The magazine of the Warwick Business School Alumni Association Winter 2002

THE DYNAMICS OF CHANGEMERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

NEWEST MEMBER OF THE CLUB: CHINAEUROCREEP OR EUROMARCH?

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AR RESEARCH

HE LATEST FT rankings of Executive MBAs, published in October,placed WBS’s Executive MBA 14th globally (Cranfield was 33rd,Ashridge 43rd and Henley 48th).

The rankings of leading Doctoral programmes placed WBS’s PhDprogramme second in the world to Wharton and top in Europe.

The prestigious FT ratings placed the Warwick MBA 40th in theworld, with only a handful of other European schools ahead of us (Cranfield was41st) and our post-experience management training 4th. Most of WBS’s SpecialistMaster’s programmes are acknowledged as being pre-eminent in their respectivefields. WBS was the first UK school to gain acceptance by all of the key eminentbodies internationally.

The latest Virgin guide describes the school’s UG programmes as ‘must apply to’,and The Times Good University Guide rated them narrowly second to UMIST’s. Our newundergrads have arrived with the highest A-Level points of anywhere in the UK:they’re the best!

The message is clear: the reputation of WBS is to be envied. As many of the sameemployers seek undergrads, MBAs and those with Specialist Master’s degrees, there islittle doubt that our student body benefitsfrom the School’s successful ratings in somany spheres of management education. Wehope such sentiments encourage you to speakhighly of your former business school. WBS isheading in the right direction! g

Lyndon SimkinAcademic DirectorMBA by Full-time Study

‘the message is clear: the reputation of WBS is to be envied’

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WBSINTHENEWS

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WBS competes globallywith the best

Swissair groundedRAM VENUPRASAD, (MBA 1999) PhD student in e-business, had an article publishedin the Birmingham Post on 12th October on Swissair’s problems. Ram suggested thatSwissair got it wrong by sticking with an outmoded business model, diversifying intoairline related businesses and too many hubs. This led to “abnormally” highoperating costs. To cover these costs Swissair was forced to distress sell its assets suchas the Swissotel chain. Ram wrote that Swissair should have concentrated on B-Nets(business networks). He explained that true economic value, measured by sustainedprofits, is the arbiter of business success. g

PROFESSOR ANDREW OSWALD,Economics Department, was interviewedfor the Financial Times on 8 Novemberabout the threat of recession and thelevel of unemployment. He noted thatthe events of September 11th had madefuture events less predictable. g

A POSITIVE REVIEW of the MBA,interviewing two WBS Alumniappeared on October 24th inValor Economico, a newspaperequivalent to the Financial Timesin Brazil. Two alumni wereinterviewed for the article, whichparticularly noted WBS’sInternational MBA refresher,which commences January 21,2002. The article came out at thebeginning of the British CouncilExhibition. g

THE FINANCIAL TIMES, 7th November,and the Sunday Times, 4th November,reported that Ford’s Premier AutomotiveGroup had announced a deal with theUniversity of Warwick to createcollaboration on training, research anddevelopment, and supply chain.

“We have ambitious plans,“ said DrWolfgang Reitzle, President of thePremier Automotive group, “theUniversity of Warwick is one of thecountry’s finest centres of excellence andas such we look forward to sharinginnovative technology and building onthe achievements of both parties.” g

Ford collaborationwith University

Recession andunemployment

MBA applauded by Brazilian press

NEARLY TWO HUNDRED MBA Alumni celebrated theirgraduation with staff at the Summer Ball held in July 2001.Summer Ball 2002 will be held on July 12th, at The Belfry,venue for the Ryder Cup, so mark your diary now. g

Fancy an MBA part-time? Open Day13 February (and again 13 April)Warwick Business SchoolUniversity of Warwick

Women’s Group Seminar:Leadership19 February The Home Office, LondonMrs Lesley James Vice President of the Institute ofPersonnel and Development

Accountability Programme13 to 17 MarchWarwick Business SchoolUniversity of WarwickAdrian HenriquesDr Malcolm Macintosh

Global Business Forum16 MayLondon

Summer Ball12 JulyThe Belfry Warwickshire

WGA EventsLaw Event29 JanuaryLondon

Media Networking Event7 MarchLondon

Reunions1971: 13 April1976: 18 May1966: 15 June

Details W www.wbs.ac.ukE alumni@wbs.warwick.ac.ukT (024) 7652 4396

Val Gooding presents toWomen’s Alumnae Group

Having a ball!

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Nexus | Winter 2002

HE WBS WOMEN’SGroup met on 4thSeptember at theIndustrial Society inLondon to hear aterrific presentation

from Val Gooding, CEO of BUPA,on being a non-executive director.Val, a Warwick graduate herself,addressed forty WBS Alumnae andstaff. Val (French, 1971) talkedabout what to look for in adirectorship, what is expected froma non-executive director and how to break into your first directorship.

“It was an excellent evening,” commented Iona Thomson (MBA 2000) who attended theevent. She continued, “Val Gooding was a forthright and practical speaker. As I had sat on an SMEAIM listed Board, I have always been interested in the role of the Non-Executive Director.”

Val gave practical advice - suggesting 5 key things: Educate yourself, have a specialist skill e.g.Finance, Stocks & Shares, Marketing, M&A, or IT, consider smaller subsidiary boards of PLC’s,Public Sector Boards or SME’s, pick your company wisely - you will have a minimum 3 yearcommitment, plus at least another 3 years and choose a sector you are interested in where youcan make a difference, respect and like the CEO and be sure the company is financially robust.

“It was a practical, informative, and interesting presentation, from a woman for whom one feltinstant admiration and respect,” concluded Iona.

The event was sponsored by the Industrial Society. g

diary dates

ALUMNINEWS

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WBS is a star -official

It was announced on 14December that Warwick

Business School was awardedthe top five star rating, one of

only 3 business schools toreceive such an award, in the

UK Research AssessmentExercise (RAE).

"The RAE is a measure of theexcellence of our research and isthe best measure of the quality

of a higher educationestablishment. This five starrating is the highest possible

award and all WarwickBusiness School alumni can besure that it will enhance the

value of their MBA," saidProfessor Howard Thomas,Dean of Warwick Business

School.

Appreciative members of the audience.

HAT A SURPRISE! You were probably notexpecting Nexus until March but we havemoved the mailing forward to try to ensurethat you receive roughly quarterly mailingsfrom the University of Warwick.

We are continually working to improvethe service you receive and would welcome yourfeedback. Over the next six months you can lookforward to a variety of events designed to update andrefresh you academically. We are also hoping to offerall of you, especially those living far away, a readinglist and hot topics leaflets on specific issues.

Do try to attend the Summer Ball in July. Helpingto organise this event are MBAstudents who will graduate on12th July and they are all eagerto see many returning Alumnijoining them to celebrate theirachievement. You can book atable for you and your friends.

