneration: Communities England and the Future of Social Housing Regulation contains proposals to create a new housing and regeneration agency. The consultation document outlines:

• the delivery functions proposed to transfer to Communities England from central government

• the portfolio of investment tools proposed • the new agency’s place making

role; explaining how it will tailor its interventions to the needs of communities and seeking views on working with local partners, including the private sector, to create vibrant and economically sustainable places

To see the full report visit w tinyurl.com/2t4mny

Martin Cave

Professor Andrew Sturdy and Nick Wylie, IROB group, have been awarded an Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) grant for a project on internal manage-ment consultancy in

HRM, commencing in July 2008.

Internal Consultants as Agents of Change: The Redesign of the Human Resource Function in the UK will examine how the internal consulting model can contribute to the management of a firm’s human resources. Through four in-depth case studies of internal HR consulting in public and private sector organisations, they will use interviews and observation to generate insights into management consulting, HRM, knowledge transfer and organisational change.

Howard Davis

Andrew Sturdy

Paul Marginson Paul Edwards

Simon Collinson

Lloyd Harris

research review

nexus: spring 08 5

The UK Cabinet Office has awarded Dr Bridgette Sullivan-Taylor, MSM, funding for a three-year study to extend her research on how organisations respond to and deal Bridgette Sullivan-Taylor

hot off the press

with the threat of terrorism. The research project, Assessing Organisational Resilience: The Capacity of Organisations to Cope with the Threat or Act of Terrorism, will seek to identify ways in which organisational resilience in both the public and the private sectors might be embedded and enhanced, not least through the transfer of best practice within and between sectors.

Market Segmentation Success: Making It Happen! by Dr Lyndon Simkin, MSM, and Professor Sally Dibb, Open University, published by The Haworth Press. Explains how to create market segments, select which consumers or business

customers to target, what problems will be encountered, and how to overcome these challenges. W tinyurl.com/28vg6z

The MBA Official Guide Book. Masateru Kato (MBA 2004–05) was a member of the project team that published this guide to introduce European business schools to potential Japanese applicants. Masateru’s article relates his experience of

studying at WBS. Published by Chuokeizai-Sya. W www.chuokeizai.co.jp

Bright Marketing – why should people bother to buy from you? is the latest book by Robert Craven (MBA 1990–91), published by Crimson Books. This informal, interactive book is practical and inspiring, whatever your business size – whether you trade locally, regionally,

nationally or internationally. W www.bright-marketing.co.uk

Department for Transport: Long Term Process and Impact Evaluation of the Local Transport Plan Policy. Howard Davis, Principal Research Fellow, Local Government Centre, has been involved in publications concerned with future options for

transport – two projects for the Department for Transport and one for the Passenger Transport Executive Group.

Implementing Information and Consultation: early experience under the ICE Regulations, M Hall, S Hutchinson, J Parker, J Purcell and

Advances in Organisational Psychology co-edited by Associate Professor Ian Glendon (MBA 1987–88), School of Psychology, Griffith University, Queensland, published by Australian Academic Press. Includes chapters by acclaimed researchers

on work-family balance, upwards bullying, wellbeing at work, leadership, teamwork, emotional intelligence and organisational justice. W tinyurl.com/256fvm

Project Management Survival by Richard A D Jones (DLMBA 1988–93), published by Kogan Page. Offers practical advice on getting to the truth of a project, developing a genuinely workable plan and reveals how to manage people to keep projects on track. W tinyurl.com/2bpvdv

Essentials of Modern Spectrum Management by Martin Cave and Chris Doyle, CMuR, with William Webb, Ofcom, published by Cambridge University Press. As regulators move away from traditional spectrum management methods, this book pioneers new

ground describing and evaluating modern spectrum management tools. W tinyurl.com/ys4j6n

BSA Twins – The Essential Buyers guide by Peter Henshaw (MAIR 1984–86), published by Veloce Publishing. A practical guide to buying one of these highly usable classic bikes today. Covers the complete range, from the very first 1946 500cc

A7 to the final 1973 650cc A65s. w tinyurl.com/ypjmug

Smartarse’s Guide to Organisational Change by HR consultants GeorgeBlair and Sandy Meadows (BSc ManSci

1971–74), illustrator Janet Nunn. A humorous, practical and deceptively simple guide to well-balanced and effective organisational change, aimed at all those who have battled vainly against the inflexibility of big organisations. Published by Smartarse Media w tinyurl.com/295r64

M Terry, Employment Relations Research Series No. 88, Dept for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, 2007. A report

The project will build on her recent ground-breaking research, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, which examined the intricate inter-relationships between international tourism and terrorism, and how managers in the travel and tourism sector cope with the uncertainties caused by the threat of terrorism.

research review

undertaken by a WBS IRRU-based research team on behalf of the government published on the Department’s web site. W tinyurl.com/37oeb8

nexus: spring 086 WBS news

awards and honoursMembers of WBS faculty have recently been recognised externally for their excellence...

Dean of WBS Howard Thomas has been honoured with the title of ABS Companion, this title was created to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the launch of the Association of Business Schools (ABS). Seven companions in total have been awarded. Besides Howard, two of the other Companions, Peter McKiernan and Andrew Pettigrew, are former professors of WBS.

Professor Lloyd Harris has been awarded the prestigious American Marketing Association (AMA) Marketing Services Paper of the Year for his majority authored paper entitled Service Sabotage: A Study of Antecedents and Consequences in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.

Professor Lucio Sarno has been awarded the US-based Centre for Economic Policy Research/ESI 2007 prize for the Best Central Bank Research Paper. Lucio co-authored Asset Prices, Exchange Rates and the Current Account, looking into the role of asset prices mainly in comparison to exchange rates as a driver of the US trade balance.

Professor Colin Carnall recently gave a presentation on Change Management at the Arcelor Mittal headquarters in Luxemburg. Arcelor Mittal is the world’s largest steel company. Colin’s presentation was not only viewed by 200 Arcelor Mittal executives but was also web cast to their executives globally.

Dr Duncan Angwin has been invited by the UK Management Consultancies Association (MCA) and the Sunday Times to be a judge for the Consultant of the Year Award.

new building opens

A landmark event in the history of WBS took place on Saturday 21 July, as alumni, faculty, retired staff, friends, donors and members of the School’s advisory boards came together to celebrate the 40th anniversary.

The second phase of WBS Scarman Road was officially opened by Val Gooding CBE, CEO of BUPA (BA French Studies 1968–71). Former Chair and current member of the Board of WBS, Val recalled her time as a student at Warwick, her pride in being associated with WBS, and commended the WBS community for their role in creating such a successful School with an outstanding global reputation for academic excellence. Speeches by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nigel Thrift, and WBS Founders’ Association member and Chair, Sandy Meadows (BSc Management Sciences 1971–74) acknowledged the role endowment and donations are making to WBS’ vision for future development and continued success.

The Academic Update on Building a Sustainable Future demonstrated Warwick’s commitment to creating global citizens who can make this a reality. The ‘from global to local’ session featured Professor Nigel Thrift, Vice-Chancellor; Nick Hillard, Environment Officer, and Professor Peter Mills, Warwick Horticulture Research International. ‘The practitioner debate’ seminars were presented by Dr Henri Winand (EXMBA 1999–03), CEO, Intelligent Energy; Leigh Chadwick (BSc Accounting & Financial Analysis 1975–78), Co-owner, Seasalt Cornwall; and Dr Catherine Mitchell, Principal Research Fellow, CMuR.

Here’s to the next 40 years of innovation, diversity and success!

Watch the official opening ceremony:w www.wbs.ac.uk/news/features/2007/07/21/WBS/officially/opens

rankingsWBS is now ranked 27th in the world in the WhichMBA? Economist Intelligence Unit ranking, a rise of 4 places. In the Financial Times ranking its Full-time MBA is currently 36th in the world, while its Executive MBA is ranked 23rd.

significant role for WBS in international congressThe success of the 8th European Congress of the International Industrial Relations Association, held in the UK for the first time in 30 years, owed much to WBS. Professor Linda Dickens MBE chaired the organising committee, and major contributions during the Congress came from Professor Colin Crouch, Professor Paul Marginson and Dr Guglielmo Meardi. Last but by no means least, and in keeping with its strategy of supporting and encouraging research engagement, WBS provided sponsorship awards to enable attendance by 13 doctoral students and new researchers who came from eight countries.

8th industrial relations congress

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MBA sailingWarwick MBA students and alumni have been involved in international sailing regattas and races for some years now. Read reports of their efforts in the Global MBAs Cup, and the Fastnet Race. w tinyurl.com/2ohpt8

WBS news

As well as the lovely new building, a number of other ‘firsts’ have happened at WBS since the last issue of nexus, reflecting the quality and international character of WBS...

highest number of new undergraduatesProfessor Paul Edwards, Associate Dean for the Undergraduate Programme, reports on recent landmarks in the WBS Undergraduate Programme: ‘We have just achieved our biggest first year intake in WBS history. Around 425 new first year students arrived at the start of term to join our main undergraduate degrees. Average entry points exceeded our tough admissions requirements. Across all cohorts, we have achieved a perfect 50:50 gender balance, and a record 71 nationalities from around the world are represented.’

