In his most recent article in the EFMD Global Focusmagazine, Thomas Sattelberger the Chief HR officer of Deutsche Telekom AG and EFMD Vice President sees management and business education in 2025 centered around four areas:

• Creating shared value, in the sense of linking economic business progress with societal progress and vice versa.
• Embracing diversity, meaning utilising differences and variety to gain new perspectives
• Nurturing volunteer confederations, i.e. enhancing co-creation towards a common cause
• Leading oneself, as the pre-requisite for the above, allowing room for reflection, spirituality and experiental learning.

Research from the Hay group into “Leadership 2030” echoes the need for leaders of the future with new skills and competencies.  From the research report, we can conclude that leaders will have to be multilingual, flexible, internationally mobile and adaptable.  Moreover, they must be highly collaborative and have strong conceptual and strategic thinking skills. The new leadership competencies are at 3 levels:

• Cognitive in the sense of new forms of intellectual openness and curiosity and an ability to conceptualise change in an unprecedented way
• Emotional for tolerating higher levels of ambiguity and for achieving higher levels of integrity
• Behavioural for creating more openness and trust.

Talent Management Magazine has also identified workplace trends for 2012.  In the upcoming year there will be a movement from management principles to leadership values whilst organisations are getting flatter and focusing on workplace culture as a means to grow the business.

Finally you are very much invited to join the EFMD-ESMT Symposium on “The future of Management Education”. In Berlin, on March 1-2, 2012  the focus will be on  the underlying issues of:

• Transformational change
• The role of accreditations
• Sustainability and a more holistic approach
• Critical thinking and powerful learning

The latest EFMD CLIP report illustrates how corporate learning is a key tool in helping companies develop and change, more practically for instance in its role as a forum for reflection and creativity. Will examples from leading corporate universities across Europe the report features various examples of how to balance initiatives aimed at implementing today’s strategy with those aimed at preparing for tomorrow’s requirements, or on a geographical note, you can find out how learning interventions contribute to the globalisation agenda of the company. The key factors that determine quality of corporate learning organisations revolve round positioning and design. In one company a matrix structure has been implemented to reinforce strategic coherence, in another company a two-level global learning model provides the mechanisms for a perfect global-local balance.

Since 2002, EFMD’s Corporate Learning Improvement Process (CLIP) has been operational as a mechanism for quality benchmarking, mutual learning and the sharing of good practices. Sixteen leading corporate learning organisations from across Europe have been awarded the Corporate Learning Improvement Process Quality Label.

The newly released 2011 CLIP report is based on the accumulated body of knowledge from the CLIP reviews – both accreditations and re-accreditations - and the CLIP quality framework of nine chapters, 28 standards and 128 criteria. It is an attempt to share examples of excellent practices that have proven their value in CLIP-accredited companies. The way forward seems to be going in the direction of enlarged and integrated approaches to learning. Ideally, integration is a combination of horizontal integration, local responsiveness and central support. Several of the examples in the new report illustrate a ‘total learning’ approach.

If you would like to receive a PDF copy of the report please contact Shanshan Ge at EFMD Corporate Services

Join the 2nd Annual Revolutionary Corporate University (ARCU) Forum and benefit from ten free places and a 25% discount as company members of EFMD.

The Conference will take place in Zurich on 9-10th February 2012 and will focus on:

·        Economic and social importance of corporate learning and education,
·        Technology to support virtual and mobile learning across geographical boundaries,
·        Business performance improvement emanating from increased knowledge and skills,
·        Emotional Intelligence, Communities of Practice and Collaborative Working

Confirmed speakers at the event are AXA University, AVIVA, Lilly, Metro, Novartis International, Software AG, Swiss Reinsurance and HP. This exciting conference will bring together: Educational experts; corporate learning/development and HR professionals; Corporate University heads and business owners and Management educators.

Leading Sponsors include EFMD, University of Zurich, London School of Business and Finance, Get Abstract, ESADE, University of Portsmouth, IE Business Schools and the University of St. Gallen.

For the full programme please click on ARCU

Please contact Shanshan GE - shanshan.ge@efmd.org if you would like to benefit from the EFMD membership discount.