Want to know more aboutwhat is going on? Why notsubscribe to the WBS E-

Newsletter? We will send you updates every month.We are trying to invigorate the Alumni Network

and assist you in meeting each other. Your part in thisis to mention WBS whenever the opportunity presentsitself and to let us know if you run across fellowAlumni who do not receive Nexus. g

Best wishes. Emily FayEditor

“I AM IMPRESSED with the quality of the staff - the teachingand research,” said Vice Chancellor David VandeLinde when hevisited the Business School in early September, soon aftertaking up his new post at the University of Warwick.

“I think the School’s greatest strength,” he went on, “is inbeing part of a top university. This allows the researchers in theBusiness School to draw on the expertise of other Universityresearchers. Students benefit from being able to take courses inother top departments and from the strong Universityinfrastructure.”

David feels that the most important thing is to build theSchool’s reputation, within the reputation of the University, inparticular overseas.

He concluded, the University and the Business School needto develop their external funding sources in order to be able tocompete internationally, and Alumni support is integral to this. g

EDITOR’SVIEW

Emily Fay, Editor

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in this issueDynamics of Change 6 Eurocreep or euromarch? 8 The Italian job 10 Hot Off the Press 11 China Focus 12Cultural differences in cross-border mergers and acquisitions 16 Alumni Careers 17 Alumni Response 18

Vice Chancellor’s view‘We are trying to

invigorate the alumni network’

Vice-Chancellor David VandeLinde talks with Sally Dibb, MSM, and Phil Stern, MSM.

IN OCTOBER WARWICK Business Schoollaunched a Fund for Academic Excellencespecifically to build the School’s reputation andsuccess by attracting and retaining topacademic staff, offering scholarships, andsupporting research. Other business schoolscurrently hold an advantage over WBS, forexample last year INSEAD raised in excess of amillion euros in gifts from Alumni. However,with the launch of this fund we will move backtowards a level playing field. In just threemonths nearly £6,000 has been pledged to theWBS Fund by nine generous Alumni. All WBSAlumni will be given an opportunity toparticipate over the coming years. g

ICHAEL KING (MBA 2001) was runner-up in theAshridge 2001 MBA essay competition. His essay onsustainability caught the judge’s eye. “The decisionbetween your essay and the eventual winner was anextremely difficult one,” Adam Faruk, Ashridge Centrefor Business and Society, wrote to Michael. The Journal

of Corporate Citizenship published a longer version of the essayearlier this year. Michael summarises his essay as follows:Arguably, market-based liberal democracy has become thedominant model of political and economic organisationaround the world. The role of business in society is changingsignificantly.

Some see large multi-national enterprises as more powerfulthan governments and accountable to no-one. Others arguethat accountability is there, through the processes ofcompetition and free choice - ‘no-one forces you to buy a BigMac’. The vigourof the debatespans the anti-globalisationprotests againstthe WTO as wellas against specificcompanies.

For me thisdebate comesdown to, how doyou harness thefantasticmotivationalpowers of themarket and the corporate actors therein to the good of society?Some would argue that business can, and should, only concernitself with profits - all other goals are secondary and some aremore secondary than others! Others argue that profits are anoutput measure based upon wider goals - for example, Johnson& Johnson has delivered excellent financial returns forinvestors and it exists “to alleviate pain” according to Collins &Poras.

My article attempts to analyse the question, can you takeon wider goals or are you disadvantaged? I use “sustainability”as an example of wider goals, as this states that companyperformance should be considered across a triple bottom line ofsocial, environmental and economic factors. I take an investor’sperspective and seek to find if organisations appear to bedisadvantaged if they are ‘more sustainable’ relative to theirpeers. This study finds that they are not disadvantaged. g

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Nexus | Winter 2002

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‘The role of businessin society is changingsignificantly’

OWARD THOMAS, DEAN of WBS, joined AnitaRoddick OBE, founder of the Body Shop, SandraMacLeod, Chief Executive of Echo Research, and MarkGoyder, Director of the Centre for Tomorrow’sCompany, in a debate on Globalisation held during theCBI conference in Birmingham on 5th November. The

debate was opened by Professor David VandeLinde, ViceChancellor, and was chaired by James Harding, Media Editor ofthe Financial Times.

The debate started with a question from the Bishop ofAston, who asked how the panel felt the events of September11th had changed the question of globalisation. From thisbeginning, debate ranged over a series of issues from how themedia had affected business to the ethics of British militaryuniforms being purchased from factories overseas.

Comments and questions came from the floor, whichincluded delegates from the CBI conference, WBS students,Alumni, staff and invited guests. Participants shared theirpersonal experiences as business people or policy-makersworking on the front line of globalisation. After the debate,speakers and attendees mingled at the bar and discussed theissues informally. g

MH

Globalisation- problem oropportunity?

Harnessing themarket for the good of society

From left: Sandra MacLeod, Anita Roddick, Howard Thomas and JamesHarding at the Warwick Debate.

The dynamics of changein the global economy

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VER THE ENTIRE span of history, people have probablythought at any point of time they were going througha period of unprecedented change, even when, as inthe Dark Ages, things in fact were pretty static. At therisk of appearing to engage in special pleading, wherewe now stand in the first years of the third millennium

does appear to be a major inflection point in the globaleconomy and by extension in the social and culturalenvironment of the developed world.

Even before the events of 11 September, I was arguingstrongly that there were four drivers for change which takenindividually would have a significant effect, but whoseconfluence would change the shape and nature of our world.Then in the space of a few hours, transmitted to a stunnedworld in real time, the attacks on the World Trade Centre andthe Pentagon added a fifth driver for change – a fundamentalshift in the world geo-political map.

The four original drivers for change were demographics,globalisation, the network economy, and fundamentalbehavioural shifts.

In most developed countries, the number of people at orabove retirement age will continue to grow over the next 40years. With many of the world’s major economies fundingretirement provision on a pay as you go basis (the UK is afortunate exception), this means that a diminishing number ofthose working will have to support a growing number of thosewho are not.

The sums just do not add up. Something will have to giveand the most likely impact will be the progressive migrationfrom the pay as you go arrangements to what is known as‘funded’ schemes. These are where people build-up a pot ofassets in their working lifetime and then convert this pot intoan income stream from retirement through to death.

The catch is that during the transition period, one or twoworking generations have to pay twice. They have to pay oncefor the existing group of retired people and again to build uptheir own retirement fund.

NEXUSVIEW

‘In 1952 the Queen sent out255 telegrams to people

reaching their hundredthbirthday. Now more than 6000congratulatory telegrams are

sent out each year’

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Keith Bedell-Pearce (MSc, Industrial and Business Studies, 1970)Executive Director Prudential plc

This by itself will have profound economic consequences,but just to add to the dynamic, not only will there be more oldpeople but they will also live longer. In 1952, the year of heraccession, the Queen sent out 255 telegrams to people reachingtheir hundredth birthday. The Buckingham Palace telegram billhas grown somewhat since then - now more than 6000congratulatory telegrams are sent out each year.