CFA accreditation for WBS under-graduate and masters level degreesIn September, WBS was awarded the US-based CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Institute Level 1 accreditation for our BSc Accounting & Finance degree. This achievement means that WBS is the first business school in the world to enjoy CFA accreditation for both Masters-level and Bachelors-level degrees; the MSc Economics & Finance (now MSc Finance & Economics) and MSc Finance degrees were accredited at Levels 1, 2 and 3 in December 2006.

Investors recognise the CFA designation as the definitive standard for measuring competence and integrity in the fields of portfolio management and investment analysis.

masters in management accreditationIn July, our MSc in Management was given Pre-Experience Masters in General Management (PEMM) accreditation by the Association of MBA’s International Accreditation Advisory Board. The current PEMM criteria were put together following extensive consultation with employers and institutions offering PEMMs.

MSc in marketing & strategy recognitionOur MSc Marketing & Strategy degree has gained Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) recognition, which means that UK and EU students on this degree are eligible to apply for ESRC-funded scholarships for the 2009 intake. This degree is also now accredited by the UK’s Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) accreditation of Prior Learning, giving students who have chosen the Marketing and Communications elective module to gain credit towards the CIM Professional Diploma in Marketing.

our DLMBA spreads to a record number of countriesWBS now has candidates from the highest ever number of countries applying for the Warwick MBA by Distance Learning. Four new countries are now represented – Balize, Maldives, Morocco and Nepal, bringing the impressive international list to 57 in just one intake. Across the DLMBA as a whole, over 100 countries are now represented.

achievements and landmarks

Robert Dyson retiresRobert Dyson, Professor of Operational Research at WBS, retired at the end of 2007. Robert began his career at WBS, then known as SIBS – School of Industrial and Business Studies – in 1970 as a lecturer in Operational Research. He has the currently unique attribute of heading WBS twice; once as Chairman from 1978 to 1981, and then as Dean from 1997 to 2000. It was during his Deanship that WBS became the first UK business school to achieve triple accreditation

– from the Association of MBAs, the European Foundation for Management Development, and the US-based AACSB International.

To read more about Robert’s contribution and achievements visitw www.wbs.ac.uk/news/features

WBS media profile rises againMedia references to WBS for the past 12 months, at 590, were over 18 percent higher than the previous year, placing us again in the top 5 business schools in the UK. Congratulations and thanks to all faculty, staff, current students and alumni; these contributions helped to achieve one of our best years ever.

summer graduationLast summer’s Graduation Week was even more of a landmark event than usual, as we not only celebrated almost 900 students successfully graduating, but also marked our 40th anniversary, and formally opened the latest GBP9million building extension at WBS Scarman Road.

nexus: spring 08 alumni in academia8

what drives service success?Dr Rhian Silvestro (EMBA �987–9�, PhD �99�–96) Associate Professor of Operations Management, charts her return to the theme of service performance measurement.

When the editor invited me to write this article for Nexus, I wondered whether she knew that this is the 20th anniversary of my career at WBS or whether I just look as though I’ve been around for that long!

Well, I must say, it doesn’t feel that long ago since I intrepidly stepped into the Business School for my interview. At the time I was working at Mitaka Translations as production manager. It was a really stimulating business environment and a typical operations management ‘hot seat’. I joined WBS as a research fellow collaborating on a project on service performance measurement, and also took the opportunity of pursuing the MBA. I was keeping my options open in terms of returning to industry: but I’m still here!

After completing the research fellowship, the MBA by evening study and delivering my first-born (I’ll always remember the delights of dashing out of my Strategic Management exam three times with morning sickness…), I became an ESRC teaching fellow in the OM group and embarked on a PhD. Getting the PhD was also rather a close-run thing between delivering the dissertation and delivering the second baby (my viva being four weeks before my due date).

In more recent years I have returned to the theme of performance measurement, focusing on understanding the drivers of service performance. The management literature is laden with assumptions about what drives service success. Received wisdom has it that ‘you can’t make happy customers without happy employees’ (founder of Marriott Hotels), and that satisfied and loyal customers drive profit and growth. Intuitively it makes sense; but is it true?

This question has fascinated me and I have been lucky enough to collaborate on some research studies to investigate these supposed performance linkages [1]. Fortunately many of the research outcomes have been counter-intuitive and tricky to interpret: so it’s kept me busy for a number of years now. Let me outline some of the research findings which whetted my appetite to explore the issues further:

• In a superstore chain, we found that the most productive and profitable stores generated the lowest levels of employee satisfaction. This was explained in terms

of store size: in this industry large stores tend to be more profitable than small stores; they are more pleasant places to shop, but far more stressful as places of work. So the finding, which went against the received wisdom, could readily be explained by the management. Yet at the outset of the research they had fully bought into the idea, and indeed it was part of the management rhetoric of the organisation, that employee satisfaction drove customer satisfaction which in turn drove store profitability.

• In a chain of DIY stores, there was no evidence of a link between customer loyalty and financial performance: seemingly a basic tenet of retail management. Again management were forthcoming with an explanation. The profitability of this organisation was significantly influenced by product mix, purchasing and store layout: all decisions which were made centrally rather than by store managers. Furthermore huge supplier rebates based on purchasing volumes had a major impact on profitability. So again the management accepted that customer loyalty and financial performance did not appear to be linked at store level, despite the fact that when the project was being set up they had espoused the view that customer satisfaction and loyalty were key drivers of financial performance.

• In a telecommunications company years of measuring customer satisfaction had failed to prove a link between customer satisfaction and financial performance. The management could not understand why this might be. However, analysis of the satisfaction data in a slightly different way was revealing: instead of taking mean satisfaction scores we analysed the percentage of dissatisfied customers. This manifested an inverse correlation: revenues fell as dissatisfaction increased; this time an endorsement of the received wisdom. Whilst highlighting the importance of ‘top box’ measures of customer satisfaction, this also signals the need for multiple measures of performance in order to better understand performance linkages in different contexts.

I believe that the key message here for managers is that they should not take the management teaching of academics and

consultants at face value. Challenging the received wisdom is healthy and there is always a need to test the precepts of management in one’s own organisation. The results are often unexpected, surprising, even uncomfortable, but once the outcomes are established, I find managers are often able to explain them. And, importantly, this forces the organisation to change its management rhetoric to better match the business realities.

[1] My collaborators on the projects referred to in this article include WBS MBA alumni, Stuart Cross, Michael Pritchard and Tse How (Don) Low. Publications based on this work can be accessed at: w tinyurl.com/38zzp5

Rhian Silvestro teaches operations and service management on a range of undergraduate, postgraduate and executive courses. She was formerly production manager at Mitaka, a Far East translation and printing company. Subsequently she became a

Research Fellow in the Operations Management Group at WBS.

Rhian has conducted service management research in a number of large, leading edge organisations including retail companies, banks, transport companies and call centres. She has acted as a consultant to ward managers in NHS hospital trusts, as well as NHS Direct, in the area of nurse scheduling and the computerisation of rostering systems. She reviews and referees papers for over ten international journals and is a member of the European Operations Management Association.

Her research interests include: service process design; process improvement; quality management; performance measurement in service organisations; workforce scheduling; health service management.

the author in minute

9nexus: spring 08 alumni in academia

letter from AmericaProfessor Robert W McGee (PhD �982–86) is Professor of Accounting at the Andreas School of Business in Florida. Here he focuses on his business ethics research.

I started teaching here in 2002 after returning from Bosnia, where I was part of a USAID accounting reform project. One of the things I like about Barry University is the small classes. I know the students by name and they don’t get lost in the crowd. We have a fair number of international students, which adds to the richness and diversity of the educational experience. Some have worked in other countries and can bring their experiences into the lectures.

I have studied a number of business ethics issues over the years. One common thread I have found is that many ethics scholars present arguments that are either emotional or illogical. I try to improve on their analyses by applying accepted ethical systems to various issues. Since most economists and many lawyers are utilitarians, I feel compelled to apply utilitarian ethics so we will be on the same wavelength. But there are several structural flaws with utilitarian ethics. There is no way to accurately measure gains and losses, so one must estimate whether the gains exceed the losses. According to utilitarian ethics, something is ethical if the result is a positive-sum game and unethical if it is not, so it is necessary to estimate whether the gains exceed the losses.

that they seldom give any arguments that will hold up under careful examination. Utilitarian analysis refutes most of their arguments and the solutions they suggest often require violating someone’s property or contract rights, which makes their solution unethical automatically.

Another issue I am looking at is the ethics of tax evasion. Many people think that tax evasion is always unethical. But the last 500 years of philosophical and theological literature make some exceptions. A few years ago I ran across a doctoral thesis on the topic that summarised the philosophical and theological literature. I constructed a questionnaire based on that thesis and have been distributing it to various groups ever since. I ask respondents to grade the arguments on a scale of 1 to 7. Then I rank them from strongest to weakest. What I found is that many people believe tax evasion can be ethical under certain circumstances.

One of the strongest arguments to justify tax evasion is for Jews living in Nazi Germany. Other strong arguments are in cases where the government is corrupt, where the tax system is unfair or where tax rates are too high. Results differ based on country, gender, age and ethnicity.

