Executive Education Update April 1998
This monthly update is designed to keep you informed about activities at the Babson School of Executive Education, which provides management development programs to companies around the world. In the month of March, Babson faculty delivered customized executive programs for The Swedish Institute of Management, Novell, Inc., KONE Corporation, New England Council of Optometrists, Petroleos de Venezuela, New York City Board of Education, UNUM America, DSM, Colonia Insurance, and Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme. Details follow.
Swedish Institute of Management Looks to Babson for Expertise in Entrepreneurship
Representatives of Scandinavian companies Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), Ericsson, and KONE Corporation, among others, traveled to Babson last month to participate in the U.S. portion of the Swedish Institute of Management's Leadership and Management of Technology-based Companies program. Faculty Director Anirudh Dhebar, along with Professor Julian Lange, led the Babson portion. The group participated in sessions on entrepreneurship, technology commercialization, and product leadership. Other highlights were a site visit and private meeting with Jim Bernardi, Director of the Executive Briefings Center at Lotus Corporation in Cambridge.
Novell Re-energizes Sales Executives from Around the Globe
Novell, the leading corporate networking software firm, partnered with the Babson School of Executive Education to deliver customized training for its field management staff. Faculty Director Neal Thornberry, along with Professors Phil Dover and Chris Hennessey provided insight into strategy, financial analysis, and leadership dynamics for a group of thirty-five participants representing New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Europe, and the U.S. The first half of this opportunity-focused program included Novell guest speakers Mike McLaughlin, Vice President of Major Markets and Darcy Mott, Vice President of Finance. In keeping with Babson's commitment to helping clients meet their business objectives, participants were assigned an interim project to draft plans to enhance their customer base and penetrate new markets. Plans will be reviewed when the program resumes for a final weeklong session in June.
KONE Executive Edge Program Focuses on Strategy
Montgomery KONE, one of the largest elevator companies in the world, initiated development of the North American Executive Edge program in partnership with Babson last Fall. The program addresses the critical issues involved in merging Montgomery KONE's culture and product lines with that of KONE Corporation, the Finnish company that acquired them in 1996. Thirty top executives participated in two three-day strategy programs taught by Professor Liam Fahey. At the start of the first program, opening remarks were delivered by Antti Herlin, Deputy Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of KONE Corporation. Heimo M"°kinen, President of Montgomery KONE, Inc. was present throughout. Due to the success of this program, as reported by participants of the Fall 1997 and March 1998 programs, plans for a customized quality and service management program are being explored.
New England Optometrist Council Brings Leadership Into Focus
Professors James Hunt, Elaine Landry, Sydel Sokuvitz, and Joe Weintraub led the fourth and final segment of the New England Council of Optometrists Leadership Development Program. This program enhances the skills of senior members of regional councils to handle industry, legislative, and business affairs. Sessions in this module focused on individual leadership effectiveness and action planning for implementation in their organizations.
Internal Ventures Drive Petroleos de Venezuela's Growth
Identifying and Developing Internal Opportunities, a custom executive offering developed by the Babson School of Executive Education and Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), ran for the second time last month in Caracas. The program, which premiered in January, was designed as a precursor to the Babson/PDVSA Entrepreneurial Management Program. This pairing of programs is intended to compliment PDVSA's efforts to grow their business in a rapidly changing environment. The March session was led by Faculty Director Bill Lawler along with Professors Marty Anderson and Patricia Guinan. The session opened with two Petroleos executives describing their experience of bringing a newly-created line of business from opportunity recognition, testing, and plan development to implementation and actual operation. The program continued with topics such as: the importance of gaining a systems perspective; value system analysis; and building entrepreneurial teams. The next offering is scheduled for!
this Fall.
New York City Board of Education Launches Leadership Program
Allan Cohen, Vice President of Academic Affairs, delivered a two-day executive leadership program for deputy superintendents of the New York City School System. The program, which marked the first time participants met as a group to discuss common challenges, opened with an examination of heroic and post-heroic leadership styles. Sessions focused on vision, decision-making styles, and building shared responsibility within teams. This was complimented by action-planning focused on transferring knowledge from the classroom to implementation back at the worksite.
UNUM America Market Planning and Implementation Program
Managers responsible for marketing and product development at Portland, Maine-based UNUM America and its affiliate Colonial Life of South Carolina, participated in a custom marketing planning and implementation program last month at the Babson School of Executive Education. This executive offering was initiated to establish a planning framework for the systematic development and implementation of marketing strategy and tactics within the two companies. The program opened with an introduction by Kevin O'Connell, UNUM's Chief Marketing Officer. Faculty Director Phil Dover led the group, along with Professors Carol Fiske, Robb Kopp, and Christopher Lovelock in sessions on quality of service delivery, using customer research for decision-making, and creating integrated communication programs. The program design allowed the group to apply learning to their current job responsibilities. Throughout the week, participants worked on aspects of planning and operationalizing marketing p!
rocesses for their respective product lines. This offering was the second run of this program. The next session will be a three day program for UNUM's senior management in June.
DSM's Sales and Marketing Managers Aim High
Babson professors J.P. Jeannet, David Hennessey, Mort Galper, and Robb Kopp, along with Professor Dominique Turpin of IMD led a group of thirty marketing and sales managers from DSM's various businesses during the fifth offering of DSM's Advanced Industrial Marketing (AIM) Program. The program took place at Vaalsbroek Castle, near Maastricht in Holland.
Babson/Colonia Program Continues in Germany
Professors Larry Carr and Neal Thornberry led a program for Colonia Insurance focused on developing a new culture of entrepreneurial thinking within the company, an initiative brought on by intense competitive pressure resulting from deregulation in Europe's insurance industry. More than twenty-five mid- to senior-level managers participated. The next program is scheduled for April.
Siemens Nixdorf Operationalizes Plans to Reach Strategic Goals
Last month in Holland, Professor Phil Dover helped managers in the Open Enterprise Computing Group of Siemens Nixdorf understand the tools required to create strong regional strategy, including coherent and actionable business plans for Europe and the Americas. The program evolved from the Designing Competitive Strategic Plans seminar delivered in 1997 in which participants were charged with developing a business plan for either a core product or an emerging technology. This is an example of a sequential executive education system which starts with the big picture, followed by coaching, and ending with actual performance.
For more information call: (781) 239-4354 or (800) 882-EXEC;
fax: (781) 239-5266; E-mail: [email protected] or visit our home page at www.babson.edu/see.
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