“Globalisation is no more,” wrote Martin Wolf in theFinancial Times of 3 October, “than an (admittedly ugly) namefor the process of integration across frontiers of liberalisingmarket economies at a time of rapidly falling costs of transportand communications.” The reason why globalisation is such apowerful driver of change is that it accelerates the process ofcommoditisation which itself changes the shape of theindustrial and commercial landscape.

One of the most significant precursors to thecommoditisation process is that of “unbundling” wherebyhitherto vertically integrated supply arrangements are brokendown into separate links of a valuechain, where a variety of players arefree to compete for a slice of theaction within each link.

The most powerful competitiveresponse to commoditisation isinnovation, a lesson well understoodin the IT industry. But even with theprotection of intellectual propertyrights, the advantages of innovationare becoming increasingly shortlived.

In the future, innovation willhave to apply with equal force tobusiness models as well as to theunderlying products and services.

There has probably been morefocus on the third driver for change, the network economy,than any of the others. Most of the commentary, however,misses the point, particularly with references to the “NewEconomy.” There is no New Economy. Indeed, the irony isthat, probably for the first time in economic history sinceAdam Smith published The Wealth of Nations in 1776, there is apossibility that the economic theory you find in the first fewchapters of a basic textbook on economics could actuallybecome reality.

A good deal of business activity is designed to distort thebasic dynamics of supply and demand by creating imperfectmarkets. Branding is an example of this.

For the first time, through the Web, there is ubiquitous (atleast in developed countries) access to copious amounts ofinformation (often too copious) coupled with interactivecommunication either at a business-to-consumer or business-to-business level. The result is that the economics of businessinteraction and therefore communication have been turned ontheir head.

In business communications, until very recently, there hadbeen a linear trade off between content and reach andcommunication cost and reach. A TV ad could be broadcast tomillions but could only deliver a broad message. Forpersonalised messages, you needed one to one contact, whichwas very costly per message. The Web now enables almostuniversal reach and content that can be personalised within acouple of mouse clicks. In an unbundled world, cost of contactand communication is no longer the insuperable hurdle incompeting.

There are many in business, I suspect, who breathed a sighof relief when the dot com bubble burst. But the reality is thatthose who intend surviving the next 10 years have redoubledtheir efforts to harness the power of the Network Economy.

The changes are nothing short of being the third industrialrevolution, the only difference being that the impact of thefirst two took decades to take effect whereas with the NetworkEconomy revolution, the timespan will be measured in just afew years, if not months.

Behavioural shifts are often only observed after the event.In 1999, however, the UK Government published a report,Britain towards 2010: the changing business environment. Withinthis report Bob Worcester (of MORI) suggested that the nextdecade would see a rise in conflict between poor and rich,globalised against globalisers.

Since the publication of that report, we have had 11September and all that has already followed from it. As terribleas these events were, it does not necessarily follow that the

longer-term outcomes will be bad. Infact, there is a strong historicalprecedent for saying that theresilience and adaptability ofmankind coupled with an ability tolearn from mistakes has meant thatboth man made and naturalcatastrophes have been the drivers ofchange for the better.

Whilst it is impossible to predictwhat the longer term outcomes of11 September might be, in the shortand medium term, I would placebets on the following:

The forces driving globalisationwill be strengthened leading to itsacceleration.

The downward curve into recession will steepen but theduration will be short and the recovery rapid. There is strongevidence that the current period of discontinuity isencouraging tough measures to be taken sooner and morevigorously that might otherwise have been the case.

As the synchronised industrial recessions within thedeveloped nations are not being matched to the same degree(and in some cases, not at all) with equivalent consumerrecessions, the threat of short term inflation has increased.

New business methodologies will rapidly emerge: there isalready a recognition that travelling half way round the worldor across a continent for a two hour meeting may not be thebest way.

There will be a redefinition of the role of the USA on theworld stage. More importantly, the inward focus of a majorpart of the population of the USA may start to turn outwards.

The cultural, political, economic, and social changes arisingfrom 11 September will be profound. Whilst not wanting totake a materialistic view at this stage, the high degree ofWestern solidarity in the aftermath may translate intoincreased and more effective commercial activity between thedeveloped economies.

Gazing into a crystal ball is a dangerous occupation at thebest of times but even more so now. But being right is notwhat this activity is about. That would be an added bonus.What is important is to recognise the forces for change anddecide on individual business strategies which accommodatethe drivers of change even though their final results may as yetbe unpredictable. g

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Nexus | Winter 2002

‘The downward curve intorecession will steepen butthe duration will be shortand the recovery rapid’

8

Eurocreep or euromarch?

IKE IT OR not, the euro is finally here. Most ofEurope’s 290 million people woke up onJanuary 1st to see their national currencyreplaced by the euro. For the UK, which isoutside this momentous change, the questionis what impact will it have on business?

Francis Greene of the WBS SME Centre has researched andco-authored a series of government case studies on thesubject and also published a paper.

“Until January of this year, we had what I would describe asa phoney situation across the European Union,” suggestsFrancis Greene. “Until then, people in business had only beenable to transact electronically in euros. That is not the same ashaving the notes and coins in your hand. Now, not only do

euros exist, people inEurope know that theirnational currency willno longer exist in a fewmonths. That’s as mucha psychological as aphysical change,” hesays.

“For the UK - along with the other two ‘outs’, Sweden andDenmark - it is hard to see how much of an impact theintroduction of euro notes and coins will have,” he continues.“As consumers, it is likely that the first time we will notice anychange is when we go on holiday to Europe. The singlecurrency across the EU may encourage us to travel more freelyacross national borders. For the first time, we won’t have thecost or the hassle of changing French francs into Spanishpesetas. We may also notice that prices are becoming moretransparent - particularly if we use the internet to order goodsfrom mainland Europe.”

What about business? “The introduction of euro notes andcoins brings with it many challenges. The UK currently importshalf of its trade in goods from the EU and exports three-fifthsof its goods to the EU. Those businesses with trading links withthe EU - whether they like the new currency or not - have tomake some form of adaptation to the euro,” he says.

Francis Greene suggests, though, “that it is fair to say thatthe political uncertainty about any UK adoption of the euromakes it difficult for UK businesses to plan effectively. Joiningthe euro is an irrevocable decision - it is hard to see a situationwhereby the UK would join it and then subsequently try toreverse it. People who are both for the euro and against it havegood grounds for holding their respective opinions.”

He continues, “For those who support it, the eurorepresents an opportunity for the further liberalisation of theEU single market by removing exchange rate risk and transac-tion costs in the euro currency area. For those who are opposedto the euro, concerns remain about the effect of loss of controlof monetary policy, in particular the means of setting ofinterest rates. transaction costs in the euro currency area. Forthose who are opposed to the euro, concerns remain about

‘Joining the euro is anirrevocable decision’

the effect of loss of control of monetary policy, in particularthe means of setting of interest rates. Coupled with the highlabour immobility of workers in Europe, this could posequestions about the sustainability of the euro. Quintessentially,for those against the euro, the issue is more of the heart ratherthan the head: no monetary union has ever proved successfulwithout political union,” he concludes.