I plan to continue to write academic stuff and will also start publishing novels. I have started writing a few already and expect to finish one or two manuscripts by the end of the year. I would also like to visit one or two new countries each year. I like travel – it expands my horizons and will give me material for the novels.

I enjoyed my time at Warwick. Roger Fawthrop was my thesis supervisor. He spent most of his career as a practising accountant and rose to a high position at a major British corporation before switching to academia. Coming from a practitioner background myself, having Roger as my supervisor was a good fit. He helped me focus on what was important and guided me through every step of the thesis process.

I am glad to be a part of the WBS world community. It seems that wherever I go I meet Warwick graduates or people who think

Robert W McGee teaches in the Andreas School of Business at Barry University in Miami, USA. He has published more than 50 scholarly books and more than 400 articles, book chapters and papers in the fields of accounting,

taxation, economics, law, philosophy and ethics. The Journal of Business Ethics ranked him No.� in the world for business ethics scholarship. He is also ranked in the top one-tenth of one percent by the Social Science Research Network out of more than 80,000 scholars worldwide.

One of his specialties is accounting and financial reporting in transition and developing economies. He assisted the Armenian finance ministry to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), drafted the accounting law for Armenia and Bosnia and reviewed the proposed accounting law for Mozambique. He also helped upgrade the accounting curriculum in all major universities in Armenia and all eight Bosnian universities.

Another area of interest is business ethics. His general approach is to apply utilitarian ethics and rights theory to a variety of ethical issues. One of his current projects involves survey research on the ethics of tax evasion, gathering opinion data from various countries, ethnic and religious groups.

He has lectured or consulted throughout North, South and Central America, the Caribbean, Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia and is on the summer faculties of the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark and Thammasat University in Bangkok. He recently completed a term as visiting research scholar at the Curtin Business School in Australia.

In his spare time he likes to walk on the beach, play guitar and write novels.

w www.barry.edu/businessundergraduate/faculty/mcgee-robert.asp

the author in minute

Barry University was founded in 1940 and is located in the suburbs of Miami, Florida, USA. The Andreas School of Business got its name from Mrs D Inez Andreas, a benefactor. It has 21 full-time faculty and an ethnically diverse student body. Latin American and Caribbean countries are especially well represented. It offers bachelors and masters degrees and is accredited by the AACSB.

highly of the WBS. The continually high rankings in the various surveys help give the school a good image, which benefits us all.

But an even more important flaw in utilitarian ethics is the total disregard of rights. So I supplement utilitarian ethics with rights theory. Most business ethics scholars don’t use this approach, which is what separates my work from that of most others.

For example, most economists agree that free trade results in a positive-sum game because the gains exceed the losses. That makes it an ethical act for utilitarians. Yet many academic papers take the position that free trade is unethical for some reason. The problem is

nexus: spring 08 alumni in academia�0

Identifying and attracting the best talentOnce talent has blossomed, there is a competitive market to attract it. In many sectors, the best talent is difficult to attract, motivate and retain. Football recognises that the best method of winning the talent wars is to identify talent early. This it does through extensive scouting networks and academy training. Whilst this has its challenges, it is relatively costly to set up this type of system and the fail rate is considerable, the discovery of raw gems is felt to merit a grassroots approach. At what stage should other sectors begin their identification and preparation of potential talent? Are we leaving it too late and losing out to competitors?

Motivating talented individualsOne football manager described to me an ideal Premiership playing squad as having two good players for every position and a good youngster coming through, thus three players for every position. Assuming though that talented individuals have equivalent sized egos, how do you handle the competitive dynamics between these three contenders. If not handled correctly, the incumbent feels under pressure, the reserve disenchanted and the rising star tempted to move on to further first team opportunities. Should we opt for the squad rotation. All then get their chance to shine, but Claudio Ranieri at Chelsea was nicknamed ‘the Tinkerman’ for his many first-team permutations and squad rotation was viewed as managerial inability to recognise the best line up.

talent warsDr Susan Bridgewater (DLMBA �986–90, PhD �99�–95), Associate Professor of Marketing & Strategy, examines the challenges faced by football managers as talent managers and whether there are parallels for other business sectors.

Susan Bridgewater was the first DLMBA graduate to achieve her doctorate from WBS. Her research interests are branding; international marketing; marketing and strategy in professional sports; football clubs as brands and strategic management of football.

Susan was previously international brand manager with Nairn-Forbo and new products manager, Unilever. She was Academic Director of The Warwick MBA by distance learning �999–02. Susan is now Director of the Certificate course for football managers and teaches blue-chip clients including Chrysalis, HSBC, Prudential, KPMG, RHM and the Football Association, League Managers’ Association and the Professional Footballers’ Association.

the author in minute

Conversely, high profile players such as Bobby Charlton struggled to make the grade as managers. So how does specialism and talent at the operational level relate to future leadership success?

Some commentators point to the different requirements of playing excellence, which requires individual skill, and management excellence which involves bringing the best out of teams of others. Others note that highly talented individuals may do things intuitively, whilst the less talented have to develop techniques and think through how to deliver. The latter may be an advantage in bringing performances out of others and so more likely to bring management success.

Do players of some positions make better managers than others?A well-known football Chairman recently claimed that ‘goalkeepers never make good managers.’ Others maintain that management style relates to the position played, such that defenders may be more cautious managers and strikers bolder and more entrepreneurial. Whilst the data does not show any relationship between playing position and football management success, this raises the broader question of whether business is also subject to this type of lore. Do we tend, for example, to promote those with customer-facing experience over those with technical, or vice versa? Is this similarly preconception rather than based on a proven relationship with management success?

Organisational success increasingly depends on getting the most out of talented, flexible knowledge workers. WBS developed and runs a Certificate in Applied Management, funded by the Professional Footballers Association, for current and aspiring football managers.

Why is football management a good metaphor for business?• Football management is a turbulent career

choice. More than half (47) of the 92 English football league managers were dismissed in the 2006 – 2007 season. Football managers may be held accountable for failing to deliver results on the pitch which result from resource, governance and other failings of the broader organisation.

• Football is the ultimate results business; clear performance measures, scrutinised by media, fans and other involved stakeholders. Success or failure may ride on a single match. £60 million rests on the 90 minute play-off final for the third promotion place from the second to first League.

• Success depends on getting others to perform. Once the players cross the line onto the pitch, the manager has limited ability to control their performance.

• Football managers manage talented individuals with different team roles – goalkeeper, defender, midfield or attack. Success depends on all functions delivering and working together.

• Talented individuals can be unpredictable under match pressure, as seen in red cards and penalty misses in the heat of the moment.

• Resources are limited. If a first choice player is injured or suspended, the football manager may have to deploy resources out of position. This need for flexibility is not covered well by other business metaphors, such as Drucker’s orchestra, although it is a challenge faced by many businesses.

Football questions which may apply to business

Do you have to have been an excellent player to be an excellent manager?Some of the best known football managers were not high profile players. José Mourinho, Arsène Wenger and Sven Goran Eriksson played only at lower league level but are excellent managers.

��nexus: spring 08 alumni in academia

After �5 years in business (strategic planning and decision support), Walter Baets decided to change and join the academic world. A graduate in econometrics and operations research from Antwerp University (Belgium), he was awarded a PhD from WBS in �994, and defended his Habilitation thesis at the University Paul Cezanne, Aix-Marseille III.

He has held academic positions in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and is now Associate Dean for Research and MBA Director at Euromed Marseille Ecole de Management. He has published �0 books and more than 50 academic papers on the subjects of complexity, knowledge and learning. His latest book is titled: Complexity, Learning and Organizations: A quantum interpretation of business (Routledge, 2006).

message from MarseillesProfessor Walter Baets (PhD �989–94) is Associate Dean for Research and MBA Director at Euromed Marseille Ecole de Management. He maintains that complexity theory and quantum mechanics give a completely new insight into management.

Four years ago I had the opportunity to join a school in serious turmoil with the ambition of becoming a top European school, different from the others, which would contribute something new to the business community. I joined Euromed Marseille as Director Graduate Programs, with the academic responsibility for all the Masters and Bachelors programmes. I had the unique opportunity to take an important and active part in the re-creation of the school’s vision and its pedagogical approach, based on a more holistic view on management.

Euromed Marseille undertakes research and delivers programmes that aim to enrich the more functional approach to management, let us say to complement the more Anglo Saxon approach to management. A holistic, systemic view on management allows the development of a managerial theory and its application. This makes issues like responsibility, sustainability, ethics and diversity co-creating forces in the added value that a company can offer the marketplace. It is not a coincidence that Euromed joined the Global Compact programme and today we are taking part in a pilot study with the Global Compact programme to give a seal of

same lines quantum mechanics, give us a completely new insight into management. Instead of searching causalities on a high level of integration, today science suggests that it might all be based on a highly interacting world of intention, energy and interconnectedness. The Newtonian view of the world is clearly not working in management and now we know why; how long do we need before starting to develop a new managerial theory?

