Nexus Summer 2002

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setting the agenda The magazine of the Warwick Business School Alumni Association Sponsored by Rolls-Royce Summer 2002 x ne us Spotting the next big thing The future for e-business? Storming to success

Transcript of Nexus Summer 2002

Page 1: Nexus Summer 2002

setting the agenda

The magazine of the Warwick Business School Alumni AssociationSponsored by Rolls-Royce

Summer 2002

xne us

Spotting the next big thingThe future for e-business?

Storming to success

Page 2: Nexus Summer 2002

2 | wbs in the news

HonoursProfessor Linda Dickens of theIndustrial Relations &Organisational Behaviour (IROB)Group at WBS was awarded anMBE for services to employmentrelations in the recent Queen’sBirthday Honours list.

Dr Bela Arora, lecturer in Politicsand Business, received the YoungAchiever of the Year award at theAsian Women of AchievementAward ceremony in London in May.

WBS launchesEuropean MBA

Aiming sky highACCORDING TO THE COVENTRY EveningTelegraph and the Birmingham Post, twoWBS graduates are aiming high to bring awhole new dimension to the ‘teambuilding’ experience.

James Clare and John Senior(both MBA 2000-01) plan to adaptthe latest US military technologyused in virtual realitysimulators, and havenegotiated an exclusivedistribution agreementwith Helitrainer Inc, whoproduce special pods totrain military helicopterpilots. The pods notonly immerse theparticipants in avirtual realityenvironment, theycan also be linkedtogether to interact insimulated battles ormissions, creating an excitingand unique team building experience.Quantifiable diagnostic data can beobtained from each pod on theperformance of participants both asindividuals and team players.

WBS offers its alumni thepossibility of having top BusinessSchool thinking and wisdom appliedto a new business idea or todeveloping an existing business

John Senior explains, “Research forour MBA dissertations revealed thatmany people are not fans of the outward

bound experience - theydon’t like getting wet!We plan to adapt thepods, make thescreens bigger andcreate differentvirtual reality

environments, aimingto make them asrealistic andimmersive as possible.”

John was in thefirst WBS MBA groupto win the CrownCastle Internationalprize for Innovationlast year. He and

James have formed CAJESBusiness Solutions, utilising

the University of WarwickEnterprise Fellowship and funding

from Coventry Business Link and areactively seeking venture capital orbusiness money to advance the project.

Visit their web site at www.cajes.com g

Alumni interested in applying for asession with the ThinkUbator teamshould contact Emily Fay in the WBSAlumni Office: e [email protected] or t 024 765 24176

John Senior (left) and James Clare promotingtheir new business. Top: the simulator pod tobe used for team-building exercises.

WBS Graduates most employableAccording to a survey published in the Guardian newspaper in June, graduates ofWarwick Business School are considered to be the most employable - by a largemargin. Warwick topped the list with 28 ‘employability points’, their closest rivalsLeeds and Nottingham scored 18, with Oxford and Cambridge achieving just 12 points.This listing follows a survey of over 220 recruiters who were asked to vote on whethergraduates from each university were above or below average employability. g

WARWICK BUSINESS SCHOOL has launchedthe European MBA in partnership withthe School of Business Administration atMannheim University in Germany, andESSEC (Ecole Superieure des SciencesEconomiques et Commerciales) near Paris.

Participants based at WBS taking theEuropean MBA will combine the ‘core’modules at WBS with a choice ofspecialist electives, at Mannheim. Therewill be opportunities to study crossboundary subjects (such as EC Law,Cross-cultural Management, Business andCorporate Taxation in Europe and theEconomics of European Integration andMonetary Union). Participants thencomplete a joint project in collaborationwith counterparts from Mannheim andESSEC. The project, sponsored by a rangeof leading international companies, willfocus on solving internationalmanagement challenges.

Dr. Simon Collinson, Associate Deanfor the Warwick MBA, said, “TheEuropean MBA has been developed inresponse to a growing demand amongstmultinational firms for MBA graduateswith an advanced understanding of theEuropean business context, relevantlanguage skills and practical internationalexperience.” g

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alumni events nexus | 3

Leading the way diary dates

Athens review

Lesley James, Vice-President of the Chartered Institute ofPersonnel and Development, gave the Alumnae Women’s Groupthe benefit of her wealth of experience in HR, at a seminar heldin London in February. The WBS alumna (MA IR 1976-77)contributed significantly to the change of culture at Tesco in the1990s, while serving on the Board of Directors. Around 40 fellowalumnae attended the seminar, hosted by the Probation Serviceof England & Wales and heard Lesley’s forthright andinspirational thoughts on leadership and how to effect change.Her guiding principle has always been, “If you want your peopleto excel in customer service, you too must excel in the way youmanage them.” g

Returning after nearly thirty years, Juan Diaz Ruiz, Senior Vice-President, Distribution Strategy, Fiat Auto (MSc Management andBusiness 1972-73), flew in from Turin in April to present anenlightening seminar on his experiences in the supremelycompetitive motor industry and its passion for curves! Around75 current students, senior faculty members and alumni,including three of his former classmates, attended the seminar. g

Alumnus Stephen Lawrence (BSc ManSci 1976-79), is now CEOof the IT company Logical Ltd. On the invitation of the MBAstudents, he returned to campus to participate in their

Entrepreneurial Group eventon 9 May. g

Alumni attended a CreativeEvent and a Dean’s meeting atWBS developing ideas forraising the School’s profile inthe UK and internationally.Amongst those whocontributed were SwagMukerji (MBA 1991-92)Marketing Director forBiocompatibles, formerly ofVirgin Cola, Paul Wyman (BScManSci 1971-73) now workingfor T-Mobile, and Jim Snelson(MBA 1994-99) BusinessConsultant with Oracle. g

Alumni Academic UpdateChair: Professor John McGee,MSM Dept, WBS19 October 2002Warwick Business School

MBA Forum (all Alumniwelcome)Speaker: Val Gooding (BA Hons, French 1971) CEO BUPA21 October 2002Warwick Business School

Alumni in Consulting: talkand networkingSpeaker: Craig Baker (PhD, 1985), Vice President AT Kearney28 October 2002Warwick Business School

Value Based ManagementAMBA - WBS joint event*Speaker: Simon Court (MBA 1988-90)Director Value Partnership29 October 2002London

WGA Christmas Party**

Band: The Raging Horns14 December 2002Rootes BuildingUniversity of Warwick

MBA RefresherJanuary 2003Warwick Business School

First Annual WBS DinnerHost: Lord Jeff Rooker (MA, Industrial Relations, 1972)8 May 2003House of Lords, London

MBA Summer Ball11 July 2003

Further events are planned in New York,Shanghai, Oslo and other venues soplease do check the WBS web site or signup for your free monthly e-newsletter.