Such debates do not help UK businesses that have beenfaced with the need to make some adaptation to the euro.Francis Greene has co-authored eighteen case studies of howbusinesses are preparing for the euro - in business sectorsranging from vegetable oil importers, transport, medicalsoftware, audio equipment and many others.

Commissioned by HM Treasury and co-sponsored byBarclays Bank and Sage, each case study provides an in-depthexample of the preparation work carried out by the SMEs.They include a summary of best practice prior to eurointroduction and the real live issues faced by businessmanagers as they address the issues in their euro-sensitivebusiness. These case studies are freely available from thegovernment’s euro website.

Reflecting on this practical research, Francis believes thatbusinesses that are well managed will continue to remaincompetitive in the European market place. Over time, however,he believes that UK businesses - in particular, the smaller sizedones - will be at a disadvantage. This is because they are likelyto have higher transaction costs and, of course, they willcontinue to face exchange rate risk. UK businesses -alreadyunable to compete on a level playing field - will find thedifferences exacerbated by the euro.

Based upon his academic research, Francis believes thatthere are already signs that a phenomenon known as ‘eurocreep’ is occurring. He has found evidence that certain types oftraders - inter-regional ones in particular - are beginning to seethe network advantages of using the euro as a substitutecurrency for sterling. Although the new currency is designed asan institutional solution, such traders are using it as a marketsolution.

The unansweredquestion, however, ishow far this surrogateadoption of the eurocascades through Britishbusiness.

With an economy asopen as that of the UK,in the longer term itmay be that the euromarches into British lifealmost independently ofany conscious politicaldecision about entryinto the euro currency area. Does this mean that ‘eurocreep’will become ‘euromarch’? g

Further reference:

Preparations for the euro by UKSMEs with trading links with theeuro currency area.Dr. Francis Greene, SME Centre,Warwick Business School.

Euro information case studies Published by HM Treasury

w www.euro.gov.uke francis.greene@warwick.ac.uk

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Flags waving outside the EuropeanParliament Building. Photo courtesy of theMessenger Group of Newspapers (Newsquest).

TheItalian

Job

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N JULY 2001, Fiat Auto announced a managementreorganisation as part of their globalisation strategy, takingadvantage of their new alliance with General Motors.Following his move to Fiat in September 2000 from ToyotaEurope where he was an Executive Vice President, Juan DiazRuiz would now report directly to the CEO, Roberto Testore.“Fiat Auto comprises three brands,” explains Juan from his

new base in Turin, “Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia. We havedefined clear brand experiences we want our customers toenjoy.”

These are based on brand values and are: Fiat - ‘life inprimary colours’, Alfa Romeo - ‘passion’ or ‘cuore sportivo’,Lancia - ‘a touch of Italian class’.

“To develop these brands we have created a brandmanagement structure for each brand,” says Juan. The brandmanagers are each responsible for a Brand Virtual BusinessUnit (BVBU). “Each BVBU is, in turn, responsible forestablishing the Brand’s product strategy, marketing plan,network, after sales, and distribution strategy,” states Juan.

Fiat has just launched the first of 19 new models - the Stilo.“We intend to use each of the new models to demonstrate thevalues of the brands,” Juan declares. “With the Stilo, we aim tochange the centre of gravity of the Fiat brand from beingassociated mainly with small cars, to one that offers a highlysophisticated medium sized vehicle.” In February, the 156 GTAwill go on the market to show off Alfa Romeo’s ‘cuoresportivo’, to be followed by the new Lancia Thesis whichshows ‘the art of Italian living’.

Passion, colour, and class are values that WBS graduate, Juan Diaz Ruiz, will use toboost the brand in his new role as Sales and Marketing Director for the Fiat Group.

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HOTOFFTHEPRESS

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Value-based Marketing, by Professor Peter Doyle, was rankednumber one in the 2001 best seller marketing list. Theresults were in the December issue of the magazineMarketing Business published by the Chartered Institute ofMarketing.

Marketing: Concepts and Strategies, by Sally Dibb and LyndonSimkin, from the Marketing & Strategic ManagementGroup, now in its 4th edition (Houghton Mifflin), hascemented its position as the best selling marketing text inthe UK, with significant sales also in Benelux, Scandinavia,Portugal, Australasia and the Middle East.

Global IT Outsourcing: In Search of Business Advantage byProfessor Leslie Willcocks was published by Wiley in

January 2001. Leslie Willcocks,Arthur Andersen Chair of e-business, is co-author of 19books. Leslie has also publishedover 130 papers in journals such asHarvard Business Review, MITSloan Management and MISQuarterly. His recent advisory workincludes several major Australiancorporations as well as advising USand UK government committees.

The all-new 2nd edition of TheMarketing Casebook appeared earlier

this year (Thomson Learning), now containing 25 ‘real’cases and 17 theory overviews to provide an all-inclusiveself-learning resource. It is written by Sally Dibb andLyndon Simkin.

The Politics of Regulations, Privatised Utilities in Britain, byAlison Young, then a Research Fellow in CMUR, waspublished in March.

Marketing Briefs: a Revision and Study Guide, endorsed by theChartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), again by Sally Dibband Lyndon Simkin, has just been published. It is targetedat any business school and CIM students taking marketingexaminations (Butterworth-Heinemann) and contains 50theory notes that address everything from value-basedmarketing, CRM to one-to-one marketing in a mannerdesigned to remove the fear from examinations. This textalso aims to provide executives with topical, punchyoverviews of theleading concepts.

Reading List In response toAlumni requests, weare going to producereading lists onspecific topics bi-annually. The firstof these is onEntrepreneurship.

The reading list is availablethrough the Alumni website. ifyou need a reading list on aspecific topic made up foryourself or your company, at abespoke price, contact theAlumni Office

w www.wbs.ac.uke alumni@wbs.warwick.ac.uk

According to Juan, cutting edge brand marketing mustdevelop an integrated marketing strategy with product,communication, service and distribution following aconsistently clear brand profile.

Juan has the background to succeed; he graduated fromWBS in 1974 with an MSc in Management and BusinessStudies. “It was the early stages of systems engineering appliedto management,” he explains, which helped him to structurehis work and systemise his approach to problem solving.

“My memories of Warwick Business School are very warmindeed. It was the early stage of the Faculty and we constituteda group of very close fellow students.”

After leaving Warwick Juan worked for Ford UK and FordSpain. In 1986 he was working for Seat in Spain, his nativecountry, when VW bought the company. He was put in chargeof the Audi brand for five years, during which time Audi’s salesovertook BMW’s for the first time. Toyota wooed him away tooversee their European expansion and he was able to raise salesby 50% in two years. He speaks anumber of languages and hasworked extensively in fivecountries.

“A global market needsglobal managers,” emphasisesJuan, “capable of applying globalstrategies in a localenvironment. My experience ofworking in many countries,living in their cultures andlearning their languages has helped me perform effectively inall my assignments.”

The Fiat Group is at a turning point with tremendousinvestment in marketing and new models. This happens just asthey have formed an alliance with General Motors, providingthem with the opportunity to reduce costs through two PowerTrain and Purchasing joint ventures, while remainingcompetitors in the market place.