My research, in cooperation with companies, is oriented towards the understanding of the implications of complexity theory and the impact of consciousness on managerial practice (in particular in learning, knowledge management, innovation and personal development). I run a blog* where there is much of my work and links to other people’s work in this field under the readings section. Most of my teaching is oriented to ‘complexity, creativity and learning’ and ‘the quantum interpretation of business’, mainly in executive education and coaching.

Many years ago I met Robert Dyson on one of the first Euro Summer Schools about decision making under uncertainty. He made such an impression that when I decided to go for a PhD (in my early 30s), I wanted to join WBS. I started on the Distance Learning MBA but after the first year decided to continue for a PhD. It just so happens I am more of a creator than a follower. I had the opportunity to have Bob Galliers as my tutor (who had just joined

the author in minute

Euromed Marseille Ecole de ManagementCreated in 1872 by the Chamber of Commerce. Re-named 2003 (formerly Groupe ESC Marseille Provence). EQUIS and AMBA accredited. Adhered to the UN Global Compact in 2005. 3150 Students (of which 35% foreign students of 50 nationalities). 68 full time faculty members (of which 40% foreign faculty)Campuses in Marseille, Algiers and Shanghai. Exchange agreements with 109 universities through the world. Budget of approximately €40 millionw www.euromed-marseille.com

approval to students (and not schools) that choose a curriculum based on the Global Compact values. We deliberately do not produce clones, but allow each student to have an individualised curriculum with a great deal of project based learning.

Personally, I am extremely interested in how complexity theory, and along the

WBS). Stephanie Stray (Distance Learning MBA director in those days), Robert Dyson and Bob Galliers represent for me what I would relate most to the Warwick scientific spirit: down to earth, humble people who all contribute to what they feel is their mission. This mission I believe, as they do, is to support people to evolve academically and in business life. They are rigorous academics who respect intellectual freedom and scientific experimentation. By putting this into practice WBS does make a difference; at least it did for me.

I dream of tailor-made learning, given to whoever wants it, wherever in the world, whenever he or she wants to, and all this at an accessible price. If we do not manage to give learning to those who want it but cannot afford it immediately, we fail our academic mission. I am not here to make the smart smarter, and the rich richer. We have designed and developed a learning platform that enables this kind of learning to be given throughout the world, combining high quality and low price and adapted to any specific need. It is now just a question of finding some companies or individuals to fund this operation.

And if one day the opportunity arose for me to have a research group on consciousness in business, I would accept this as a gift from heaven!

w http://euromed.blogs.com

nexus: spring 08 alumni in academia�2

at the hubWarwick alumnus Roger Mumby-Croft (MA Social History �992–94), Professor of Enterprise, sets out the new WBS strategy for supporting the start and growth of new businesses.

WBS has recently appointed me to the role of Professor of Enterprise and my remit is to create an Enterprise Hub that will promote, develop and deliver across a wider area of enterprise activities.

One of the main areas I will be concentrating on will be enterprise programmes for alumni. It is becoming increasingly important for Universities to have a dynamic, interactive and ongoing relationship with alumni over much longer periods of time.

This must, of course, start whilst people are at University and we will be putting a lot of support into the coordinating of student enterprise societies, for those students who want to understand more about enterprise and/or want to start their own business whilst at University and I hope that many alumni might be interested in helping with this initiative.

We will, of course, want to engage alumni more closely on a whole range of programmes. In 2008, we plan to run a Business Start-up weekend that will help those who are thinking of becoming owners/managers to have a greater degree of success. We will also run Business Growth programmes for those alumni who already run their own company but may want help with their growth strategy. This relationship has, of course, to be two-way to be effective and therefore we will welcome alumni involvement in a number of areas.

For instance, we are, in conjunction with Warwick Science Park, setting up an Alumni Angels Network (see P21), the aim of which is to bring together alumni with money to invest with University spin-out or alumni start-up companies. We also want to increase the number of alumni who might act as mentors to students or alumni enterprise as well as to actively participate in our teaching either as guest speakers or indeed undertaking some teaching.

Forming partnerships will be an important part of progressing the Enterprise Hub. These partnerships will need to be with a number of key players. For example with other parts of the University such as Warwick Ventures and the Bio-medical area, such alliances added to the one with the Science Park will enable a far better level of integration both within

the University and outside. This can only help to raise the profile of both WBS and the University within its regional hinterland.

Another key alliance, as stated, will be the one with the alumni community. This partnership has to become a two-way life-long relationship starting when students are still at University whilst, at the same time, having proactive links with those who have left for 20 years or more. WBS needs input from the alumni as mentors, speakers and investors, as well as asking them to be involved with course development so that we are always ensuring what we deliver is market relevant.

With this relationship in mind we are promoting the start-up programme to alumni. It will take the form of a Business Start-up weekend. For the modest cost of £500 this will provide two days of high quality information, support and guidance on how to give oneself the best opportunity to succeed if starting a business is something that is a major attraction to you as a life-option. More and more people are viewing their own business as their way forward and we want to ensure that those of our alumni who are in this category get the best possible advice.

The weekend will cover creativity, idea generation and personal profiles as well as marketing, finance and business planning. There will be a number of external presenters who are all excellent practitioners as well as WBS faculty whose area of interest this is. Furthermore, for those who do take the

Roger Mumby-Croft recently joined WBS as Professorial Fellow, working with Professors Howard Thomas and David Storey (Director of the Centre for Small & Medium-Sized Enterprises).

Before joining WBS, Roger created and directed a new Enterprise Centre at Oxford Brookes University Business School. Prior to this he held a variety of academic positions at Oxford Brookes and Westminster College, Oxford.

During the �980’s Roger founded and directed SeaKing Fish Products Ltd in Grimsby. Before beginning this business venture, he was the marketing director for GMC (Holdings) Ltd.

Roger’s principal achievements include a DTI Business Fellow award; he was a European Union Senior Expert in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management. He was responsible for the Developing Management Excellence (DMT) programme for the hi-tech and bioscience sectors and Business Boffins – a three year support programme for SMEs.

He is a board member and chair of several small business forums and networks and is a NED of Brand Blue Ltd.

the author in minute

initiative and actually start their own business the Enterprise Hub will continue to support them during their first year in business.

If you are interested in registering to receive more details of this forthcoming event

E sian.lawrence@wbs.ac.uk

the new enterprise hub

The Enterprise Hub will take an integrated approach to delivering a range of enterprise related projects in a number of different areas.

It will, for instance, coordinate and support the start-up of student enterprises, as well as working closely with partners such as the University of Warwick Science Park, to support staff and alumni who wish to start a company that may be the result of their work at the University.

�3nexus: spring 08 alumni in academia

notes from Australia Ian Glendon (FMBA �987–88) writes from the Gold Coast School of Psychology, charting his involvement in its development and giving an insight into his research in the organisational and traffic & transportation psychology fields.

Griffith University’s six campuses stretch 80 kilometres from Brisbane to the Gold Coast between SE Queensland’s beautiful coast and spectacular hinterland. The Gold Coast School of Psychology, where I have been based since emigrating in 1996, began in 1994 with a small core of staff. The new campus had few buildings and no library. I was attracted by the vision of those I spoke with and the friendly atmosphere.

My first task was developing a new postgraduate degree programme in organisational psychology, of which I remained director until last year. Like its sister school that began a few years earlier in Brisbane, our student and staff numbers grew rapidly. For ten years, Griffith boasted two schools of psychology. The 2004 merger formed one of the largest schools of psychology in Australia, with 45 academic staff supporting a flourishing suite of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. I was head of the Gold Coast School 2001–03 to oversee continuing school expansion and developing our talented staff to ensure that we merged as an equal partner.

Our School is one of the most productive within the University in publications, research grants and PhD completions. Within one of fastest growing regions of the developed world, the Gold Coast campus is experiencing phenomenal growth, and is now Griffith’s largest campus, with well over 10,000 students and extensive future expansion plans. With education being Australia’s fourth biggest export, like most universities down under, Griffith attracts many international students.

My research is mainly in the organisational and traffic & transportation fields, focusing on individual and organisational risk & safety. My current research involves local, national and international collaboration.

With colleagues from Griffith University’s School of Employment Relations I am involved in a State government funded project into high performance work systems as part of the Queensland Government’s ‘Smart State’ initiative. I have a special interest in safety climate in high risk sector organisations, for example aviation, rail transport, and healthcare.

With colleagues from the School of Marketing and the School of Tourism at Griffith, I am researching consumers’ reactions to company crises, and how organisations should best deal with crises – for example, using strategies involving denial, justification, ‘no comment’, or confession.

In collaboration with accounting and finance specialists in three other Australian universities, I am investigating cognitive biases in professional, retail and naïve Australian and New Zealand share investors. Biases that we are particularly interested in are negative weighting, over-confidence, anchoring, representativeness, self-serving, and severity. Our research findings should help investors to make more informed decisions about psychological aspects of investing, even if the effects of cognitive biases cannot be completely overcome.

I undertake cross-cultural research in risk management and risk culture in high risk sector organisations (eg petro-chemical, electricity distribution and supply). We have data from organisations in Australia and Hong Kong, and I also collaborate with researchers in Beijing. Inter alia, this involves translating survey materials into Chinese.

I am also currently undertaking a substantial consultancy project on safety culture for a large rail sector organisation.