The EFMD Workplace Learning Special Interest Group (SIG) final report which includes input from Allianz, The BBC, Coca-Cola, Eli Lilly, Ergo, L’Oréal, GSK, Holcim, Toyota, MAN, MLP, Novo Nordisk is now available and illustrates how to engage non-learning professionals in workplace learning. In recent years there has been increasing interest in the application of informal and workplace learning. Organisations have been exploring new approaches for employee development that are not tied to the formal structured methods around classes, courses and curricula. Equally, they are reviving old approaches built around apprenticeship and workplace practices.

In part this revival has been driven by economic considerations. Pressures to lower training costs and reduce budgets for travel have been a major consideration. But is has also been driven by the realisation that most adult learning occurs not through formal methods but through experience, practice, conversations and reflection. People learn mainly through doing rather than through knowing.
The increased interest in workplace learning has not been aimed at simply replacing formal methods, but at better exploiting the limited time and budgets available to organisations so they can realise increased performance improvement, greater employee development opportunities and improved flexibility in the provision of learning opportunities to the workforce. Additionally the focus on workplace learning has not been confined to any particular business sector or to specific groups of employees (individual contributors, first line managers etc.), but is being adopted across a wide range of industries, agencies and government departments.

EFMD Corporate Services realised from an early stage that the increasing interest and activity in workplace learning required focus and support. In ensuring that services to corporate members are both leading-edge and relevant, EFMD Corporate Services launched this Special Interest Group. Organisations that participated in the Workplace learning SIG were drawn from across the range of business sectors – Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrial Goods, Consumer Goods, and Services and included:  Allianz, The BBC, Coca-Cola, Eli Lilly, Ergo, L’Oréal, GSK, Holcim, Toyota, MAN, MLP, Novo Nordisk

You can download the full report and also view webinars from the Workplace Learning SIG here.

Following on from EFMD's successful 'Workplace Learning" and "Learning Business Partner" Special Interest Groups, EFMD is delighted to announce the launch of the EFMD Management Development 2.0 (MD 2.0) Special Interest Group (SIG), as part of the EFMD ́s new “Excellence in Corporate Learning” strategy.

Over the past two decades expectations on management development performance have grown significantly. Companies invest billions in development activities and the installation of new units – Corporate Universities, Talent Management, Top Executive Programs etc. – in order to develop their leadership and management potentials. The recent worldwide DDI study, “Global Leadership Forecast 2011: Time for a Leadership Revolution”, clearly shows there is strong evidence in support of this investment as corporations with the highest quality leaders were 13 times more likely to outperform their competition in key bottom-­‐line metrics. However, the question of impact gives us cause for serious concern and this Learning Group will provide an MD-solution –portfolio which gives participants a clear orientation on how they could improve established leadership / management development activities.

Considering that there are several determinants for MD performance (e.g. architecture, processes, methods, vendors, evaluation), the SIG will consistently search for the most effective and applicable solutions for each area. The SIG will work out which components of established MD have to be revised and what the new solutions will look like in detail. Each participating company commits to delegate an MD leader with significant responsibility for designing and implementing MD solutions as a group member dedicated to contributing to the outcomes described above. We expect the SIG MD 2.0 to have a duration of approximately 12 months depending on the agreed work schedule and deliverables, the frequency of meetings and workshops (both virtual and physical), the research input required, and the associated EFMD Corporate Advisory Seminars (CAS) which comprise part of the SIG membership.

Prof. Dr. Mario Vaupel, former founder and head of ERGO Management Academy, the Corporate University of ERGO Insurance Group, with 20 years experiences in MD, has agreed to facilitate the SIG and Deutsche Telecom and ERGO Insurance Group have agreed to support the SIG MD 2.0 as initial participants.

For further information on the SIG structure and design please visit EFMD Management Development 2.0 (MD 2.0) Special Interest Group (SIG)

If you have any further questions please contact: Mrs. Shanshan GE, Senior Manager, Corporate Services - shanshan.ge@efmd.org

Join us for EFMD CLIP Sharing Best Practice seminar hosted by Novartis on 30 March 2012. Companies with large-scale strategic interests in emerging markets are faced with the challenge of building up a high-quality local workforce including management staff, functional experts and technically qualified employees. However, the problems encountered are quite unlike those they are used to handling in developed countries and HRD as practiced in Europe and the USA may not be applicable without substantial adjustment to very different country and enterprise cultures.