“We expect that the emerging markets will contribute 80%of the growth in vehicle sales worldwide before 2010,” claimsJuan, “Therefore our global strategy is to establish a strongfoothold in China, India, South America, and Central Europe.”

Juan is undaunted by the prospect of facing toughcompetition in Europe, while trying to change the culture ofthe company. If his past is a guide to his future, Fiat’s success isassured. g

‘A global marketneeds globalmanagers’

CHINAFOCUS

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MILESTONE WAS REACHED in November, withChina’s effective entry into the World TradeOrganisation (WTO). What will be the effect of thecommercial liberalisation of such a vast potentialmarket of 1.2 billion people? Dr. Simon Collinsontakes a snapshot overview, supported by an ‘on the

ground’ report by Darren Morgan, who has just completedthe Warwick MBA while based in Hong Kong.

Flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) between countriesaround the world are an indicator of regional attractiveness.Multinational corporations have always extended theiractivities across national borders to gain access to growingmarkets, scarce physical resources, cheap and/or more capablelabour or new technologies. Countries are normally keen toattract FDI from multinationals because it brings capital,employment and often technology and training, to improveindigenous capabilities.

In some cases, though, countries have refused to allowoverseas investors inside their borders. This was certainly trueof China. What has pulled this vast country firmly into theworld economic system is liberalisation and deregulation - thedismantling of barriers to global trade. The implications for usall are significant.

MilestoneChina’s entry into the WTO on November 10th is a

culmination of the ‘open door’ policy that began in 1980 andprompted increased flows of FDI, making China consistentlythe leading recipient of FDI in the developing world.

In 2000, $41 billion ofinvestment flowed into Chinaand, in the first ten months of2001, FDI inflows were up byalmost twenty percentcompared with the previousyear. In this time, China’sGDP growth rate has slippedonly slightly, from eight toseven percent. A further $64billion flowed into Hong

Kong (China) in 2000, making it the largest recipient in Asia.This is due both to increased outflows from Chinese firmsthrough Hong Kong and the growing number of firms ‘parking’investment funds in Hong Kong ready to invest in mainlandChina.

Investment patternsThe growing volume of investment in China is one

important indicator. Another is the kind of investments beingmade. In the last five years, there has been a significant shifttowards the capital-intensive and high-technology sectors.Nearly four hundred of the Fortune 500 firms have invested inover two thousand projects and, significantly, these havebecome increasingly higher in the value-chain, confirming themove away from cheap-labour operations.

Over one hundred R&D centres have been established byfirms like Microsoft, GM, GE, Nortel, IBM, DuPont, Nokia,Mitsubishi and Siemens. Motorola has invested $200 millionand employs 650 research personnel in China.

China~newest

member ofthe globaleconomic

club

A

‘Nearly 400 of theFortune 500 firms

have invested’

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Nexus | Winter 2002

The effects of this shift are reflected in the export pattern -from which the growing dependence of China onmultinational investment is also evident. However, the flows oftechnology, training and management capabilities into Chinavia investment and joint ventures is helping to move theoverall economy into higher value-added sectors, to competemore directly with Western economies.

Special difficulties in China:g Despite new legislation being introduced as central-planninggives way to a market economy, a huge amount of ambiguityexists in terms of interpreting and enforcing the evolvingregulations, rules and governance structures. This meansgreater uncertainty and red tape and a commensurate need tospend more time interacting with officialdom.g Business disputes are hard to settle by legal means because ofthe difficulty in enforcement of judgement within the Chineselegal system.g Guanxi - networking or connections - is the way thatbusiness is done in China. Personal networks are normallymaintained through exchanges of favours. A critical problemfor foreign executives is not whether to participate, but how toparticipate skilfully and effectively in the ‘art’ of guanxi.g Differences inlanguage and cultureamongst mainlandChinese, as well asdifferences comparedto Westerners,including incentiveand reward expectations, workplace behaviour, values andbeliefs and broader organisational practices, createcomplications for management in China.g Where there is a poor fit strategically and/or organisationallybetween JV partners - as in any market - problems occur. Somefirms found it difficult to judge this potential fit beforecommitting to the partnership. g Other commonly-noted problems: these include thedepreciation of fixed assets, defaulting customers, theescalating costs of doing business and violations of intellectualproperty rights.

The Impact of WTO-entryThere was no complete consensus among intervieweesregarding the impact of WTO entry, but most respondents wereconfident it would benefit their business. Key predictionsinclude:g Trade and exchange with the rest of the World and FDI inboth directions will increase.g The regulatory environment will improve.g The renewed threat from new foreign entrants is likely tolead to a shake-out of weaker domestic Chinese competitors.g Distribution channelsare likely to improveand restrictions onadvertising are likely tobe lifted.g International industrystandards will beintroduced andgradually enforced.

Remaining fears arethat the importance ofguanxi will remain unchanged, although for businesses alreadysome way along the learning curve, this may be advantageous.Corporate options for market-entry and foreign equity holdingsmay not change in the short or medium-term, counteringother liberalisation pressures. g

‘Trade with the rest ofthe world will increase’

China does present special difficulties for foreign investors -despite the obvious attractions of a relatively cheap labourforce, a huge market and highly-developed scientific andtechnological capabilities. The following case study, preparedby Warwick MBA, Darren Morgan, while based in Hong Kong,gives an excellent local insight into the views of localmultinationals on the likely changes resulting from China’sentry into the WTO.

Local knowledgeThe case study focuses on eight multinationals in differentindustry sectors, based in Hong Kong, which are eitherattempting to enter the Chinese market or are looking toexpand existing mainland activities. Interviews with seniormanagers reveal their views regarding market-entry strategies,the key difficulties of growing businesses in China, how firmsshould adapt products or services, strategy and organisation forChina and the future threats and opportunities stemming fromthe liberalisation process. Its main findings are:g Successful entrants are those that have clearly identifiablecapabilities or assets (financial muscle, technologies, brands)which they can leverage in the China market.g Entry into China tends to occur via the key cities of Beijing,Shanghai and Guangzhou, followed by inland expansion viathe ‘second tier’ cities.g Equity joint ventures are the most common entry vehicle.Although there was a preference for wholly-owned subsidiaries,these were not allowed in China in most key sectors. g The case study firms, although representing a small sample,were amongst the first in their respective sectors to accessmainland markets and appear to have gained significant first-mover advantages.g Overall, the firms were generally optimistic about the futurefor China within the WTO. There was some scepticismregarding the timescale for implementing the changes requiredfor full accession and most felt it would be a long-termchallenge to get local authorities to comply and for domesticindustry protection to be removed.