*Book on: www.mba.org.uk/ (underMBAcademy)

**Book on: www.warwick.ac.uk/alumni/

Full listing of events and onlinebooking at the WBS web site:www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni/

ONE OF THE WORLD’S leading academics in marketing and strategicmanagement, Professor John McGee of WBS, visited Athens onWednesday 19 June. Titled ‘The Winner takes it all’ he spoke onthe New Information Economy, giving managers working inGreece an update on the latest trends in this important area ofbusiness activity.

The event was arranged and introduced by WBS grad MariaKarakassis (MSc Management 1971-2). It was planned to raise theWBS profile in Greece and to attract prospective students.Alumni were invited to attend and bring interested guests. g

Top: WBS Alumni meet in NewYork: Subhash Gupta (MBAstudent) with event organiserRanan Lachman. Bottom: MBASummer Ball is a great success.

Alex Bach (right), welcomesAlumnus Stephen Lawrence back toWBS to share his experience withcurrent students.

Rendezvous in RioInaugural meetings of BrazilianAlumni were held in Rio deJaneiro and Sao Paulo earlier inthe year, with guest speaker,Professor Keith Hoskin fromWBS. Two WBS alumni, DinizLopes (MBA 1997-98) andMarcia D´Angelo (MBA 1996-97) volunteered to run the newAssociation. Anyone interestedshould contact:[email protected] [email protected]

New York eventRanan Lachman (MBA 1999-00) hosted an informal gettogether at the Bowery Bar on40 East 4th Street, New Yorkon 27 June. The University ofWarwick will be hosting furtherevents in New York.

Sparkling BallA five star celebration for a fivestar MBA class, this year'swonderful MBA Summer Ballattracted 300 Alumni, studentsand staff. The Ball was held on12th July at The Belfry Hotel,and sponsored by Liberata,Innogy, Adam Carpets. "What agreat event," commented ChrisAdam who graduated that day,"so many different people fromso many courses and agegroups having a good time!"

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eTHIS EDITION OF NEXUS focuses on innovation with a series of articles that reflect the innovative culture of Warwick Business School across an evolving portfolio of research and teaching activities.

Competitive advantage in industry is based on continual innovation in products and processes - the on-going development of new and better products and services and of new and better ways

of creating them and delivering them to final customers. For all organisations, including business schools, R&D and organisational

change are the engines of innovation. For top Business Schools this means both the continual development of new areas of research excellence and the continual leveraging of this research, providing a bridge between theory and practice through teaching.

WBS has scale and scope advantages that help it promote both continuous improvements in existing programmes and the intellectual diversity and managerial creativity to develop new areas of research and new teaching programmes.

� Groundbreaking online teaching, course delivery and student communities

� New programmes detailed in this magazine such as the Ford Trustmark MBA

� Internationalisation - working with new exchange partners on programmes like the European MBA, and the Undergraduate International Business degree.

� And new corporate links such as with Prudential, the Football Association, TNT Express, UBS Warburg, and McKinsey.

As we move towards our goal of being the best European business school; creativity, innovationand continuous improvement lie at the heart of our mission. In achieving this goal we look to our alumni for support. Your involvement is critical, to provide feedback and lend direction, as well as acting as a channel to the outside world, to help us continue to build our top-class reputation. g

Howard Thomas

4 | view from the top

in this issue WBS in partnership with Ford 6 Focus on Innovation - Egg and e-business 8 Spotting the next big thing 10

Alumni profile 12 Nexus view 13 Storming to success 14 Careers 17

A message from the Dean

Harvard at Warwick

‘As we move towards our goal of being thebest European business school; creativity,innovation and continuous improvement lieat the heart of our mission.’

‘Your involvement is critical.’

HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL MIDLANDS Alumni branch chose WBS as the venue for their recentevent. Held in June, nearly 80 people attended. Most of these were Harvard Alumni but localWBS Alumni were also invited and places were made available for 20 WBS MBA students.

“The event was a great success, enjoyed by all of our members,” commented Tim Scholes,President of the HBSA Midlands Branch. The speaker was Dr John Quelch, professor atHarvard and previous Dean of LBS. “John did a really super job in leading the case discussion,and your students’ contributions were insightful,” Tim wrote to WBS Dean, Howard Thomas,after the event.

The case study was on Easyjet and included a short video interview with Stelios Haji-Ioannou, made especially for the evening. After the classroom, Harvard and Warwick Alumnimixed together for a reception and dinner. The WBS Alumni who came from farthest afieldfor the event were Tim Soar, from Argentina, and Raymond Choa, from Singapore.

“I really enjoyed it and the discussions that followed,” commented WBS student HavoviCama. “The thinking developed by the WBS MBA was similar to that developed at Harvard. Itwas also nice to meet other WBS students who are using different methods of study tocomplete the program.”

Future joint events are being planned. gWBS Dean, Professor Howard Thomas(right) welcomes Professor John Quelch,Harvard, to WBS.

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Winning team

Premier leagueEVEN BEFORE THE WORLD Cup began, WBS became the focus of media interest from TV,radio and newspapers in May, with the launch of a high profile training programme forfootball professionals moving into management.

Fourteen experienced footballers and managers from across the UK kicked off in thefirst round of this innovative new programme. Those now actively enjoying thelearning experience include Mark Hughes, Wales National Team Manager and BrianMcClair, Reserves Coach at Manchester United.

The School provides a balanced programme covering marketing, financialmanagement, IT, planning, and personal development. According to JonathanHollands, Client Manager, “The value of our programmes is the blend of our academicexcellence and the day-to-day experiences of the managers taking part. We hope tomake a real difference to the quality of management of UK football clubs.”

Recent research by Dr Sue Bridgewater of WBS highlighted the stresses on managersand the benefits of more formal business training. Suereports that the feedback from the participants hasbeen extremely positive. “The first residential courseproved to us how focused, enthusiastic andhardworking the football managers are. They handledeverything that we introduced to them extremely welland with excellent humour.”

Programme Director, Andrew Hardwick added:“These people can already access training and supportin coaching skills but our programme will providethem with the necessary business expertise to succeed as football managers. They are animpressive group - very committed and particularly good at rising to challenges.”

Commissioned by The Footballers’ Further Education & Vocational Training SocietyLtd, a charitable body funded by The Professional Footballers Association andsupported by the FA Premier League, the Football League, the FA, and The LeagueManagers Association, the programme leads to the University of Warwick Certificate inApplied Management. People signing up for the course will take part in residentialcourses at WBS, one-day sessions and distance learning.

In a league of their own, the WBS dream team features Sue Bridgewater, AndrewHardwick, Jonathan Hollands and Chris Smith. A squad to be proud of! g

PARTICIPANTS ON THE WARWICK MBA byfull-time study won a £1,000 prize forinnovation from Crown CastleInternational, a multinational companyat the cutting edge of wirelesscommunications technology. Working ingroups, competitors had to present theirstrategy for manufacturing andmarketing the next generation of dataprocessing and communications devices.