Ian Glendon is Associate Professor at Griffith University’s School of Psychology (Gold Coast, Australia). He has held visiting positions at universities in Australia and China.

His research interests include OHS/risk management, safety culture/climate, and driver behaviour/stress. He has supervised 22 research higher degree students to completion and his over �00 publications include four co-authored books. He has consulted for over 60 clients on safety culture/climate analysis, occupational health and safety auditing, human error/reliability analysis, and injury/incident analysis. He was an Expert Panel member for the 2003–04 NSW Special Commission of Inquiry into the Waterfall Rail Accident.

He is a registered Psychologist in Queensland, a Chartered Fellow of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, a Chartered Occupational Psychologist (UK), and President (2006–�0) of the International Association of Applied Psychology Traffic and Transportation Psychology Division.

w www.griffith.edu.au/school/psy/

the author in minute

My Warwick MBA knowledge contributed to my leadership roles, particularly the school headship. Some accounting knowledge helped in communications with finance and administration, while effective marketing ensured high brand visibility to potential students and other stakeholders. My previous management experience included nine years as director of a start-up Aston Science Park company, which I jointly founded in 1984 – one motivation for taking the Warwick MBA.

I enjoyed the Warwick MBA challenge and my academic experience probably helped me to that sought-after distinction. Tony Steele described accounting topics, all of which were new to me, in a language that I could understand, while Peter Doyle – also now sadly deceased, uniquely marketed himself along with his message. Andrew Pettigrew’s intellect was impressive and doubtless still is!

My future goals include adding to my publishing tally, continuing my consulting work, maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and hopefully inspiring generations of students.

�4

Throughout the autumn and spring terms WBS hosts a series of six lectures aimed at gathering students and alumni to hear world class speakers on campus. The spring series begins with a panel on Risk Management on �� February. Full details are available online.

WBS forajanuary�8 Corporate Fundraising Dinner23 Winter Graduation and Celebration Lunch23 MBA Projects evening 26 Alumni Board Away Day29 WBSS Forum

february

march

april24 Annual Dinner – House of Commons24 Volunteers’ Daytbc Midlands regional grouptbc Thames Valley regional group

0� Academic Update – Strategy development, leadership and operations management

07 First Friday London group �0 WBS Forum�8 WBS Board meeting29 Executive MBA Dinner

07 World Grad tour – Washington DC 09 Business Angels alumni event 09 World Grad tour – New York �� WBS Forum – Risk Management �2 South West Regional Group 20 Telecoms SIG – Martin Cave – Liberalising

wireless telecoms in the developing world25 WBS Forum 26 Singapore Academic Update26 Alumni Board meeting28 WBS Forum

may�4 WBS – Detica City Seriestbc Oxford regional group

nexus: spring 08 WBS events calendar 2008

academic update

Saturday �st MarchFollowing on from the sell-out success of the 2007 Academic Updates, the first Academic Update in 2008 will see WBS faculty discussing Strategy development, leadership and operations management. The event is open to all alumni and guests and is aimed at those who would like to update their knowledge with reference to the latest research at an incredible price of £65 for each one-day seminar.

W www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni/forthcoming.cfm

�5

WBS annual open day (including Global Academic Update with star faculty and alumni & Summer Ball)

Saturday �9 – Sunday 20 July 2008 Building on the success of the Academic Update Series and Annual Summer Ball, we are merging both events into one this year, over a weekend on campus which provides you with the opportunity to hear from lead faculty and our most senior alumni about global challenges in business and management and an opportunity for you to reconnect with classmates or alumni in similar professions over a relaxed summer ball. Also an opportunity to explore campus, use the facilities and reconnect. Put the date in your diary now and start signing up classmates, fellow alumni and friends. All welcome!

First Friday London group 03Executive MBA Dinner �� WBS Board meeting �4 Academic Update tbc

october

juneTelecoms SIG – Martin Cave – Separation of telecoms networks �2Alumni Board meeting 26North West regional group tbc

julyFirst Friday London group 04 Graduation week �4–�8Undergraduate/Specialist Masters Graduation �5WBS Board meeting �5MBA graduation �8Summer Ball �9Academic Update �9Entrepreneurship SIG event �9Midlands regional group tbc

septemberMBA farewell lunch tbcProgramme Inductions tbcSouth West regional group tbc

novemberAlumni Board meeting 04Oxford regional group tbc

decemberFirst Friday London group 05Midlands regional group tbcNorth West regional group tbcSouth West regional group tbc

nexus: spring 08 WBS events calendar 2008

Thursday 24 April The sixth WBS Annual Dinner will take place at the House of Commons in London. Members of our most senior alumni, four external advisory boards and volunteer groups will be invited by way of thanks for the hard work they put in for the alumni community and to promote WBS to the wider world. The event will be hosted by Jeremy Wright, MP for Rugby and Kenilworth and the Dean of WBS, Professor Howard Thomas, will share his vision for the future of the School.

annual dinner

nexus: spring 08 alumni in academia�6

at IESE Business School, I am also co-writing a book on the link between strategy, organisation, HR and the role of the founders in bridging all these.

When I started my PhD I never thought it would make such an impact on my career. Throughout the time I was at WBS, the School started to achieve more international recognition. The international background of its students is really impressive. This is also helpful when you are starting an academic or corporate career. You know that wherever you go, you will find alumni of WBS. Besides, your degree from WBS is really important in the market today, whatever career path you are going to follow.

I had a great time at WBS. However, I do believe it is really difficult to do a PhD. Moreover, you are in a different country with a different culture and language. For me, having a supervisor like Professor Andrew Pettigrew was crucial. He made a long-lasting impression and moulded me as an academic. He made me think in more depth and helped me to become more analytical. A good supervisor is a personal and professional mentor, working with you and supporting you through the hurdles of the PhD. This was Andrew in my case and I am very grateful to him.

Once you are in the business school with your head down in papers or books, you might not realise the importance of the people surrounding you. With the clarity of distance, I must say that the faculty of WBS

IAE Business School

• IAE Business School is located in Argentina and opened in �978

• It holds the 22nd position in the 2007 Executive Education rankings according to the Financial Times and �st position with regards to International Clients

• 50 faculty members, mainly with PhDs from the USA, UK or Spain

• 3 international accreditations: Equis, AACSB, AMBA

w www.iae.edu.ar

update from ArgentinaAndrés Hatum (PhD �998–02) recounts how his research into organisational flexibility in emerging economies originally came about and how it has gained him recognition in this field.

I remember when I started my PhD some fellow students saying that I had to choose a relevant topic; by relevant meaning a topic in a developed country. They said that this was important to be able to publish papers later. Coming from a developing country, I thought that, in my case, it would be more appropriate if I was able to develop theory in a theme more suitable for emerging economies. This is why I undertook the difficult task of understanding the whys and wherefores of organisational flexibility in emerging economies.

The focus of my research was trying to understand the determinants of such flexibility that were in some ways different from achieving organisational flexibility in a developed country. I found that the heterogeneity of the dominant coalition, environmental scanning, low macroculture embeddedness, lower levels of formalisation and centralisation of decision-making and a strong organisational identity were all important to be able to adapt fast under conditions of environmental turmoil.

Andrés Hatum is an Associate Professor in Human Resource Management at IAE Business School in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a visiting scholar at schools in Europe and Latin America.

His research centres on flexibility in organisations, talent management, and career development. He has published in international journals and has also published books in Spanish and English. His latest book is Adaptation or Expiration in Family Firms: Organizational Flexibility in Emerging Economies (Edward Elgar, 2007).

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are brilliant and very important scholars too. Furthermore, they are always there to help, becoming an important link to the school.

Since finishing my PhD my career has rocketed. I am now Associate Professor at IAE business school and visiting scholar in other establishments in Latin America and Europe. I have written four books, one in English, and many papers and conference papers. I see my future in academia, deepening my understanding of the different issues of the region and becoming a bridge between companies and academics from abroad who would like to understand the reality of emerging economies in my field of expertise, which is Management and Organisation.

I hope to come back to Warwick sometimes to catch up with old friends and see the growth of the business school that makes us all proud.

When I started my PhD I never thought it would make

such an impact on my career... You know that wherever you go, you will find alumni of WBS. Besides, your degree from WBS is really important in the market today, whatever career path you are going to follow.

This research not only helped me identify the importance of flexibility in adapting in economies shaped by jolts and havoc, but also allowed me to be known in a field in which there was a dearth of studies. In addition, and to my surprise, not only academics were interested but also companies that were wondering how to rearrange their organisation towards the challenges of the future and the challenges imposed by the context.

I was also doing research on the cultural differences among Latin American managers and starting a new project on the career path of Latin American leaders. With a colleague

�7

call campaign receives support from alumni

In April last year we began to telephone alumni as part of our fundraising activity for the School.

During the campaign, student callers spoke with over 500 alumni, sharing experiences and memories, updating them on life and developments at Warwick and WBS today – including forthcoming events – and raising thousands of pounds for the WBS Fund for Academic Excellence (FAE).