Dr Simon Collinson is SeniorLecturer in International Businessand Associate Dean, MBAs.

e s.collinson@wbs.warwick.ac.uk

Darren Morgane dwmorgan@attglobal.net

Export trend of high technology products from China, by production ownership

Source: UNCTAD, World Investment Report 2001, United Nations,Geneva (http://www.unctad.org)

Year Total ($m) State-owned Foreign enterprises % affiliates %

1996 7,681 39 591997 16,310 - -1998 20,251 25 741999 24,704 23 762000 37,040 18 81

CHINAFOCUS

14

HE ACCESSION OF China to the WTO in Novemberthis year marks the coming of a new era for foreignprivate equity investors. China promises to lift ormoderate a number of restrictions limiting foreignersfrom investing in industries like retailing, distribution,insurance, and banking. These industries are getting

more significant as this populous economy, with thedetermination of its government to modernise the nation, isexpanding at the quickest pace in the world.

Nevertheless, China has proven to be a difficult place forinvestors. One of the reasons is the ‘China Inc’ mentality onthe part of the Chinese government. The lack of transparencyin the administrative structures makes business life lesspredictable. Also, the defective legal system is unable to serveas an effective means to settle business disputes. Although theChinese government has promised to be more transparent,bureaucracy is unlikely to go away in the short run because thegovernment will do everything to ensure an orderlytransformation of the economy under the WTO byadministrative measures.

In the new era, China will be undergoing a deep structuralreform in many facets of its economy. In particular, theexisting labour intensive mode of farming will not stand theimpact of foreign products. Dramatic consolidation in thesector will drive many farmers, who make up the majority ofthe population, to factories in the cities and promoteurbanisation in the country. Protected industries like banking,insurance, petrochemicals and telecommunication arecurrently dominated by the state owned enterprises. Althoughcompetition has been introduced in these markets, it is stillmainly among the less efficient SOEs. Foreign rivals willaccelerate the consolidation and privatisation process.

Equity investors, under the existing rules before the WTOagreement becomes effective, can only invest in mostmanufacturing or production types of business. Investors haveto go through a risky type of trust arrangement to invest inrestricted sectors. In the new era, on the other hand, foreigncapital can participate freely in the retail sector within threeyears and will not be subject to any form of geographical,quantitative or ownership restriction. China also promises toopen up its asset management business allowing foreigncapital to own up to 49% of equity in a portfolio managementcompany.

The big retailers, insurance companies and banks in thedeveloped world will likely set up their own branches in Chinawith their own corporate strategies and marketing objectives inmind. However, private equity investors may bet on theemerging private entrepreneurs in China who, for variousreasons, will eventually make up the major part of theeconomy. Since the capital market in China is still immature,venture capital is a major source of funding for privatebusiness, and investment through private equity is the logicalchoice.

To summarise, private equity investors in general welcomeChina’s accession to the WTO as more investmentopportunities will arise, particularly in the private servicessector. g

Jack Ng (MBA 1992), Assistant Director First Eastern Investment GroupVice President of China Canton Management (HK) Ltd.

A new eraof investingin China

T

‘In the new era, China will beundergoing a deep structural reform inmany facets of its economy’

Jack Ng (right) on a golf course in Guangdong, China, with a Chinesebusiness partner. Golf courses are becoming increasingly importantvenues for business discussions in China.

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Nexus | Winter 2002

WBS ALUMNI LIVING overseas will receive three free issuesof the Financial Times’s publication, FT Expat, this Spring.The magazine will be sent out free of charge. If Alumnidecide they like the magazine, they will have theopportunity to order a subscription at a preferential rate. Ifanyone prefers not to receive the free issues, please contactthe Alumni Office g

FTExpat

CHOSE TO STUDY at Warwick because of its scenic &modern campus, and also because Warwick Business Schoolenjoys a high reputation. Although I graduated over 10years ago, I still feel very connected to the Universitythrough my involvement in the Warwick GraduateAssociation in Hong Kong. WGA (Hong Kong) currently has about 250 members,

including graduates from as early as the 1970s. I have beenserving as Membership Administrator since the establishmentof the Association in 1994. The driving force is the electedexecutive committee, which itself is a good illustration of thediversity of our members’ backgrounds, with graduates fromfaculties including Economics, Computer Science,Mathematics, Education, Law, Engineering, and last but notleast, WBS of course!

Besides me, WBS graduates in the executive committeeinclude Anna Cheung (Accy/Fin), and 5 MBA graduates:Johnny Li, Clarence Chung, Becky Mak, John Ng andCatherine Fung. Johnny is also the WGA InternationalRepresentative for China (Hong Kong).

Please e-mail us at johnny.li@warwick.org.hk. Alternatively,come to our monthly happy hour gathering held on the firstThursday of each month 6:30pm - 8:00pm at Madison’s Bar &Restaurant, Pacific Place. See you there! g

Yvonne Leung (BSc in Management Sciences, 1987)Associate Director, Towry Law (Asia) Hong Kong Limited(Wholly owned by the AMP Group listed in Australia)

An invitation to join Warwick Business School

Alumni in Hong Kong

Yvonne (front: 1st from right), Johnny (front: 1st from left), Clarence(back: middle) and other executive committee members met ProfessorVandeLinde for dinner during the Vice-Chancellor’s visit to Hong Kong inNovember.

I

EARLY ONE THIRD of students taking the MBAcourse full-time at Warwick Business School now doa portion of their study at an overseas university. “Iwanted the experience of an American BusinessSchool,” explains Phil White who completed hisMBA at WBS in September 2001. He chose Duke

University for his period of overseas study, which can rangefrom six weeks to three months.“I chose Duke because it had a great reputation andrankings,” says Phil, “and it offered an opportunity to seemore technology based courses. I could also take advantageof its connections with the Research Triangle in NorthCarolina, a leading IT/telecommunications research clusterin the US.”Employers say they look for MBA students not only fortheir creativity and ability to instigate change, but for theirspecialist knowledge and contacts. A study experienceoverseas can enhance the range of contacts and detailedinformation gained on an MBA.“The weekend forum speaker series was the most valuablefor me,” Phil decides, because of the unique access tospecialist knowledge. “It was a great opportunity to learnwhere the internet and telecoms are going.” He continues,“it also showed me the high calibre of MBA students thatWBS enjoys and made me appreciate my return to WBSduring the final term.”Phil is now an Associate at PRTM, a specialisedmanagement consultancy focused on technology basedcompanies. PRTM saw the value of such an exchangewithin the WBS MBA experience, and the contacts Philwould make. g

NInternational MBA

exchange

16

HE NUMBER OF European cross-border mergers andacquisitions (M&As) is growing rapidly. Fragmentedevidence exists that national cultural differences mayaffect their post-deal management. But, do thesenational characteristics also affect pre-deal issues?Duncan Angwin, WBS Lecturer in Strategic

Management, has published anexploratory study on the subject - theconclusion of which suggests that culturevariance does play a greater role than isgenerally accepted.

In 2000, the global value of all M&As wasa staggering $3.5 trillion. Of this, a risingproportion (33%) were cross-border deals, ofwhich the vast bulk (76%) was by WesternEuropean organisations.