The winning group included SaiWing Chow, Michael Crich, NatalieHoffherr, Rika Ota, Richard Sammy, IanTatterton, and Tassos Vavladellis whowon with their innovative ideas andunique presentation - performed in thestyle of TV game show The Price is Right. g

Following the demise of ITV Digital,Warwick-based Crown CastleInternational recently secured threemultiplex licences, each of which willallow them to transmit four channels -one in conjunction with the BBC. g

Crown Castle’s Chief Operating Officer andManaging Director, Peter Abery (centre),awarding the MBA prize for innovation.

BBC Five Live commentator, Jimmy Armfield, former England and Blackpool player explains WBSplans for footballers going back to school.

‘We hope to make areal difference tothe quality ofmanagement of UKfootball clubs.’

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LeadershipSir Nicholas Scheele, as Chancellor, holds the highest office of theUniversity, although the role is largely an honorary one. Sir Nick wasappointed in part because of his own prominence and loyalty as a localfigure and partly in recognition of the long relationship Ford has had with

the University of Warwick.“Sir Nick is a local figure with local affinities, he is a

significant business figure. He has had pan-Europeanexperience as Director of Ford Europe and is now based in

the US, a country the University wants to reach outto,” explains Peter Dunn, University spokesperson.

Sir Nick is now the Chief Operating Officer andPresident of Automotive Operations of the Ford

Motor Company.Before taking on his new role as

University Chancellor, Sir Nick was amember of the Warwick Business SchoolBoard. He has been replaced on the Boardby Richard Parry-Jones, Group Vice-President Global Product Development,Ford Motor Company. Sir Nick came tocampus in 2001 to give a presentation tothe MBA class, and in 1997 heparticipated in a Warwick Debate withMichael Portillo and Lord Skidelsky.

Education“So many Ford Group people were gettingtheir MBA education at Warwick that theydecided it would be more effective toformalise it, so we launched the FordTrustmark MBA this Spring,” says SueBridgewater, Director of the FordTrustmark MBA, from WBS’s Marketingand Strategic Management Group.

Ford employees who take the newMBA, which commenced on 20th April, will

have tailored core modules deliveredthrough a combination of distance learningand on-campus modules.

“Ford gets the benefit of a tailored front-end with Ford examples and assignments. Thestudents from different parts of the companyare sharing

6 | wbs in partnership

anatomy of a companyrelationship with WBS

In March of this year the University of Warwickappointed Sir Nicholas Scheele its fourth Chancellor,following the retirement of Sir Shridath Ramphal.

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knowledge with each other and this promotes bestpractice spreading across the organisation,” explainsSue. “In the elective portion of the course, studentsmix with people from other organisations. This way

they can learn best practice in other businesses totake back to their employer.”

“The programme represents an excitingdevelopment,” comments Sean McIlveen, Directorof Education Training and Development for FordEurope, “The innovative blend of taught anddistance learning modules provides a very flexibleprogramme.” WBS has been a market leader inDistance Learning for twelve years - the firstaccredited DL MBA in the UK - so Ford is takingadvantage of this expertise.

“We look at what corporate clients want,” saysSue, “what mode of delivery they want, and howand when they want their students to mix withpeople from other organisations. We work withthem to develop the course that suits theirorganisation.”

Recruitment and expertise“Ford has a history of supporting Warwick BusinessSchool through projects, recruiting presentations,and making speakers available on the MBA careersmodule,” explains Ron Reynolds, Corporate LiaisonManager at WBS. “This has given Ford access to ourquality students - the top management of the future- as well as access to our academics through projectsupervision.”

Ford recruits from undergraduate courses andfrom the MBA.

‘Ford has ahistory ofsupportingWarwickBusinessSchoolthroughprojects,recruitingpresentations,and makingspeakersavailable.’

‘Ford gets the benefit of atailored front-end. In the electiveportion, students mix withpeople from other organisations.’

Students (from right to left) Andrew Jeffrey and RobAbernethy were delighted with Ford’s sponsorship of the2001 Rugby Tour; David Hanson, Ford, on the left.

WBS celebrates Ford scholarships. From left: HowardThomas, Dean, two Ford students, Ford’s Andy Bern, SueBridgewater, Director of the Ford Trustmark MBA andHarvey Byrne also from Ford.

“I joined Ford because I wanted to work for amulti-national company that had a real, tangibleproduct,” explains Man.Sci. graduate Matt Ebdon.Matt joined Ford after graduating from WBS in 2000. Ford also recruited three excellent studentsfrom the MBA 2000-01 class: Vanessa Markey, WadidNasrallah, and Johnny Tsang. Each of these recruitsalso had a project with Ford. The projects included: atrend analysis of Ford Europe, Measurables of LeanManufacturing at Land Rover, and a review of theFord Heritage Motor Centre and marketing strategyfor the Motor Museum.

“I was able to see what I had recommended in myproject put into practice,” explains Vanessa, now theCommercial Services Manager at the Heritage MotorCentre/Land Rover. She continues, “I have actuallyworked on the implementation myself and seen itstart to take effect which makes my project entirelypractical while still academically rigorous. Theprojects Ford offers represent excellent opportunitiesto put the learning from the MBA into immediatepractice.

Julie Tew, Managing Director of the HeritageMotor Centre, adds: “We were delighted with thework which Vanessa carried out for us. She looked atrepositioning the museum in the leisure industry. Weare already seeing positive results from the changeswhich Vanessa and her new team made following therecommendations of her MBA thesis. Clearly, this hasproved a success story for our business as a directresult of Ford’s relationship with WBS.”

Scholarships and sponsorshipFord targeted top students even before the projectstage of the MBA course by offering scholarships of£5,000. This gives them access to students in areasthat interest them, like human resources, in a givenyear. These same students go on to do projects withFord, and usually to be offered jobs.

“We have also appreciated Ford’s sponsorship ofsporting activities such as the Rugby tour in 2001, andthe Sailing Regatta in 2002,” says Ron Reynolds. “Thisgives the Ford brand exposure at prestigious sportingevents at leading business schools around the world.” g

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��8 | focus on innovation

SINCE LAUNCH IN OCTOBER 1998, Egg hasestablished itself as Europe’s leadingonline financial services provider, withover 2.1 million customers and growing1.Egg has revolutionised British bankingthrough innovation, by passing on tocustomers the cost savings and conven-ience of the online model, to give them abetter deal. This leadership has resulted inother online banks joining in to lowerrates for consumers, so that Britain is nowrated as the top European country forfinancial services consumption2.

“The combination of technology pushand market pull - customers demandedcost savings and simplified banking - is apowerful influence on firms to innovate,”explains Professor David Wilson, WarwickBusiness School.

At the core of Egg is a belief that thereis a better way - that most banks andfinancial institutions make dealing withmoney complex and difficult. Our offer toour customers is to find them simplesolutions to their financial problems.

“The importance of core beliefs andconsistency in following and implement-ing them cannot be over-emphasised inthe innovation process. These are theguiding parameters for a variety ofstrategic decisions which will be madeover periods of years rather than months,”comments WBS’s David Wilson. “Suchconsistency provides strategic continuity,which is an effective way for firms to dealwith uncertainty3.”

