Last post!

Thanks to all for keeping up to date with the faculty leads of the very first MBS Executive Series.


Good luck to all those who have registered for what will be a remarkable experience.


See below for details about last minute registrations as there are a few lucky spots available in some of the programs.


Watch this space for any news about the current Executive Series and any future programs!


Hope you have enjoyed and your feedback is most welcome.


All further queries can made to Marianne Carollo at MBS on +61 3 9349 8292 or m.carollo@mbs.edu.

MBS Executive Series blog highlights!

As the MBS Executive Series is about to commence, we would like to feature some blog highlights from over the last two months.

What were some of your favourite posts and why?

Ian Williamson, a talented and engaging speaker, speaks on talent and how to engage.

Revisit this podcast here.

Mark Ritson looks at top brands using Social Media - does it work?

Find out here.

Paul Kirkbride recommends a whole new way of thinking about change.

For a sneak preview, watch the podcast here.

Debi Mishra gets to the heart of strategic partnerships.

For ideas on finding your ideal strategic partner, click here.

Sven Feldmann finds answers to a bunch of eclectic questions using game theory.

Have a second read of this blog post here.

Registrations for Executive Series programs are closing soon!

Ian and Mark's will close tomorrow.

Paul, Debi and Sven's will close at the end of next week.

For all enquiries, contact Marianne Carollo at MBS on +61 3 9349 8292 or m.carollo@mbs.edu.

You can also register online HERE.

The first MBS Executive Series is about to begin!

After weeks of interesting content highlighting the Executive Series faculty and their ongoing research areas and specialties, the programs are about to begin!

Registrations are closing soon, so don't miss out on your opportunity to sharpen a specific skill area, refresh some prior education or prepare your organisation for an aggressive growth agenda.

Join Ian Williamson for Creating Value through People on Tues 22 February till Wed 23 February 

Mark Ritson will bring you up to speed with Brand Management on Thurs 24 February till Fri 25 February 

Make Change Happen with Paul Kirkbride on Mon 28 February till Tues 1 March 

Debi Mishra will help you Manage Strategic Partnerships on Wed 2 March till Thurs 3 March

Price in a competitive environment with Sven Feldmann on Wed 2 March till Thursday 3 March

REGISTER HERE

Twitter feeds to watch! | Debi Mishra

Debi Mishra advises on some great Twitter feeds to look out for on the topic of Strategic Partnerships.

Do you have any to add to the list?


Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google recently remarked that strategic partnerships and alliances have created the greatest value for Google in the past five years.

Eric Schmidt's Twitter profile pic

According to a 2007 Fortune Magazine survey of the top 200 US corporations, almost 2/3 of the respondents ranked their strategic partnerships as one of the top five value creating assets for their firms.

Fortune Mag's Twitter profile pic

Did you know that Steve Jobs once remarked that had it not been for the company’s expertise in managing strategic partnerships, with a number of firms spanning different continents, the iPhone would never have been as successful as it currently is.

Steve Jobs' Twitter profile pic

Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, emphasizes how strategic alliances have helped the company’s diversification and growth over the past decade, in his book “Pour Your Heart Into It”.


Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE once remarked, “Today’s organizations are boundary-less… for us, strategic partnerships are vital… yet in America we educate managers around the limited mind set of competition… consequently our employees are not well educated in the nitty-gritty of understanding and managing partnerships." 

Debi Mishra

Debi's MBS Executive Series Managing Strategic Partnerships begins March 2nd. For more info contact Marianne Carollo at MBS on +61 3 9349 8292 or m.carollo@mbs.edu

Even change changes | Paul Kirkbride

Back in 2009, when the dust of the GFC began to settle and its impacts appeared in full view, Paul Kirkbride recognised a transformation in the training and development landscape. Attitudes shifted and companies began to target their change management and training budget more sensibly. (HR Monthly, 1 December 2009)

For each organisation a critical choice arose:

· Continue to manage in the same way, struggling with the same issues and getting the same results.

or

· Step into a completely new way of seeing, thinking, being and leading, offering new possibilities for organisational success.

Moving now to 2011, here is an opportunity to take part in an intensive two day Executive Series program with Paul Kirkbride. Paul will provide you with new knowledge and new thinking on the topic of creating change within your organisation, bringing it into the new year with success.

Paul Kirkbride

Making Change Happens begins February 28. There are still a few places left. Contact Marianne Carollo at the Melbourne Business School for more info +61 3 9349 8292 or m.carollo@mbs.edu 

Human Resources shouldn't have to fight for a seat at the table! | Ian Williamson

Ian Williamson says that when companies are making decisions about entering new markets, HR's 'seat at the table' should be a given. 

According to Williamson's research into what makes a successful business unit, a deciding factor for HR should be whether the company is setting up an office overseas in order to produce the same product it is selling at home, or to create a product that is customised for a new market.

If the product being produced off-shore is standardised, a standardised approach to people management makes sense, he says. When this is the case, HR should leverage efficiency of communication, transportation of staff and shared knowledge to 'synch' overseas processes with the home office.

But where the product is being customised, a localised approach to hiring, training, performance management and rewards is usually more appropriate, he explains.

"So the strategy decision and the market decision are one and the same."

It follows that when the company is asking itself, "Should we come in as a standardised producer?" or "Should we come in as a customised producer?" HR must have a voice.

For more on this see the full article in HRDaily. 

Ian Williamson

Ian Williamson is also conducting a program as part of the Executive Series. What an opportunity it will be to see this man in action. His presentation methods are cutting edge and interactive, with the aim of providing actionable knowledge and skills the can be used the minute you walk out the door.

For more info on his program, Creating Value through People, click here or contact Marianne Carollo at the Melbourne Business School +61 3 9349 8292 or m.carollo@mbs.edu 

Founders as the Logo of their own Brands? | Mark Ritson

Branding guru Mark Ritson says that founders are fundamental to a brand’s fortune because they have the brand in their bones.

• 'When a founder runs their own brand it can confer astonishing strategic advantages.' 

• 'Time and again, they instinctively and instantly make the right decision.'

• 'The most powerful form of marketing communication occurs when a founder talks about their business. Suddenly consumers listen. Even more amazing, they believe.'

• 'Such is their power, that when the founder finally departs, dies or retires many brands struggle to retain their trajectory. A fact reflected in the 6% drop in Apple’s share price since the news of Steve Jobs’ departure was announced.' 

Steve Jobs

• 'There are many cases where a founder returns to their failing brand and resurrects it. Steve Jobs did it against all the odds in 1997 and Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel did it in 1963 and at the age of 70.' 

Coco Chanel

On a not so side note, here is a break down of Apple’s iPhone profit margin, compiled by Mark Ritson and an example of top brands using extreme methods to make profits.

In what ways do you think this will change now that Steve Jobs is gone?

Google also announced a pretty huge management changeover, in this case from non-founder Eric Schmidt to co-founder Larry Page. Read more about this in Ritson’s article here. 

Eric Schmidt

Larry Page

Ritson’s Brand Management program as part of the MBS Executive Series is filling up. Don’t miss out on the chance to learn from one of the top associate professors in marketing, an award winning columnist, and a consultant to some of the world’s biggest brands. 

Mark Ritson

For more on his program, click here or contact Marianne Carollo at the Melbourne Business School +61 3 9349 8292 or m.carollo@mbs.edu