This increase, coupled with the growingpopularity of value-based bidding, has sentdue diligence fees soaring. Due diligenceplays a critical role in M&A and is assumedto be an objective and independentexamination of the target company. In cross-border deals, this assumption may notalways be well founded. Different nationalcultures may give rise to variations in theexpectations that acquirers and merger partners have of thevalue and role of due diligence.

Due diligence is largely an examination of any factors thatcould potentially derail negotiations or even lead to the earlyfailure of the acquisition process itself. But it is also important

for the post-acquisition stage tobe a unified process - unfetteredby cultural differences.

But how do you quantifycultural differences? “Invariably,top management will deny anydifferences because culture ishard to define and even harderto measure,” says Duncan. “InM&A deals, managementlargely uses codified statisticalinformation. By the denial ofthe existence of cultural effects,a perceived intangible risk isremoved.”

Cross-border deals in Europe add a new layer of complexity- that of national identity. Homogenisation of laws andcurrency there may be, but, as a diverse group of 260 millionpeople, are we really moving towards harmonisation? Is pan-Europeanism real?

At the very top, the European Commission has tried andfailed to establish a standard on mergers and acquisitions. Theresistance surely came, in part, because business is still viewedin very different ways in different countries - union or nounion.

“We may now appear to trade in the international languageof business - English - but we can mean different things by it,”suggests Duncan. “People still bring their own ‘takes’ to it.Some say this is bad, but is individualism necessarily wrong?Few would question that total harmonisation can dampencreativity - or that individual culture can add value. So

diversity can be good - but there is a needfor balance.”

In his report, Duncan suggests that thereis considerable empirical evidence to suggestthat top management decisions are affectedby national culture. Strategic decisions andactions, for example, may be influenced bydifferences of opportunism and trust inother societies.

There are, of course, significantdifferences within national boundaries andacross industries, but it is amongst Europe’srich tapestry of diverse national culturesthat we can also find discernible differencesin management styles. Duncan points to thelargest study of its kind - spanning 66countries and 88,000 subjects (Hofstede andTrompenaars) - which empirically testedthese national differences. The study found

that they are explained by five independent dimensions -Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity, UncertaintyAvoidance and Long Termism.

Duncan’s report defines these characteristics in detail andthen goes on to relate them by ‘scoring’ the five dimensions tothe national business cultures of six European countries -Germany, France, Holland, Sweden, Switzerland and the UnitedKingdom.

The report goes on to relate each of these nationalcharacteristics to specific aspects of M&A due diligence. Theseand other findings suggest that cultural differences do play animportant role in affecting acquirers’ perceptions of targetcompanies and that this may have important consequences forthe negotiation of deals and the subsequent management ofthe post-acquisition phase. g

‘The global value of all M&As was

a staggering $3.5 trillion’ Further references:

Article, Mergers and Acquisitions across European Borders:National Perspectives on Pre-acquisition Perspectives, DueDiligence and the use of Professional Advisers, Duncan Angwin -Journal of World Business, Spring, 2001.Book, Implementing Successful Post-acquisition Management,Duncan Angwin - published by Financial Times/Prentice Hall,2000.WBS Hot Topics briefing, The Acquisition Challenge, January1997.e Duncan.Angwin@warwick.ac.uk

Cultural differences in cross-border mergers and acquisitions

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ALUMNICAREERS

Find your perfect mentor

At whatever stage of your career you may find yourself, a bit ofadvice or the sharing of expertise can always help. SixtyAlumni have already volunteered as mentors. To access amentor or to volunteer yourself simply follow links from theAlumni website to Mentors.

Vacancies

Companies and recruitment consultants contact the AlumniOffice regularly with vacancies. These are circulated to Alumnimonthly in the e-newsletter and displayed in summary on thewebsite. The jobs range from graduate trainee positions toemployers seeking a PhD qualification and ten years expertise.If your company is seeking an employee do let us know.

Executive Coaching

Increasingly individuals are becoming more responsible fortheir career progression and development needs. While goodeducation and training are clearly important, they may not be

sufficient for peopleto maximise theirpotential. The aim ofexecutive coachingis to facilitate anindividual inbecoming moreeffective in their

role. Coaching is a tool for releasing potential, improvingperformance, enhancing staff relationships, clarifying work/lifebalance and as it supports new thinking, enabling a continuouschange process. It does this by introducing processes to clarifythe client’s understanding of the issues facing her/him anddeveloping a framework to improve behavioural flexibility andenhance interpersonal effectiveness.

The coaching style is non-directive, involving questioning,listening and clarifying. WBS is considering offering this serviceif there is sufficient demand. Please do let the Alumni Officeknow if you are interested.

WBS MBA Alumni outearn competitors

In a recent survey, the average salary of WBS MBA Alumni washigher than the average of the salaries of the combined Alumniof other leading European business schools. The survey wascompiled from the CV’s WBS Alumni submitted when signingup with MBA Direct, a recruitment agency.

The other leading schools include: LBS, INSEAD, Cranfield,Manchester, Rotterdam, SDA Bocconi, IESE, ESADE, IMD, City,Imperial, Ashridge, Bradford, Edinburgh, EM Lyon, ENPC,ESCP-EAP, HEC, Henley, IEP, Instituto de Empresa, Judge,Lancaster, LSE, Nijenrode, NIMBAS, Said and Strathclyde.

Almost every graduate who registered with MBA Direct hadover 15 years experience and an MBA. The average salary wasjust under ¤ 100k p/a in the UK, rising to ¤ 160k in NorthAmerica. The average salary increase from taking an MBA atWBS was ¤ 30k.

Career Management Workshops

“I have to say I did get a lot of useful tips and advice onMonday,” wrote a recent attendee of a WBS Alumni workshopon career management. He went on to explain, “not just fromthe workshop leader but also from the other attendees.”

“This was certainly one of the most useful events I haveattended. For me, it’s always great to return to Warwick and Ifound it especially interesting on this occasion seeing all thestudents during termtime,” he continued, “Iwill have to startmaking immediate useof what I have learnt!”

The Alumni Officearranges careermanagement workshopstwice annually forAlumni - these are for those who want to change jobs mid-career or who find themselves forced to change jobs. g

‘Companies contact WBSwith vacancies’

For more information on CareerManagement Workshopscontact the Alumni office or visitour website

w www.warwick.ac.uk/alumnie alumni@warwick.ac.uk

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Nexus | Winter 2002

HE QUESTION ON leadership and performancediscussed by Andrew Pettigrew is, as he correctlypoints out, a complex one. While one can agreewith the general conclusions such as ‘people tendto look at single leaders’, there are someadditional aspects that I found in my study of

teams at General Motors in Germany (Opel) and England(Vauxhall).1

On the question of leadership 2, I would like to point outthree issues: Teams are better than leaders. In other words, astrong management team enables firms to manage not onlyleadership changes but also provides the necessary flexibility toenhance a firm’s competitive advantage far beyond thesingularity of a leader.

Secondly, teams with astrong leader did less wellthan teams with a leader whocoordinated and facilitated.

Lastly, teams withteamleaders did less well thanteams with democraticstructures where a teachspeaker speaks on behalf of the teambut does not lead.