These values are not idealistic - theymake excellent commercial sense. Under-standing customers and consistentlygiving them great value will ensure theystay longer with us, buy more from us andtell more people how good we are. Thisdrives value for our shareholders andbuilds the extraordinary relationship withour customers that is the essence of Egg. g

1 Egg plc results for Q1 2002, to 31 March 2002.2 I & B Group research has shown that the top 10European financial companies is mostly made up ofBritish financial institutions, including Egg. 3 Hickson, D.J. Miller, S and D. Wilson (2004)'Implementing Strategic Decisions: Two Options toSuccess' Journal of Management Studies(forthcoming).

Innovative Egg

THE SUPPLY STRATEGY RESEARCH UNIT

(SSRU), established in January 2002,acts as a focus for research anddevelopment in the fields ofpurchasing, supply chainmanagement and strategic accountmanagement. Headed by Dr SimonCroom of the WBS OperationsManagement Group, the Unit hasestablished its own advisory boardof executives from a range ofpublic, private and professionalorganisations to help direct andsupport its development.

Part of this development hasalready seen a growth in thenumber of research students andplans are currently being drawn upto broaden the range of purchasing,supply chain and strategic accountmanagement activities undertakenby the Unit.

An important part of the SSRU’sactivity is the Warwick E-BusinessForum - an active network of practitioners, policy makers, consultants and researchersin the field of e-business, particularly relating to Procurement and Supply ChainManagement. Through regular networking events, collaborative initiatives and focusedresearch in e-business, the WEB Forum provides a platform for sharing knowledge andaddressing current management and policy concerns in a wide range of e-businessissues. One major initiative of the WEB Forum was the establishment earlier this year ofthe WEB Research Consortium programme to investigate the nature and impact of

e-procurement ande-business systems andstrategies. Thisprogramme providesConsortium memberswith access to detailedresearch data andleading edge practicesrelating to the

implementation and effective management of modern business systems. CurrentConsortium members include major UK government departments, large blue chipcorporations, medium sized manufacturing businesses and a number of key e-businessservice providers.

The next twelve months will see a number of exciting new initiatives, including thelaunch of a global study into e-procurement, commencement of Phase Two of the WEBConsortium aimed at increasing the number of members and the launch of a series ofbest practice workshops in e-strategy development.

If you want to know more about the SSRU and WEB Forum, please contact Simon Croom e [email protected] g

e-business in the supply chain- a new research initiative atWarwick Business School

‘Warwick E-Business Forum - an activenetwork of practitioners, policy

makers, consultants and researchersin the field of e-business.’

by Wendy SchratzHead of Channel Management Egg

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the future of e-business

Further reading

� Netsourcing, Renting Business Applications and Services over a Network,by Thomas Kern, Mary Cecilia Lacity, Leslie P Willcocks.� The evolution of the organizational architect, MITSloan ManagementReview, Spring 2002, by Chris Sauer and Leslie Willcocks.� The Winner’s Curse in IT Outsourcing: Strategies for avoiding relationaltrauma, California Management Review, vol. 44, No 2, Winter 2002,by Thomas Kern, Leslie Willcocks, and Eric van Heck.

It has been an interesting year. What isleft of e-business in the sense we knew itonly two years ago?

Leslie Willcocks is Professor of e-business at Warwick Business School.He firmly believes in the longer termfuture of e-business and sees two areasof growth.

“The pricing and the business models are not yet right, but theidea is emblematic of the change that is going to happen overthe next five-to-six years.” Customers do not have up-frontinfrastructure costs or software licenses, solutions can expand orcontract with the market, and, in principle, switching to newsolutions is quicker and easier.

One company in this field is EDS, a service supplier. By 2001they had $200 million in forward contracts. But this is not atypical picture. Things are going much more slowly now ascompanies are very risk averse after the psychological impact ofSeptember 11th. Nonetheless, Leslie is certain that as companiesmove forward they will want to take advantage of theseopportunities. He has just published a new book on this topic“Netsourcing”, an in-depth analysis of the new markets.

Leslie also sees opportunity in Business Process Outsourcing(BPO). “There is so much money to be saved in the back officesof companies and government, for example in HR, accounting,real estate and procurement. There is a massive market for BPOso we will see tremendous growth over four to five years. At themoment the suppliers are embryonic: there is no one supplierthat can handle HR, accounting and procurement and the restof the back office.”

Leslie’s research suggests that because back offices aretraditionally underfunded and may not have retained the beststaff there are huge savings to be made. For example he believesthat as much as 30% of costs could be saved on the invoicepayable function.

“Companies will retain the strategy and policy elements butshould be able to outsource - over the web - the administrationand the updating of records. The supplier will be able to paymore attention and streamline the process. They can bringtechnology to bear. The supplier will have purchasing power.”BP and British Aerospace are twopioneers who have alreadyoutsourced their HR functions, andtheir suppliers, Exult andXchanging, use on-line technologyto enable this.

“Companies will have to retainenough capability to control theirown destiny - the broaderquestion is how you achieve aneffective result while minimisingrisk. Management is not onlyabout achieving results but alsoabout minimising risk.”

“These are exciting areasfor companies to explore andwhere I see the growth of e-business over the next fiveyears,” concludes Leslie. g

“INNOVATION IS GREAT BUT one must take account of risk,” saysLeslie Willcocks. “The last two years have really changedpeople’s attitude towards risk.”

“There are two recent innovations in sourcing - Netsourcingand Business Process Outsourcing - which are potentially veryimportant in their impacts,” explains Leslie.

Netsourcing is renting infrastructure, services andapplications over the internet. “It is using the power of theinternet as a supplier, as well as organising your own IT whichmay not previously have been connected.”

“For example you can rent desktop services - then you haveno expensive in-house IT staff to worry about,” explains Leslie.

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10 | focus on innovation

THE VENTURE CAPITAL FIRM 3i’s success isbuilt on spotting innovation as ithappens and investing in it - but howdo they know what new technologies,ideas and companies will take off andwhich ones will never get off thedrawing board?“It helps having a global footprint”explains Clive Austin, Director of 3iIreland (MBA 1990-91). “3i has offices inthe UK, throughout Europe, both coastsof the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, andJapan - all the major markets. This givesus a unique window on innovationaround the world.” In fact 3i invests inbusinesses across three continents, andits current portfolio is valued at almost€9.8 billion.

Investing in new innovative ideas isrisky but exciting. What is importantthough for any venture capitalist is tomatch the potential returns on offerwith the risks associated in achievingthem.

How does 3i decide on which newbusinesses to focus? Clive says: “The keyto that is management. A good idea caneasily be marred by a weak or inapprop-riate team. We look for quality withinthe management team and an ability toclearly articulate the commercial case.”

The first step then, when decidingwhether to invest in a new company, isfor the venture capitalist to look at theteam. After initial meetings 3i oftenworks with HR specialists to assessindividual managerial competencies andteam dynamics. However, personalexperience and judgement still count fora lot. “Independent work should inform,but can never make the decision foryou,” says Clive.