The FAE has been established to help shape the future of our School and comes under the umbrella of the University of Warwick’s Annual Fund, which was established in �997. The FAE is directed towards supporting students through bursaries and scholarships, supporting faculty through nurturing exchange with our global business school partners and last, but by no means least, supporting the development of WBS’s learning environment, which in turn enhances learning and attracts the best talent – those that could well be future global leaders.

The calling team thoroughly enjoyed talking to alumni about their WBS experiences and in many cases also gained valuable career advice as well as learning more about WBS and their University. They also enjoy the opportunity to ‘give something back’ to Warwick whilst they are still here; thank you for taking the time to talk with our students.

The next campaign will take place in Spring 2008 and we hope that you will both value the opportunity to speak to a student caller and consider making a gift to Warwick Business School.

‘It is important to be involved in the fundraising campaign for WBS since it helps so many people in different ways. The campaigns enable WBS to offer a top

quality academic experience, which attracts the best students, and thus enhances WBS’s reputation, which benefits past, present and future students. Furthermore, scholarships and student aid ensure that the best students get to study at WBS, regardless of background, which again drives achievement and again, WBS’s reputation.

‘However, I feel there are further intrinsic benefits to the campaigns. For the recipients of scholarships and the students who benefit from improvements to facilities, the fundraising

campaigns provide a superior educational experience, and particularly for the scholars, a chance to further themselves, and eventually, to start a career they enjoy. This increases the impact of the campaigns further, as those people who benefited from the assistance granted by members of the wider WBS community will value their experiences at the Business School, and perpetuate the goodwill that drives WBS’s reputation, by supporting future campaigns and initiatives to enhance WBS’s facilities and offerings. This is very much how I feel about my time at WBS – I thoroughly enjoyed my four years studying at Warwick, and I’m really grateful for how my degree helped me start my career, so being part of the calling campaign meant giving something back, and contributing to an initiative that will hopefully go on to drive WBS’s reputation for years to come.

‘Being a caller is great because you get to speak to so many people who have gone on to do well after studying at WBS, and you really get a feel for just how good WBS’s reputation is in industry.

‘WBS’s fundraising campaigns help build the WBS community and create a sustainable platform for developing the Business School for years to come, and this is why I am proud to be involved.’

Hayley JamesBSc International Business 2003–07Telephone campaign caller Analyst, Enterprise Applications Consultancy Practice, Deloitte

‘I am contributing to the Fund because in my view it is essential that our School continues to further enhance its already considerable reputation as an international

leader in business and management research and teaching.

‘The various uses to which the fund is being put certainly seem to me to be promoting this aim, which is why I was easily persuaded to become a regular donor and why I would strongly encourage all those who have benefited from a Warwick Business School education to do the same.’ John Fanning (MBA 1993–94)WBS call campaign donorDirector of Corporate Services, Scottish Enterprise

If you would like to discuss a donation in further detail please contact the Development Office. T +44 (0)24 7652 28�3 E Development.Office@wbs.ac.uk

You can also find more information on www.wbs.ac.uk/about/development and give online through the Giving to Warwick website. w www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/development/donate

�7

�8

�5 November 2007 marked a special day in WBS history – as its official 40th anniversary.

The WBS Alumni Association planned long and hard for 40 celebratory dinners to take place on this date, bringing together WBS alumni, faculty and staff in different countries around the world. In all, 68� people attended events in 33 countries. The first celebration was in Wellington, New Zealand, with the final celebration taking place in Toronto, Canada, hosted by Howard Thomas, Dean of WBS.

A huge thank you to everyone who organised, hosted and participated in the largest gathering of alumni in a single day in the history of WBS!

To read the reviews and see the photos w www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni/global-dinners.cfm

40th anniversary global dinners

�8Frankfurt

Hong Kong

Edinb

urgh

Dub

lin

Dub

ai

Cap

e Town

Brussels

Boston

Beijing

Bangkok

Athens

Am

sterdam

Ad

liya

�9

Dublin

�9Santiago

Reykjavik

Paris

Oslo

Nyon

Nicosia

Mum

bai

Moscow

Malta

Luxemb

ourg

London

Lagos

Kuala Lump

ur

20W

ellington

Warw

ick

Toronto

Taipei

Sydney

Stockholm

St Clair

Singapore

Shanghai

Seoul

Sao Paulo

20

2�

The Warwick Business School Society kick-started the academic year with a revised innovative operational strategy. New and returning members have been busy making use of our corporate and social events, as well as taking advantage of new discounts associated with our membership card. The impact of these events and benefits are reflected in our attracting over 730 subscriptions since the commencement of term.

So far we have hosted workshops for graduate recruiters including Accenture, Goldman Sachs and PwC with more on the way. We have also been working with the Careers Service bringing information about internships to interested students. Volunteers came to talk about their experiences in Credit Suisse, Deloitte and Goldman Sachs. The scalability of our service depends on our targeted membership base, which due to its growing size, indicates room for further expansion with regards to recruiting additional Corporate Partners and

2�

WBSS update

diversifying into different industries. The long-term strategy of the WBSS has changed frequently as the Executive Board is re-elected on an annual basis. However, while we strive towards maintaining a 1,000 member service, we have adopted a more concrete and fixed project timeline to ensure we focus on our current sponsors as well as client retention. This allows for more controlled growth.

The Executive Board of the WBSS demonstrates the enormous potential which

The WBS Alumni Association is pleased to support the Annual WBSS Forum on 29 January 2008. The theme this year revolves around the hurdles encountered on the road to success and what the motivations are to overcome them. The Forum is open to all WBS alumni. To register your interest and to receive further details, please contact: e alumni@wbs.ac.uk

Calling entrepreneurs & business angelsWBS and the University of Warwick Science Park’s Minerva Business Angel Network join forces on Saturday 9 February 2008 to present an Entrepreneurship & Business Angels event.

During the course of the day Roger Mumby-Croft, WBS Professor of Enterprise, Centre for Small & Medium Sized Enterprises, will talk on Entrepreneurship; while Minerva and experienced business angels provide a practical guide to investing. Take this opportunity to meet like-minded people and get the answers to your questions in a relaxed and informal environment.

The event will take place at WBS Scarman Road from �0am to 2pm on Saturday 9 February.

Contact us to register your interest and to receive further details: e alumni@wbs.ac.uk

all WBS students have to create professional success as entrepreneurs. This year over 200 Business Ball tickets were sold in just over 3 hours, with 50 additional tickets supplemented due to popular demand.

The WBSS will continue to promote exclusivity, style and success amongst Warwick’s student body, and would like to thank the fundamental foundation behind our ideas and opportunities; our members and colleagues, within the School as well as outside.

Alexander GroenertPresident

Led by Professor Roger Mumby-Croft, newly appointed Professor of Enterprise, WBS is launching a new series of workshops for alumni to further enhance their business performance.

The workshops are normally �–2 days in duration and cover:• Certificate of Enterprise • Leading Beyond the Edge • Growth Strategies & Issues• Marketing the Workplace • Managing Change • Lean Teamworking • Work-Life-Balance • Dealing with Difficult People • Project Management • Finance for Managers • Coaching for Managers • Business Communication For more information, please contact Clare Hynds at e chynds@rdi.co.uk or 024 765� 5700

Organised by our partners RDI w www.rdi.co.uk

Business improvement workshops

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UK events review

summer ball

Despite the deluge, 180 partygoers made it through to attend the WBS 40th anniversary Summer Ball in the luxurious Lakeside marquee at WBS. The 60’s theme for the evening provoked some fab outfits – not least from the Alumni team!

Alumni from across the years joined the new graduates, WBS faculty and staff, family and friends, for this special anniversary celebration. Warm and dry in the marquee everyone thoroughly enjoyed the exceptional food provided by the suitably named Indulgence caterers. After dinner entertainment gave guests the opportunity to win or lose at the fun casino and work off some calories on the popular dancing machine. A vodka luge, giant Jenga and Connect 4 games and larger than life silver platform glitter boots, all added to the ‘groovy’ decor of the marquee. The Sunset Duo band played sounds from the 60’s, followed by a disco and everyone danced the night away until the early hours by which time fortunately the rain had stopped.

Reviewed by Alastair J Moseley, UK Water Sector Director, WSP Group

‘Although I graduated with an MBA from WBS in 2001, this was the first Academic Update Seminar I had been able to attend. However it was very timely as it focused on leadership and strategic change just as I was embarking on a new career as UK Water Sector Director for International Consultant, WSP.

So I went along needing to arm myself with new tools and techniques with which to bring together and lead professional engineers and scientists to target what is a new market for WSP. And I wasn’t disappointed. The day was well structured and led by four leading academics from WBS; Howard Thomas, John McGee, David Wilson and Colin Carnall, taking us through managing risk in terms of leadership, changing leaders to change business and effective leadership. We also took a look at British conglomerates and some new research the School is embarking on.

Not only did I refresh my management and leadership skills, but the event also enabled me to renew acquaintances from my Evening MBA course, as well as meeting new contacts with whom

academic update

I hope to do business in future. All in all, this was an excellent event, extremely good value, and one which was ideal to take a guest to – maybe a client or colleague, as many of my friends there had done. I’m already looking forward to the next one and will definitely be managing my diary to make sure that I will be there!’