Consequently, top management needs a strongmanagement team, not a leader, to allow what David Barry andMichael Elmes have termed a polyphonic discourse 3. Onlywhen their idea of many voices in a domination freeenvironment 4 comes into play, will firms be able to master thecomplexity of the post-Fordist business world.

1 Murakami, T. 1996. Teamwork & the Structure of Representation atVauxhall & Opel, Warwick: Warwick Business School, PhD-Thesis.

2 Murakami, T. 1997. The Autonomy of Teams in the Car Industry: ACross National Comparison, Work, Employment & Society, vol. 11, no. 4, 1997,p. 749-758.

3 David Barry & Michael Elmes (1997). Toward a narrative view ofstrategic discourse, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 22, No. 2, P. 429-452.

4 Habermas, J. 1997. The Theory of Communicative Action: Reason and theRationalisation of Society, Oxford: Polity Press.

Thomas Klikauer (PhD, Industrial and Business Studies, 1996)College of Law and Business University of Western Sydney, Australia

S A HEADHUNTER of twelve year’s standing,Sean Quinn (MBA 93/94) read last month’s article“Don’t lose your head to the hunters” withinterest. As an industry insider he agreed withmuch of the advice given but found the mythicalview of headhunters somewhat outdated.

Many old school headhunters love to perpetuate the myth.However, in simple MBA speak executive recruitment is theprovision of an intangible service where few patents exist onprocess, where barriers to entry are low, and where the onlycompetitive advantage is the experience, professionalism andexpertise of the individual consultants working in eachrecruitment organisation.

In that context it is true that, until the early 1990’s, themarket was largely polarised between the ‘mythicalheadhunters’ and ‘mere’ agencies. However these players’supernormal profits combined with increasing dissatisfactionresulted in a number of new entrants.

Today’s recruitment market can be characterised by threeoverlapping types of organisation, rather than the twocaricatured in last issue’s article. The bigger and moreprofessional headhunters continue to thrive and remain theprimary means of recruiting the most senior ‘captains ofindustry’.

They are increasingly competing with a ‘new generation’ ofSearch and Selection consultancies, including my own, whichseek to provide a more flexible and customer orientated service,utilising traditional headhunting, advertised selection, andeven database services. The pure agency end of the market alsopersists and competent individuals do exist. The advice in lastissue’s article on the perils of poor approaches, and thesuggestion to get written documentation before committing toan interview was particularly useful.

Having said all the above, I share the disappointment in thearticle at the standards that persist within the recruitmentindustry. I still come across too many senior candidates whoare grateful for the most basic courtesy and complain at thealoofness of some ‘traditional head hunters’. I also remain disappointed at the poor quality and untargetedapproaches that pass forheadhunting in parts of theSearch and Selectionindustry as well as the lowstandards that exist in muchof the database end of themarket. For candidates or headhunt targets the advice has to be tojudge each approach individually and to put some of thequality checks mentioned above in place. g

Sean Quinn (MBA, 1994)Managing Consultant, Prism

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ALUMNIRESPONSE

Debunking the myth of the headhunter

Teams not leaders - lessonsfrom General Motors

‘teams are betterthan leaders’

T

A

Contact:

e squinn@prismrec.co.ukw www.prismrec.co.uk

ILL MANUEL RETIRED in November, after 14years as administrative director of the full-timeMBA programme. He played a major role in thedevelopment of the School’s MBA programmes:numbers on the full-time course grew four-foldand revenues climbed from £60,000 to over £2m.

This, in turn, created the platform for the School’s subsequentexpansion.

Before joining the School, Bill spent 29 years in the armyrising to the rank of colonel and receiving the OBE. He wasadmired by generations of students as well as the academic andadministrative staff with whom he worked so professionally.

He will be greatly missed. g

Peter Doyle Professor of Marketing and Strategic Management

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Nexus | Winter 2002

Staff mark the retirement of Bill Manuel

The entrepreneurial spiritdiscovered

Just like old timesMBA Refresher course, 15-17 October

HE INGREDIENTS WERE all there. Mix forty or soWarwick MBAs - all with entrepreneurialaspirations - with a panel of four very differentWBS alumni who have all risen to the challengeand set up their own businesses. Add the pith ofthe author of 20/20 Hindsight - Rachelle Thackray

- and stir well under the workshop leadership of Grier Palmer.That was the background to a successful WBS interactive

workshop in which the four entrepreneurs talked of rewardsand pitfalls - presenting a fascinating contrast in thecombination of their style of entrepreneurship and theirchosen business sector.

The workshop addressed the question of starting a businessand then moved on to reviewing methods of ensuring itsgrowth. Each of the entrepreneurs moved among delegategroups for interactive sessions in which they posed particularchallenges that they had faced during set-up or in growth.

For those interested in learning more aboutentrepreneurship, please contact the Alumni Office for detailsof more forthcoming courses and the free Hot Topic paper tobe published later this year. g

B

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Jonathan Paveley (MBA 1992) now Strategy Director for Greene KingPlc, and David Machin (MBA 1997) now a Consultant with theBerkeley Partnership, enjoy a brief return to WBS to find out thelatest in business thought and to re-energise.

are you different?

Don’t change!Change your colleagues. Send them to Warwick Business School. They’ll come back like you…different.Find details of WBS’s ExecutiveDevelopment Programme at the webaddress below:

www.wbs.warwick.ac.uk/corporate

CEO MG Rover

Kevin Howe, (MBA 1994), was appointed the Chief Executiveof MG Rover in the wake of the victory by the PhoenixConsortium. Kevin had previously held senior positions atRolls Royce Plc, Rover Group GE (USA), and Michelin Tyres. InSeptember he spoke to nearly 400 delegates at the InternationalConvention Centre Birmingham attending a BusinessConnection breakfast.

Regional Manager ICAEW

Alison Clark (MBA 2001) has been appointed the RegionalManager, Southwest, for ICAEW - the Institute of CharteredAccountants. Based outside Bristol, Alison will be responsiblefor the interests of more than 7,000 accountants in Bristol,Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall.

Reward for hard work - big smile

“I am very grateful,” said a jubilant Alexandra Passa as shereceived an award, donated by The Association for CorporateTreasurers, for outstanding coursework in Finance. In her thirdyear of a BSc in Accounting and Finance at WBS, the prize isespecially handy for Alexandra.

“I appreciate the boost it will give my job prospects as well asthe boost to my finances right now,” explains Alexandra. Theprize for exceptional coursework was a cheque for £300. DavidParrish, from the Association for Corporate Treasurers,presented the cheque to Alexandra in front of her 200colleagues at the first lecture of Principles of Finance on 3rdOctober.

If your company is interested in awarding a prize, pleasecontact the Alumni Office on alumni@wbs.ac.uk

notice board

a

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 3719e emily.fay@wbs.ac.uk

Pam Barnes, Alumni Assistant t +44 (0)24 7652 4396e alumni@wbs.warwick.ac.uk

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 Outhouse Design +44 (0)1608 662262(01/02)