“The second stage is to consider theidea itself. “Early stage investments areat the higher end of risk spectrum. Inorder to get an appropriate return onsuch investments the idea must be

‘disruptive’- it musthave thepotential toprovide a

quantum shift in the way businessprocesses are carried out or customerneeds are met.”

So, 3i looks for three key things in anew business opportunity: the quality ofthe team, the clarity of their thinkingand the potential of their ideas tochange the rules.

spotting thenext big thing?

‘The ‘black art’ is in our people and howthey judge the results of this work.’

Clive Austin Director of 3i Ireland (MBA 1990-91)

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Success for industrial network at Warwick

Founded in late 2001, the Knowledge andInnovation Network (KIN) is a new form ofcollaboration between Warwick BusinessSchool and business. Established in responseto the growing need of organisations to shapethe way they exploit and grow their knowledge;Unilever, GlaxoSmithKline, Consignia and, mostrecently, BAe Systems are among its members.

Associated with the IKON research unit(‘Innovation, Knowledge and OrganisationalNetworks’), KIN provides an interface betweenbusiness school research and businesspractice. The IKON research team has carriedout a number of research and consultancyprojects in the area of Knowledge Management(KM), accumulating considerable expertise.The aim of KIN is to share this expertise andexperience with business practitioners throughregular workshops and other activities.

Stephen Mann from Consignia says: "KINoffers us an unrivalled opportunity to benefitfrom cutting edge KM research and to learnfrom the experience of other companies." KINis established as a joint venture betweenWarwick Business School and the ManagementCentre at Leicester University.

For more information, please contact Dr.Markus Perkmann on [email protected] orgo to www.ki-network.org

Shaping knowledge behaviours: the new agenda for KnowledgeManagement

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PAVEL EROCHKINE, a 2002 Warwick graduate from Russia, has investigated theinefficiencies of investments in developing countries. His conclusion is that theWestern financial institutions often apply double standards towards countries likeRussia because their investment decisions seem to be dominated by stereotypesrather than by the careful analysis of all the available information. In a series ofarticles, which are due to be published in the Russian financial press, Pavel arguesthat prices of Russian assets do not accurately reflect all the relevant informationand there is a scope for beating the market and making abnormal profits. In fact,funds investing in Russian equities perform very well and the Russian ProsperityFund is the best in the world (Nelson Info). It seems, however, that Russia is nowcoming off the blacklist and there is a danger that the “irrational exuberance” maylead to the overshooting of the market. For more information contact Pavel Erochkine e [email protected] g

Efficient marketsSuccessful innovation comes frommatching novel ideas with marketopportunities. Sometimes thetechnology is not entirely new but adifferent use or an improvement on anexisting theme.

“You still need the quality of theteam,” says Clive, “but then the ideamust also be novel and address a realneed in a meaningful market.”

He continues: “If an idea iscompletely new - like Sony’s firstWalkman - it is impossible to predictdemand accurately. We can do externalresearch and have the full range of toolsavailable but the ultimate reality willalways be different - it’s just a questionof how different. As with managementteams, some of the decision to investwill always be based on gut feel andpersonal judgement.”

How does 3i know which productsconsumers will buy? The company usesits global contacts to learn about trendsin geographic markets and they alsohave sector teams which specialise in abroad range of market areas fromhealthcare to logistics. “Any Warwickgraduate who sat in Peter Doyle’slectures will recognise the tools andtechniques we use,” says Clive, “the‘black art’ is in our people and how theyjudge the results of this work”.

A 3i venture capitalist must have abedrock of academic horsepower and avery high level of analysis, rigour andcommercial judgement. However, 3ilooks for additional soft skills such asempathy, resilience and highlydeveloped communication skills.

Clive has been with 3i for over sevenyears. He recently moved from 3i’sManchester office, where he specialisedin asset management, to Dublin whenhe was appointed Director of 3i Irelandplc in May 2001.

“The Celtic Tiger has enjoyedmeteoric growth over the past decade andis predicted to continue to outperformthe Eurozone average over the mediumterm. It has particular strengths inhealthcare, software, and telecoms,” Cliveexplains. However, he is more interestedin the largely untapped Irish PrivateEquity market (generally more traditionalsectors) where he sees significantopportunity. “Ireland has fantasticopportunities,” Clive concludes, “and 3iis in a prime position to lead the market’sdevelopment and capitalise on these.” g

Page 12: Nexus Summer 2002

ACTIVELY SEEKING AFFORDABLE SMALL office space in London - fully equipped, internet-ready,contemporary design, with the added benefit of a weekly massage? Then look nofurther...

The search for decent small office space in London revealed a gap in the marketthat WBS graduate and entrepreneur Pier Paolo Mucelli was inspired to fill. Under theeoffice brand, Pier (BSc ManSci 1986-88) opened his flagship business centre in theheart of Soho, London, in April.

Hailed as ‘the first laid back office centre’ by the Evening Standard, each centre willcontain fully equipped, internet-ready individual workstations, combiningcontemporary workspace, interior design and cutting edge technology. Leisure andrelaxation zones double as meeting areas, with the large glass-encapsulated boardroomhaving a DVD, VCR, plasma screen and video conferencing system and the chilloutroom sporting a Play Station.

Managing Director Pier explains: “We have created a stimulating and funenvironment, supported by state-of-the-art technology, to inspire a new office culture.There is a real need for quality, internet-ready and affordable business accommodationand eoffice is a new and exciting product that meets this need. We are targeting the

growing number of smallbusinesses and freelancerswho are seeking moreefficient and flexible officespace.”

The launch of the new centre and the collaboration with leading design teams fromSquare.dot, Ashley Carter and furniture designer Herman Miller, generated interest frompublications as diverse as Design Week, the Evening Standard, Time Out, Director andFX, to name but a few.

Propertydirect magazine highlighted the affordability of the eoffice proposition,with a monthly rent of around £500 with no deposit and one month minimum stay, inits recent review of the ‘new plug and work office solutions’.

Looking to provide an alternative to working from home, the eoffice environmenthas been specifically designed to enhance productivity and efficiency, allowing socialinteraction while still being secure and private. Pier explains: “Small businesses canbenefit by sitting next to other small businesses. We’re looking at companies with fromfour to five people but also the single user who wouldn’t go to service offices.”

Check it out at w www.eoffice.net g

12 | alumni profile

Plug and work

Laid back office chic - trendsetter Pier Paolo Mucelli shows off the new look.

Movie starsWBS Board Members and their movie starsons.

Top: Craig Baker (BEd 1980, BSc Maths 1981,Business PhD 1985) now Vice President of ATKearney, with his son Sean. Sean is in thesecond Harry Potter movie which will bereleased this year. Bottom: Rupert Howell (BScMan Sci 1978) CEO Chime Communications,with his son Dominic and actor Ioan Gruffud(left). Dominic starred in the TV film adapta-tion of Tony Parson’s novel, ‘Man and Boy’.

‘Hailed as ‘the first laid back officecentre’ by the Evening Standard.’