This workshop will look at the role of the Corporate Learning Function in helping to meet these challenges, particularly as regards the competition for talent in Asian markets. The main focus of the workshop will be the contribution of Learning and Development to the identification of promotable talent with leadership potential, their subsequent development as future leaders and the crucial task of retaining them within the company. The experience of Novartis in its China venture will illustrate the range of problems to be faced and some of the responses to these problems. This workshop is by invitation only and is dedicated to corporate learning and corporate HR practitioners from companies. This seminar is free of charge for EFMD company members who will be given priority attendance.

The Workshop will be coordinated by Frank Waltmann, Head of Corporate Learning at Novartis and speakers will include:

• Stephan Rhinesmith, world leading expert on global leadership development, OliverWyman.
• Betty Lau, Head, Novartis China Commercial University.
• Victor Agnellini, Senior Vice President, Transformation, Learning & Accreditation, Alcatel-Lucent.

For more information and details on how to register please click here.

The Executive MBA Council have just released EMBA Up Close: What You Need to Know About the Executive MBA, an eBook that offers prospective students a resource as they explore the Executive MBA.
 
The eBook appears in a downloadable PDF version on the council’s prospective student web site at www.executivemba.org and also will be distributed in ePub form through iBooks and other electronic book outlets. The council published the eBook to offer a substantive look at the value of an EMBA education, at the different aspects of the EMBA experience, and at the selection and application process.
 
“We wanted to tell the story that defines the distinct benefits of the EMBA experience and showcases its advantages,” says Michael Desiderio, executive director of the EMBA Council. “We also wanted to help students understand what happens during the program and guide them through the key steps of selecting a program and completing their application.”
 
Much of the content for the eBook results from a series of interviews with more than 55 sources, including EMBA alumni and students throughout the world, a variety of EMBA program administrators, and EMBA Council strategic partners. Alumni and students talk about the impact of their degree experience on their career and their organization, about the benefit of their global exposure, about their strategies to balance their lives while in the program, about their selection criteria for programs, and about many other related topics.
 
The eBook is organized into six main sections:

• What is an EMBA?
• Why get an EMBA?
• What does the landscape look like?
• How do I select a program?
• What to expect?...A view from the field
• How do I prepare?
 
The council also has a web site for prospective students, www.executivemba.org, and a mobile application based on the search-and-compare programs feature on the web site.
 
About the Executive MBA Council
The Executive MBA Council provides a forum for programs to share best practices and gathers industry data. Currently the council includes more than 200 educational institutions that administer 300 plus Executive MBA Programs worldwide. For additional information, visit www.embac.org.

The current EU policy and funding instruments have recognised that innovation consists of cross-disciplinary activities, which is not only limited to technological breakthroughs. Accordingly, a more comprehensive and systematic understanding of innovation processes and innovation management would certainly facilitate successful innovative activities in all sectors.

The challenge of implementing effective innovation management and robust innovation processes is still highly under-estimated and not sufficiently reflected in the current EU research and innovation programmes. It seems to be assumed that those capabilities and skills are readily available, which is not the case.

In the May and June CSF (now Horizon 2020) and EIT consultations, EFMD has been trying to stress that the level of innovation performance is strongly determined by the quality and effectiveness of innovation and research management including coordination, communication, dissemination of results and transfer into economic and social reality. More attention should be paid to the improvement of innovation processes, in addition to topics such as research infrastructure, researcher mobility and public-private partnerships.

When looking more closely at the current EU research and innovation funding initiatives which include; the seventh Framework Programme (FP7), the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP), the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and the Cohesion policy, the EU has tried to best cover innovation related issues from several different perspectives. For instance, the 7th Framework Programme supports EU research, technological development and demonstration activities. The Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) takes SMEs as the main target, promoting access to finance and supporting the development of better innovation support services and policies.

Nevertheless, among the funding tools available, we still do not find effective funding to support research on better understanding of innovation processes, or how to improve the performance of research activities – where management skills and knowledge related issues are at a core.