Regional dinners also took place on 4 September in Manchester when alumni met at the San-Carlo Restaurant to enjoy an Italian meal and on 18 September alumni in Southampton got together for their 40th anniversary dinner at Joe Daflo’s restaurant.

40th anniversary regional dinners

Alumni dinner in June at the St David’s Hotel, Cardiff, hosted by Dean Howard Thomas and Caroline Hughes, Alumni Relations Executive

UK events review

WBS-Detica

The fourth in our series of WBS-Detica City seminars took place at the Detica offices in central London in October. The theme of the event was Customer Relations and began with Simon Williams, Head of Business Consulting at Detica, presenting on the subject of Retaining Value: Profitable Customer Relations. Simon delivered a fascinating talk, focusing on ways to build customer loyalty across differing types of customer profile.

Lloyd Harris, Professor of Marketing and Strategy at WBS, then offered a very different view on the value of customers, suggesting that some customers actively derail the vendor/customer relationship by demonstrating certain behavioural traits. A lively debate ensued and the evening concluded with drinks and canapes.

Our thanks to Simon Finnie (EXMBA 1999–03) of Detica for hosting this event and to Simon Williams and Lloyd Harris for presenting. If you would like to present at future Detica events, please do get in touch. The next WBS-Detica event is scheduled for 14 May 2008.

E alumni@wbs.ac.uk

Activity with the Special Interest Groups is increasing and we are always pleased to hear from alumni who are interested in becoming actively involved with these groups.

The Telecoms SIG will be resuming its activities with teleconference meetings planned for 20 February and 12 June.

A new Group will be launched in the New Year in the area of Information Systems Management, with a Forum taking place at the Business School on 29 January 2008.

All alumni SIGs are volunteer-led, meet in a variety of ways and exist in the following areas: Brand Management, Entrepreneurship, Public and Voluntary sector network, Telecoms and Information Systems Management. If you would like more details about the SIGs, would like to become actively involved, or would like to set up a new group, please contact Faith Plevin: E faith.plevin@wbs.ac.uk T 024 7615 0372

SIGs

The Severnshed in Bristol provided an enjoyable evening in October for the South West alumni group, with several newcomers attending. SW alumni congratulated Paul Nicholson (veteran MBA alumnus 1971–73), on his election to the Alumni Board. Paul will be able to feedback directly at forthcoming events providing a direct WBS focus for future discussions. The next SW social event is planned for 12 February. E paulknicholson@hotmail.com

London First Friday alumni seized the opportunity to view some excellent Vietnamese art and talk shop on 5 October at The Arndean Gallery, hosted by Peter Quintana (MSc Business Management Systems 1992–96). Champagne and canapés paved the way for some interesting discussion around the Entrepreneurship SIG, co-ordinator Manny Gill (current DLMBA student) and the recent appointment of WBS Professor of Enterprise, Roger Mumby-Croft, which will result in a new focus and direction for 2008. Please contact Faith Plevin regarding membership. E Faith.plevin@wbs.ac.uk

Oxford group alumni and WBS representatives squeezed into their 12ft square ‘cell’ at the Malmaison Oxford Castle to partake of truly first-class cuisine on 8 November, for the penultimate

meal of the regional dinner series. Conversation centred around the forthcoming global dinners and the current progress and aims of WBS, along with the latest good read and plans for the forthcoming year – no get out of jail free cards were needed!

regional groups

The popular and well attended autumn series featured:

Gary Baker, (MBA 2000–04), Alcatel-Lucent; Gabriel Solomon, GSM Association; Windfred Mfuh, Doctoral researcher at WBS. Topic: Telecommunications in Developing Countries; the panel was chaired by Professor Martin Cave, Director, Centre for Management under Regulation, WBS

Philip Ashdown (MBA 1996–98), Director, Altima Partners LLP. Topic: Private Equity – Is the bubble about to burst? Chaired by Professor Anthony Neuberger; WBS Professor of Finance.

In collaboration with The Institute of Governance & Public Management (IGPM) three lectures on Public Sector Management:

Lord Andrew Turnbull, Former Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service; Dr Wendy Piatt, Director General, The Russell Group; Mark Serwotka, General Secretary, Public and Commercial Services Union

Details of the Spring 08 series are available online. w www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni/forthcoming.cfm

Lord Andrew Turnbull (Former Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service)

WBS fora

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alumni news

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professorshipCongratulations to Alex Marsh (BSc Management Sciences 1986–89) on his award of a personal professorship at the University of Bristol. He was appointed Professor of Public Policy and also took on the role of Head of the School for Policy Studies.

Alex’s research interests are housing policy, economics and finance; theorising the policy process; and economics, organisation and management in the public sector. He is a co-editor of Housing Studies and a member of the Housing Studies Association Executive Committee. Alex is currently working part-time as a Visiting Academic Consultant at the Law Commission, focusing principally on compliance issues in the private

national awardMany congratulations to Pier Paolo Mucelli (BSc Management Sciences 1986–88), CEO, eOffice, on winning the BCO (British Council for Offices) National Innovation Award 2007.

At the awards ceremony in October, eOffice Manchester also picked up the Regional Winner of the Best Small Project (less than 20,000 sf). w www.eoffice.net

new ventureEdoardo Narduzzi (DLMBA 1998–02) sent news of his fifth start up company. MyOpenCare is a web-based, English-language platform designed and structured to optimise the sharing of all types of digital healthcare content, including personally produced content. Edoardo explains: ‘We have created a technological means of sharing all type of content because we believe open source and social networking have enormous potential to develop universal healthcare knowledge and understanding.’ w www.myopencare.com

update from AfricaJoseph Katende (MAIR 1998–99) writes, ‘I made the progression from an ordinary trade union leader in Uganda in 1997; to a Ruskin College graduate in 1998; a WBS MAIR graduate in 2000; an ILO Industrial Relations specialist in East Africa in 2001 on a successful Labour Law reform/Labour Relations programme; a seasoned lecturer at Makerere University Business School on an MBA programme in 2002; and am now Africa Regional Secretary of the International Transport Workers Federation based in Nairobi, Kenya.

‘Thanks to the British Chevening Scholarship scheme, this is testimony to the fact that Ruskin College and WBS command superb academic and developmental expertise, as well as a collaboration to identify and unlock people’s potential to benefit mankind in any field anywhere in the world.’cover girl

Dr Jungli (Rowena) Wang (PhD 2001–06) was a Research Fellow in the MSM group at WBS and a Research Associate of the Advanced Institute of Management, working with Professor Simon Collinson on the project of Joint Innovation Capability Development in EU, US multinational partnerships in China. She was awarded a PhD degree in September 2006 and graduated in July 2007. The focus of her thesis was how a multinational subsidiary develops its technological capability in association with internal and external networks within the scope of the Greater China area.

Jungli is now a Research Associate in the Centre for Competitiveness and Innovation at Judge Business School. The project focuses on A Dynamic Evaluation of Value Chain Architectures. She also holds an Associate Researcher position with WBS.

chartered statusChris Banting (BSc Management Sciences 1999–0I), Marketing Manager, Righttrack Consultancy: ‘I have now gained my Chartered Marketer status through the Chartered Institute of Marketing. At 26, I am one of the youngest in the world to have this – only approx 0.6 percent of people are 26 or under. Without my time at Warwick I wouldn’t have been able to achieve this – so a big thank you to WBS!’

I have been at Righttrack, a leading learning and development company, for the past four years, working my way up through the company. I am using the skills I learnt at Warwick and really seeing the benefit of the degree I chose. I am sure it has helped with my progress – I am being promoted again in January.’

increased responsibilityHBOS plc announced Jo Dawson’s (MBA 1991–93) appointment as Chief Executive, Retail Distribution and Insurance & Investment, assuming responsibility for Retail Distribution – including the retail branch network, and HBOS’s other retail sales, intermediary and specialist banking teams – in addition to her existing responsibilities.

Jo joined the Board in May 2006, as Chief Executive, Insurance & Investment, with responsibility for developing the Group’s position as the UK’s largest investment provider and a leading player in general insurance. She joined the Halifax in 2000 as General Manager, Retail Sales, from Green Flag. Prior to that, Jo held a number of senior management positions at NatWest in both the Retail and Corporate divisions.

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alumni news

appointmentsAndy Fairchild (MBA 1991–92) appointed Chief Operating Officer of Colchester-based Caring Homes.

Mark Fisher (MBA 1990–91) appointed Chairman of the Managing Board of ABN AMRO

Chris Hadden (MBA 1991–92) appointed Managing Director of Dbi Consulting Limited.

Petr Knap (EXMBA 2001–05) made a partner in Ernst & Young’s corporate consultancy department.

Lars Landberg (DLMBA 1999–05) joined Garrad Hassan as Research & Development Director.

Kiki Maurey (MBA 1990–01) appointed to the ministerial national Ethnic Minority Business Task Force.

Victor Papakonstantinou (MBA 1994–95) appointed Chief Financial Officer – International Operations by The MJ Maillis group.

Christopher Sims (EXMBA 1989–91) appointed Chief Constable of Staffordshire Police.

Philip Small (DL/FMBA 1988–91) is now an Associate of Clare Williams Associates Ltd, an Investor Relations consultancy.