Hot off the PressCUSTOMER IS KINGHow to exceed theirexpectations By Robert Craven (MBA1990-91)The latest VirginBusiness Guide

NetSOURCINGRenting BusinessApplications andServices Over aNetworkBy Thomas Kern,

Mary Cecelia Lacity, Leslie P Willcocks

Page 13: Nexus Summer 2002

nexus view | 13

Professor Andrew Oswald

I AM OFTEN ASKED what I believe about theadvisability of Britain joining the Euro. Wheneverthat happens, I always think about sausages.

Imagine a world in which sausages come in allshapes and sizes - beef ones, pork ones, chunkyturkey with cranberry ones, dark ham and mustardones, all sorts. There is a great shop in Moreton inMarsh, just like this, in case you are a sausage fan.

But now imagine that the European communitywere to pass a law. From now on, says this edict, allsausages must be sold at one price and only one price.Would this be good economics? No it would not. Justbecause things are sausages does not mean they are allidentical. Whatever a bureaucrat would think, it is natural tohave different sausages selling at different prices.

In a nutshell, this is the economic problem with the Euro. Justbecause it is a currency it now has to sell at the same price. So out have goneFrench francs at price Trois and Italian lire at price Duo. In their place, has come acommon currency, called the Euro, which has to sell at the same price everywhere.

Maybe you think this argument is not entirely fair. After all, the Euro, you mightbelieve, looks like literally the same sausage everywhere, so a common price for it is allright. Unfortunately, from an economist’s point of view it is not.

What Europe has done is effectively to pass a law that says a whole bunch of marketswill forcibly be shut down. These are the currency markets. Yet the whole history ofeconomics - indeed the whole history of civilisation if that is not too grand a claim - isthat it is almost always a bad thing to ban markets. Let people trade if they want to.Alcohol prohibition in the US is one of the famous examples; it led to terrible abuses. TheSoviet Union was, of course, an example writ large of how disastrous it is to ban markets.

In the case of currencies, by the banning of the buying and selling of currencies ofdifferent nations, Europe has forced itself into an economic straightjacket. Yet the laws ofeconomic boom and slump have not been repealed. Inevitably, therefore, something elsehas to take the strain that used to be absorbed by the value of the German Mark andBelgian Franc going up and down with demand and supply.

Really there is only one place for the strain now to show through - that is in themovement of people. Previously, if a country started to do badly in export markets, itscurrency simply fell in value. Today, that cannothappen. To get back to equilibrium, employment mustfall in the countries that cannot sell their goods inother European nations. Then, to restore balance inthe labour market, workers will have to migrate tobooming nations.

Yet migration is a slow and often unhappybusiness. Human beings - especially Europeans -usually like to stay put. This is what happens in depressed regions (within countries),where, of course, there is also by definition a common currency - as within different partsof Britain.

So, whatever the political benefits of the Euro, my advice is this. Never forget the sausages. g

Sausages and the Euro

C--by Professor Andrew OswaldEconomics Department University of Warwick

‘By banning buying and selling of currencies ofdifferent nations, Europe has forced itself intoan economic straightjacket.’

Page 14: Nexus Summer 2002

14 | nexus

WBS GRADUATE DOUG LITTLEJOHNS (MBA1991-92) certainly proved this over 5years as he worked with his good friend,author Tom Clancy, to co-found acomputer games company, grow it to $80million in sales, and then sell it beforethe bubble burst.

“Tom had invested in a computergame on submarines in 1995 and askedme for technical advice,” explains Doug.“I talked to the guys in the company andlooked at their business plan which wasabout two lines long. I told Tom this wasdestined to be a disaster. I said - if youwant to do this, and it is an obviousadjunct to your books, then you want ajoint venture with people who can reallydo it.”

Storming to success

‘Peter Doyle was a great inspiration to me. He taught me to think outside the box.’

Doug Littlejohns collecting a prize for‘Interactive Game of the Year’ at ECTS inLondon.

Doug Littlejohns, twice decorated by the Queen, refuelling at sea.

North Carolina. Their products werecomputer games based on Tom Clancy’sbooks. Doug approached Red Stormholistically looking for global markets,working with Hollywood, and going forthe console as well as the PC gamesmarkets.

They released their first title, TomClancy’s Politika, in November 1997. Itcame with Tom’s new novel containing amini disk with a sample of the game onthe back cover and there was a separatelysold board game.

In 1998 Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six hitthe marketplace within weeks of Clancy’sbook of the same name. Both becameinstant number 1’s.

“It was jolly hard work,” says Doug.“In four years we took sales from $1m, to$16m, to $64m and we were projectingsales of $80m when we decided to sell.”By this time Tom Clancy had become aname in computer games. Other themedgames like Jurassic Park were becomingsuccessful on the market.

For these reasons there was a lot ofinterest in Red Storm from US companies.

Tom went away to think this overand for some time Doug did not hearfrom him.

“Then in February 1996, Tom turnedup on my doorstep and said he was goingto take my advice,” continues Doug.However, Tom then went on to ask Dougto run the company.

“I said - don’t be bloody stupid!”remembers Doug. However when hethought about it, he realised there wastremendous potential. Tom had 5 million

dedicated fans who all hadcomputers. If they could persuadethese fans to buy computer gamesthen they would be able to cross-connect and hit several marketswithout being in directcompetition for the samecustomers as all the other gamemanufacturers. Doug flew over toNorth Carolina, USA, inSeptember 1996, to start workingon the project.

In November 1996 Doug andTom co-founded Red StormEntertainment Inc, based in Morrisville,

‘Business is very simple

the way I operate,’

claims Doug Littlejohns,

‘the money in at the top

must be greater than the

money out at the bottom.

The secret to success is a

great business plan.’

Page 15: Nexus Summer 2002

Setting sailAT THE TIME OF writing, the WBS sailing team (sponsored by Ford) waspreparing to compete at the International Business Schools Regatta on theIsle of Wight from 19-21 July. Commodore Richard Thomas (FTMBA)reported earlier, “On a beautiful summer’s day in the Solent the WBSteam set sail from the river Hamble. We had a professional coach onboard to ensure the training was as effective as possible. Unfortunately,even a professional cannot sail without wind, so the first morningwas a theoretical exercise! Over the weekend, the wind picked upsteadily to a force 5 and the crew was thoroughly tested, practisingdifferent combinations of manoeuvres and tactics to find any weakareas in our skill base. The crew are ready, bring on the regatta!” g

THE 2002 ALUMNI BUSINESS Cup sailing regatta took place in La Rochelle,France, over a long weekend in June. With teams this year fromINSEAD, LBS, Cranfield, IMD, ISA, Bocconi, Imperial as well as Warwickand crew members from all over Europe and further afield, this event hasbecome an annual event, living up to its motto - ‘Friendship, Glory & Fun’.

Using identical 9 metre yachts and crews of 6; a series of 7 races, bothshort Olympic style and longer passage races, tested the crews over 3 days. Windconditions varied from very light to higher winds requiring sail reefing. Most racesinvolved multiple spinnaker legs, testing a crew’s teamwork and co-ordination, not tomention team spirit!