Management research is eligible to be funded in the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) domain under the 7th Framework Programme. However, it has never been recognised as a priority of the past SSH funding themes. So far, the SSH programme seems to target mainly macro socio-economic issues, not research on the development of management knowledge or skills – this is however the area where “the rubber hits the road”. For instance, themes from 2007 – 2011 cover topics such as: macro-economic policy (2007- 2008); education in the European knowledge society (2009); growth and service industries (2009); changing the role of the financial system to better serve economic, social and environmental objectives (2010); Euro and social services issues.

To elaborate further, with the currently dominating science and technology perspective of the EU research programmes, management research would not be taken seriously even under this chapter, which most would consider a “nice to have” addendum to serious scientific research. Hence it would be appropriate to open a new chapter, where economic research and management research are made explicit and equipped with appropriate funding.

Management researchers are aware that more management-related research activities may be funded via other programmes such as Ideas (ERC), People (Marie Curie Actions) and Capacities (e.g.’ Science in Society’). Nevertheless, these programmes either tend to take scientific discoveries as favoured starting points, or focus on mobility of researchers and research infrastructures.

Issues that derive from a full cycle of innovation processes are complex due to its cross-disciplinary nature. EFMD feels that it is a must to further invest in theoretical and empirical management research projects. Certainly, the research themes at the macro-economic level such as impacts from the latest financial crisis, the stability of the Euro-zone, education in a knowledge society are important. However, taking into account the current EU strategic objective to facilitate innovation related activities, supporting and promoting management research to enhance and improve innovation capabilities in Europe needs to get significantly more weight in the overall European Union research budgets.

The relevant EU initiatives on Innovation will reach results, only if the “last mile” for value creation is fully taken into account and the knowledge and skills to improve innovation performance are being developed, based on rigorous and application oriented management research.

You can find more information on EFMD's EU Affairs work here and also find EFMD on blogactiv: http://efmd.blogactiv.eu/

The European Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding furthered her initiative to obtain more gender balance in European boardrooms by joining together with Europe’s leading business schools and the female board members within their eco-systems to support their launch of a “Call to Action” to shatter the glass ceilings impeding senior women executives from acceding to corporate boardroom seats throughout Europe.

BUSINESS SCHOOLS HOLD ONE OF THE KEYS

Business schools hold one of the keys to obtaining more women in the corporate boardrooms of Europe over time because of three reasons:

• As a question of ethics and performance, business schools should promote and advocate the diversity of leadership of which female leadership makes an integral part
• Business schools form one of the key sources of the development of new future talent. They develop our future (male and female) leaders
• Business schools have unique access to both female leadership and to the corporate and academic world and can act as an ‘intermediary’ and catalyst

Business schools have an important role to actively promote female leadership and to build awareness in the corporate world. They are one of the starting points of female executive talent development.

CALL TO ACTION

The following “Call to Action” identifies specific actions for business schools to take and/or which are already being taken to promote current senior female leadership in Europe in the corporate world and at the same time ensure that the pipeline of female talent is filled. The initiatives below are a synthesis of the actions put forward by concerned, contributing business schools and the female board members in their ecosystems, committed to making this happen. McKinsey & Company has facilitated the synthesis of the actions and provided further fact base and insights from the McKinsey’s Women Matter research. The implementation and success of the respective measures will be tracked by the Women on Board Task Force which is currently in place within the Directorate of Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship at the European Commission.

The “Call to Action” for Europe’s business schools to shatter the glass ceiling in Europe’s Board Rooms comprises 4 pillars:

• Pillar 1: Play a prominent role in identifying and promoting qualified senior female leadership from their eco-systems
• Pillar 2: Inspire and enable women participate and gain entrance to professional and informal networks and networking which provide mentoring and promote gender equality
• Pillar 3: Increase the inflow of women in business schools
• Pillar 4: Adapt the curriculum and focus more on capability building

While this “Call to Action” is primarily aimed at implementing measures to reach a better gender balance in European boardrooms, its contributors have stipulated that it is equally important to stimulate a higher representation of women at executive management level. The majority of the proposed actions are therefore equally relevant to increase gender equality in executive committees.

It is also to be noted that whereas this is a European initiative, it is expected to have global implications and applications.

To read the full Call and find out in more detail the focus on each of the pillars visit http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/reding/womenpledge/index_en.htm.

The Call to Action was featured in the Financial Times Business Education Supplement on European Business Schools that was published on the 5th of December.