Michael Tay (DLMBA 1998–01) appointed Director of Operations, Asia Pacific, by Meeting Professionals International (MPI), based in Singapore.

high financeIlias G Basioudis (PhD 1996–00) is Senior Lecturer of Financial Accounting & Auditing at Aston Business School, and Chairman of the Auditing Special Interest Group of the British Accounting

Association. He is also a Fellow of the UK Academy of Higher Education. He has held visiting teaching and research appointments in ALBA (Athens, Greece), and in the RMIT, Australia.

Ilias has published widely in academic and professional journals, and has been com-missioned to write a textbook in financial accounting. His research interests lie within the area of auditing, corporate governance and accounting education. He is married to Dr Iliana Anagnou-Basioudis (PhD 1999–04), and they recently became the proud parents of a beautiful baby boy, Philippos Grigorios Callum.

chairman of the boardOn 12 October the Financial Times profiled WBS alumnus Mark Fisher (MBA 1990–91) on his nomination as Chairman of the Managing Board of ABN AMRO. At that time Mark was Chief Executive of the Manufacturing Division and a member of the RBS Group Board and Group Executive Management Committee.

Mark has been a Director of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group Board since March 2006. He moved to RBS following its acquisition of NatWest in 2000.

taking the wheelMike O’Driscoll’s (EMBA 1985–89) appointment as Managing Director of Jaguar Cars was widely reported in the motoring press. Mike joined Jaguar Rover Triumph in 1975 as a business student and held various positions prior to his appointment as Marketing and Product Planning manager for Jaguar Cars North America in 1987. In 1992 he was appointed General Sales manager for Jaguar in the United States, a position he held until 1995.

After four years with Ford and Lincoln Mercury, he returned to Jaguar in December 1999 as president of Jaguar North America and was named president of Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover North America in September 2001.

memories sharedThe recollections of Roger Tabor prompted former classmate Harvey Simons (MSc Management & Business Studies 1969–70) to contact us: ‘I was also a member of the 1969 intake and remember the shuttle bus that drove from the East site to Rootes Hall and on to the library and computer centre. I also recall the student upheaval following the discovery of ‘secret’ files in the Vice-Chancellors office. Although the VC’s office was on the East Site with the Business School, few from WBS took

part in the sit-in, as we were too busy with the copious amounts of ‘homework’ set every night by most inconsiderate faculty!’

We were delighted to put Harvey and Roger back in touch. If anyone else from their year would like to make contact, please email e alumni@wbs.ac.uk and who knows, there may be a 40th reunion in 2009.

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Your Alumni Board has existed in its current form for six years, and was formed to:

engage WBS alumni in an effective Association, demonstrably

contributing to the achievement of WBS strategic goals and equally creating a lifelong community enriching the lives of alumni.

As I enter my second year in the chair we are planning to concentrate on an implementation phase where we will focus on increased engagement rather than planning. I wish to share our vision of that with you.

It’s clear that with a core team of 10 staff at WBS, and a board of 22, engaging with all 23,000 alumni will be quite a challenge, but there is already a dedicated group of people across the world which tirelessly and actively works to deliver a range of alumni activities. We’d now like to expand this group significantly and make them more visible and accessible to you in the ways outlined opposite.

your Alumni board – inspiring alumni engagement

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gearing up for the futureWe would like to see a strongly engaged, highly visible global volunteer network of several hundred people including, but not limited to:

• At least one nominated representative of every year group of every course (and variant) the business school has run over the last 40 years

• Several representatives from each country where alumni reside across the world• Several representatives from each regional group in the UK, and development

of groups where none currently exist• Several representatives of special interest groups whether UK based or global• Representatives connected to other professional bodies (in the UK and globally)

that the Alumni wish to be associated with for mutual benefit• Representatives from corporate organisations that have a significant number

of alumni as employees and can therefore operate a WBS alumni network within that organisation.

We would like these people to be visible to the entire alumni body through the web site and other communication means, as each of them is effectively the focal point for a sub-network within the alumni body.

We would like to see these people being proactive in maintaining and running their own parts of the network for the benefit of the members of these networks, and driving the alumni agenda from the ground up.

We would like this volunteer group to be given the opportunity to meet at least once a year to:• Share experience• Build strong bonds within and across the group• Learn about the direction of the School and therefore more actively support it• Shape the support provided to them in rolling out Alumni activity from the

centre• Provide feedback to the School on issues of the day

We would like future board members to be drawn from this volunteer community – so they are familiar with it before they arrive.

We would like to see the large scale flagship events (like the Annual Ball) full to bursting, with people being turned away because they didn’t sign up soon enough.

We would like to see the best use of technology being made to deliver services to alumni so that the alumni experience can be common across the globe.

We would like to see students moving seamlessly to active alumni and beginning their relationship with the Alumni Association before they finish their studies.

If you• are interested in being part of this significant group• think you can fill a gap in the spectrum of representation• have a clear idea of how you can help to build alumni engagement within

that space• are passionate about making a contribution to WBSthen please get in touch, we’re planning our first volunteers event in London in April 2008 to kick off this drive to greater engagement and visibility.

Gill Thewlis, Chair, WBS Alumni Board E gillian.thewlis89@mba.wbs.ac.uk

WBS to alumni gearing

Graphic developed from work by Strategy team member Ananda Roy (DLMBA 2005–06)

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changing times

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In 2007 we made changes within the development and alumni team. With nearly trebled investment in alumni relations in the past five years and arguably the best Alumni Association programme of any European business school, we are still striving to improve our provision for you.

Leveraging our external relations activity and changes in governance within the School, Ben Plummer has been appointed as WBS Director of Development & Alumni Relations, responsible for the overall development and alumni relations strategy for the School, working closely with Dean Howard Thomas and the Associate Dean for Corporate Relations, Professor John McGee.

Alison Bond joined the alumni team in September as Deputy Director, with principal responsibility for alumni relations strategy and operations. In conjunction with these appointments we are pleased to share the new team structure and individual roles:

We continue to work closely with our advisory boards to provide key services to our alumni and present opportunities for involvement and furthering the success of WBS. If you would like further information about any of these areas, please contact us:

Alumni Association | Warwick Business School | University of Warwick | Coventry CV4 7AL | United KingdomT +44(0)24 7652 2813 | E alumni@wbs.ac.uk | W www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni

Tracy LynchDevelopment & Alumni Relations OfficerRankings; regional groups; student liaison; inductions; office managementE tracy.lynch@wbs.ac.uk t +44(0)24 7657 5835

Faith PlevinDevelopment & Alumni Relations OfficerCorporate families; SIGs (Specific Industry Groups); online fora; benchmarking; Secretary to the Corporate Relations BoardE faith.plevin@wbs.ac.uk t +44(0)24 7615 0372

Emily JamiesonDevelopment & Alumni Relations AssistantWeekly alumni communications; alumni data updates; alumni calls; assistance with mentoring, Development Board and Dean’s Lunch programmeE emily.jamieson@wbs.ac.uk t +44(0)24 7652 2813

Paula KerstenDevelopment & Alumni Relations Events Co-ordinatorCo-ordination of all development and alumni eventsE paula.kersten@wbs.ac.uk t +44(0)24 7615 0171

Pam BarnesPublications Officernexus magazine; eNewsletters; publications; web newsE pam.barnes@wbs.ac.uk t +44(0)24 7652 4396

Kathryn ChedgzoyDevelopment & Alumni Relations AssistantWBS Fora; assistance with online fora, Board of WBS, Alumni Board and the WBS Business Development Group; finance administration and secretarial support to senior management teamE kathryn.chedgzoy@wbs.ac.uk t +44(0)24 7652 2813

Charlotte WilkesAssociate Director, Development Strategy; communications and events programme; donor stewardship; regional development programmes; Dean’s Lunch programme; WBS call campaign and WBS Fund for Academic Excellence liaison; Secretary to the Development Board E charlotte.wilkes@wbs.ac.uk t +44(0)24 7615 0075

Matt BainesDevelopment & Alumni Relations Assistant Online updates; enquiries; email address updates; assistance with volunteersE matt.baines@wbs.ac.uk t +44(0)24 7652 2813

Ben PlummerDirector of Development & Alumni RelationsOverarching development and alumni relations strategy; management of WBS’ external advisory boards; business planning; key advocates and sponsors; WBS endowment; communications; overseas development programmes; business development; corporate relations; Secretary to the Board of WBS E ben.plummer@wbs.ac.uk t +44(0)24 7652 4188

Alison BondDeputy Director, Development & Alumni RelationsAlumni relations strategy, events programme and services; Development & Alumni Relations team finance and operations; volunteers; mentoring; rankings; online provision; Secretary to the Alumni BoardE alison.bond@wbs.ac.uk t +44(0)24 7652 4176

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visit us at www.wbs.ac.uk/alumnior call us on +44 (0)24 7652 2813

Log in to view the directory or online journals using 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 Association, alumni@wbs.ac.uk, who will supply it to you.

h Online directory of alumnih Access to Harvard Business Reviewh Calendar of forthcoming eventsh Latest school and alumni newsh Volunteer alumni mentorsh Career resources and vacanciesh Networking opportunities