Warwick performed credibly, quickly coming to grips with the boat and the localconditions, and after the first of the 3 days was placed 5th overall out of the 16 teams.However, competition, although always friendly, became intense and at times verytactical. Warwick eventually finished 10th.

We hope to have more Warwick teams taking part next year - INSEAD had 6 teamsthis year! If you are keen and experienced, please contact the Alumni Office, who willhelp co-ordinate the teams. g

The Alumni Regatta Team included:Commodore Michael Sutcliffe (top right), andteam mates Melanie Dixon Lander, GavinMcGill, Mark Thomas, Caroline Watson andVicki Wright.

Commodore Richard Thomas and PeterHawkes, of the student sailing team hoping tosail to victory.

Coyaba Beach Resort, Grenada

nexus | 15

“In 1999 the Nasdaq was roaringahead and we were persuaded to waituntil we had posted our projected sales of$50 million for that year which wouldincrease our valuation. Games makealmost all their money in the fourthquarter so we had to wait until January3rd 2000, when we actually posted salesof $64 million,” says Doug.

This gave Red Storm a high valuation.However, with the bottom falling out ofthe Nasdaq, and therefore Doug’sinsistence on a cash only deal with noearn outs, they had to look for buyersfrom Europe. They finally sold to Ubi Softin September 2000. Doug and his familystayed on for a year before returning tothe UK where they have set up home inDevon and Doug is currently workingindependently, although he hints of newsin the pipeline.

However, Doug’s fascinating story didnot begin with Red Storm. He had alreadyhad a thirty-year career in the BritishRoyal Navy, with four command tours. Hecommanded two submarines during hiscareer, one a diesel-powered (SSK) and onea nuclear-powered hunter killer (SSN). Hewas poacher turned gamekeeper when hecommanded the surface command ship

for the UK Naval TaskForce in the Gulfduring the Iran/Iraqwar.

“In fact, I took theGMAT exam themorning of the cease-fire in the Gulf War,and flew out with theChief of DefenceSTAFF to talk to thetroops in Kuwait thatafternoon,” he recalls

with amusement. His final appointmentwas running the Navy’s university inPlymouth. He has been decorated twiceby the Queen, is a charteredmathematician and a Fellow of theInstitute of Mathematics and itsApplications. He attended WarwickBusiness School from 1991-92 andparticularly remembers Peter Doyle.

“Peter Doyle was a great inspiration tome,” says Doug, “he taught me to thinkoutside the box. I remember he told acompany that made propellers to maketaxis and it worked. I already knew howto project manage from the Navy butWarwick taught me different terminology,the language of business application. Itwas a really entrepreneurial school andmuch better than just heavy finance.”Doug attributes his success to Warwick,the Navy and a slice of luck. g

Located on Grenada, the Caribbean’s Isle of Spice, set in tropical, landscaped gardens,Coyaba has a well-deserved reputation for offering good value, with friendly and personalisedservice. In a great beachfront location on Grand Anse Beach, approximately 15 minutes fromthe airport, the resort offers 70 spacious standard bedrooms, all air-conditioned, with bath,

shower, hairdryers, phone, cable tv and balcony/patio. The hotel has two open-airrestaurants, lounge, bar and gift shop. Swimming pool with swim-up bar and sun terrace,

tennis court, complimentary golf, dive and meeting room.Featured in tour operator programs such as Travel Collection (all-inclusive) Kuoni, BA

Holidays, Hayes & Jarvis, Cresta and Tradewinds. Owner Richard Cherman (PG Dipl Business Admin 1988-91) offers fellow WBS alumni

a complimentary bottle of local rum and fruit basket gift.

Page 16: Nexus Summer 2002

16 | nexus

WBS HAS EXTENDED ITS online learning provision with thedevelopment of an online module in Project Management forMBA students.

In the first run of the course, students from 20 differentcountries, from Japan to Kenya and Argentina, have beencollaborating online in internationally-mixed ‘Virtual Teams’.Within a dedicated Project Management web site and discussionarea, participants access learning resources and engage in a seriesof discussion activities, facilitated by online tutors, addressingthemselves to a number of Project Management case studies.

Project Management hasemerged in recent years asone of the most popularMBA modules, but until thisyear has not been offered bydistance learning. Theinnovative new module,

comprising print and web-based materials and assessed onlinecollaboration, has been rolled out to distance learning MBAstudents, prior to its being offered to students from all variantsof the MBA from 2003.

Distance learning students, traditionally relatively isolatedfrom their peers, can now engage in intensive syndicate workonline and benefit from the exchange of ideas that is a core partof face-to-face MBA teaching.

Stuart Sutherland, e-learning consultant at WBS, says, “It hasbeen a pleasure to see the way in which students from allcorners of the world have really engaged with each other onlineto produce some very impressive work”. g

The WBS Alumni Web site...

www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni

Project managementgoes online

Outstandingperformance

...for everything

� Online Directory of Alumni

� Access to Proquest & Harvard Business Review

� Calendar of forthcoming events

� Latest school and Alumni news

� Volunteer Alumni mentors

� Career resources & vacancies

� Networking

TWO UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT WBS received the CIMA prize foroutstanding performance in their second year ManagementAccounting module. The award is made annually by CIMA, TheChartered Institute of Management Accounting, who took theunusual step of awarding two prizes this year as both students

had performedexceptionally. KirenMahmood has justcompleted the final yearof her BSc in Accountingand Finance, and RachelPattison has justcompleted her final yearof the BSc ManagementSciences degree. g

To log on to view the Directory or to access libraryinformation such as Proquest, you will need yourAlumni number. This is your old student number andis printed on the address and update sheet enclosedwith your magazine. Alternatively you can contactthe Alumni Office, [email protected], whowill supply it to you.

Prizewinners Kiren and Rachel with DanielGordon of CIMA.

‘Students from 20countries have been

collaborating online.’

Page 17: Nexus Summer 2002

]WBS Alumni Association Career Resources

WE WANT TO SEE all our graduates in their dream job. That’s whywe offer several excellent ways to help you maximise your careerpotential.

Employers’ ResourcesGraduates of WBS are amongst the most highly sought after inthe market. With a degree from a business school ranked withinthe top four in the UK, 10th in Europe and 34th worldwide, ourgraduates are a valuable asset to any organisation.

You can advertise your organisation’s vacancies, free of charge,directly to the most able candidates. A number of organisationshave already found this service extremely useful.

You can also view the CVs of current Warwick MBA studentsand recent graduates.www.wbs.ac.uk/corporate/candidate_search/ Contact: Emily Fay in the Alumni Office on: [email protected]

You can find hundreds of WBS Alumni CVs listed with MBADirect and Executives Direct. The Executives-Direct databasecontains nearly 6,000 candidates who have all registered uniqueand detailed Career Profiles which are available for recruiters tosearch via www.executives-direct.com (results are anonymous).

NetworkingContact fellow Alumni using the Online Directory or the list ofAlumni Mentors to widen your network, to seek strategic adviceon how to pursue your goals, and for specific information oncompanies and careers. The WBS Alumni Association and WGArun events for Alumni around the world to assist you innetworking and career management. You can always find theup-to-date calendar of events on the web site.

Careers Advice and CoachingYou can consult a variety of sources for careers advice andcoaching such as one to one careers advice from the Universityof Warwick’s Careers Service (www.warwick.ac.uk/careers).

We can also recommend independent providers: Aileen Thomson,coaching, ([email protected]), CV, interview skills andgeneral advice, Patricia Wilson, ([email protected] ) orone-to-one career counselling from Warwick graduate DariusNorell, ([email protected]).

Helpful OrganisationsOutside organisations which may be able to assist you:

� The Association of MBAs: www.mba.org.uk - listing of events and much more.

� The Global Workplace: www.global-workplace.com - jobs database, networking events, employer information, and directory.

� MBA Exchange: www.mbaexchange.com - free cv listing service for MBAs.

� MBA Direct: www.mba-direct.co.uk - a specialist candidate listing service for Alumni with a postgraduate degree.

VacanciesJob-seekers can find vacancies listed on the WBS web site.However, there are also links from the WBS Alumni web site tothe best web sites that we have been able to find internationallyfor jobs. g

] careers | 17

Square pegs into round holes will goHow often have you wished that members of your team really understood how to manage?Perhaps you know someone who is a credible professional, but who needs to brush up theircommercial awareness to be a real high-flier.

Well, we can help you.

Starting in October 2002, WBS is offering a Diploma in Applied Management. This programme isdesigned specifically for people who need to understand how to manage people and resourceseffectively. They need to add an awareness of Finance, Marketing, Operations, PersonalEffectiveness and Human Resources to their professional and technical qualifications.

They don’t want to do an MBA yet; they do want to sharpen their management abilities and gaina valuable qualification.

They’re a professional Engineer, or a trained Chemist, or an Accountant with all the relevantcertificates. Our Diploma will equip them to move on to the next steps in their career - to manageothers; to take on bigger budgets; to control more complex projects…

To manage professionally.

For more information, contact: Jonathan Hollands (024 7652 3816, [email protected])Andrew Hardwick (024 7652 2935, [email protected])

Page 18: Nexus Summer 2002

18 | alumni sport

WITH ONLY 7 INDIVIDUALS on the Full-time MBA course who hadplayed rugby before, the initial challenge was building a squad,with those who had played explaining the rules to those whohadn’t!

On home ground, their vigorous training was rewarded witha win in their first game against the WBS Alumni, after atremendous battle. Spirits were high, despite injuries including apunctured lung. In their second game, against Cranfield,although WBS fought strongly, they were defeated (50 - 0).

So with their first victory and the experience gained in thesetwo matches under their belts, 18 stalwarts headed out to NorthCarolina, ready and keen to play.

Team captain, Paul Doyne-Ditmas takes up the story, “Thefirst game was against Stanford, and from the outset it was an

extremely tight game. Warwick scored at the endof the first half, with a penalty just outside the

22-metre line and fly-half Richard Thomascalmly slotted the kick. Stanford was thenawarded a penalty at the beginning of thesecond half, which they converted and drewthe game (3-3).”

“Then we faced Duke - who have a longtradition of hosting the tournament. We

scored our first try of the tournament duringthe first half, in swift response to their try.

Another try during the second half put Duke aheadand Warwick’s last push ended five yards from their try

line when I was injured and the game had to be abandoned.” With two of their key players hospitalised and the squad

reduced to 14, although Warwick consistently pressured WakeForest’s line in the final game, they eventually lost (10 - 0).

Having faced the ‘giants’ of the US Business Schools, theintrepid WBS players are justifiably proud of their overallachievement.

Associate Dean of the MBA Programme, Dr Simon Collinsonpaid tribute to the team, “This year was one of the toughest,with a long battle to win sponsorship and a series of injuriesplaguing key players from the start. The team’s success attests tothe spirit and determination of the players and supporters whobattled on in true Warwick tradition.” g

D

field of battleWarwick Business School showed truefighting spirit at the International MBARugby tournament hosted by DukeUniversity in North Carolina in April.

Grateful thanks to Sponsors: Rolls-Royce, CommerceQuest, Grant Thornton, Carlsberg Tetley, who camethrough with funds to allow the tour to go ahead.

Thanks also to: Harlequin Designs Corporate Clothingfor the shirts that took all the punishment and survived!

Physio treatment

Scrum down

Line-out

Page 19: Nexus Summer 2002

Rolls-Royce plc, 65 Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6AT. www.rolls-royce.com/careers

TRUSTED TO DELIVER EXCELLENCE

Seven graduatetraining programmes

One company

Not many people know that we offerSEVEN different graduate training

programmes. Did you?

Page 20: Nexus Summer 2002

www.wbs.ac.uk

contacts

Emily Fay, Alumni Relations Manager Alumni Office, Warwick Business SchoolUniversity of WarwickCoventry CV4 7ALUnited Kingdomt +44 (0)24 7652 4176f +44 (0)24 7652 3719

Pam Barnes, Alumni Publications Officert +44 (0)24 7652 4396e [email protected]

Sue Cresswell, Events Co-ordinatort +44 (0)24 7657 3967e [email protected]

Nexus is the magazine of the Alumni Association,Warwick Business School, University of Warwick,Coventry CV4 7AL United Kingdom t +44 (0)24 7652 4306 w www.wbs.ac.uk/alumni

The views contained in Nexus are those ofcontributors and not necessarily those of WarwickBusiness School or the University of Warwick. Design by Mustard +44 (0)1608 652919 (08/02)

A recent article in the Journal of Business Ethics rankedProfessor Robert W. McGee (PhD 1986) No. 1 in the worldfor business ethics scholarship, based on both article countand page count for the five-year period 1995-99. Robert isnow based in Florida, USA.The citation: Murray Sabrin, A Ranking of the MostProductive Business Ethics Scholars: A Five-Year Study,Journal of Business Ethics 36: 355-379 (2002). g

Former CEO of Ericsson Microsoft Mobile Venture, Ulf Avrin(MBA 94-98), has become head of Mobeon, leading providerof Mobile PIM and messaging products. g

Recent MBA graduate, Steve Ampleford, has demonstratedthe benefits of a WBS education by founding Aorta Ltd., acompany assisting both small businesses and their investorsto realise their true potential. For more information, go towww.aortagroup.com or ring 0800 6520012. g

"For the first time I found myself using all of my MBA," saidGeoff Parkes (DLMBA 1987-91), former Marketing Director ofAga Cookers. Today he runs SJK Furniture, a bespokefurniture manufacturer, based in Wolverhampton, a businesspurchased two years ago with friend Steve Bidmead. Theyemploy 7 people, have grown the business this year by 40%and are now approaching £500k turnover. Visit their web siteat www.sjkfurniture.co.uk g

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