Update: Winter 2011/12
Welcome to the latest newsletter update for Birmingham City Business School. Please click on a headline below which will take you straight to the full story. Alternatively, please click here to download a PDF of the full colour hardcopy. If you have any ideas for content for a future issue or would like to provide some feedback about the publication, please contact Paul Burkwood on paul.burkwood@bcu.ac.uk.
Unilever Chairman Addresses Birmingham’s Business Leaders
On 22 September 2011, Birmingham City Business School (BCBS) welcomed Amanda Sourry, Chairman of Unilever UK and Ireland, to give a visiting lecture as a representative of ‘Britain’s Most Admired Company’, at the Institute of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) conference centre at Austin Court, Brindleyplace.
Introduced to the audience by Birmingham City Business School’s Executive Dean, Professor Christopher Prince, Ms Sourry discussed how Unilever is responding to changes and challenges as consumers face the biggest fall in their disposable income for a decade.
The survey of Britain’s Most Admired Companies, run by Professor Mike Brown of Birmingham City Business School, since the early ‘90s, reflects the sum of nine elements assessed by senior executives and city analysts that go to making up corporate reputation. These include the quality of management, products and services; marketing; community and environmental responsibility; financial soundness including efficient use of assets and prospects for long-term value as well as the ability to attract top people and to innovate.
The Business School have been running the talks since 2010 which have included guest speakers such as Jeremy Darroch, the Chief Executive of Sky TV, and Sir Terry Leahy, former Chief Executive of Tesco.
Birmingham City Business School – Driving Growth, Profitability and Employment
Improving business performance is a core message within the University mission statement and the Centre for Leadership and Management Practice focuses on this role. Their emphasis is on practice-based initiatives aimed at middle-management as a powerful driver of growth, profitability and employment.
In particular, the Academy of Multi-Unit Leadership works in close liaison with businesses in hospitality, leisure and retail on an on-going basis. It has enabled great steps forward in these businesses’ customer satisfaction and loyalty, sales revenue and employee retention. An in-depth extended assessment of the intervention revealed a return on investment of over 500 per cent.
These customers include Mitchells & Butlers, where a third cohort of postgraduate diploma delegates and fourth cohort of postgraduate certificate delegates have been enrolled over a two year period. Other customers include Saint Gobain (four cohorts), Greene King, SPAR and Rank Leisure. The offering now extends from foundation degree, through postgraduate certificate and diploma to Master’s degree level.
In addition to providing bespoke training interventions the Academy has designed and provided assessment centres and action-research projects that further deepen customer relationships. This year the Academy was cited as a centre of excellence in the provision of retail area manager training and development in the CBI’s paper ‘Business Investment in Skills – The Road Back to Growth’. It has also been recognised nationally with a prestigious CIPD award shortlisting for learning and development initiative of the year.
Together these ventures are building a body of expertise that is being recognised as a centre of excellence in the design and operation of businesses with multiple outlets.
Developments at Birmingham City Business Scho
ol
In addition to the state-of-the-art refurbishment of BCBS over the summer (pictured right), there has also been a significant strategic development with the recruitment of former BT Director, Professor Paul Turner and the incorporation of a new Business School Advisory Board.
Professor Turner, who was also Group HR Business Director for Lloyds TSB, has been brought in to build the Business School’s brand reputation and corporate links. Recently, he chaired the International Human Asset 2011 – 7th Annual People Management Summit in Budapest.
The central purpose of the Advisory Board will be to provide advice, guidance and support to the Dean and senior colleagues within the School, helping the School achieve its vision and strategic objectives. Members of the Board will, individually and collectively, contribute to communication and endorsement of the School’s work and help raise the profile and reputation of BCBS. The current Board members are:
Chair
Sean Connolly - Director, Egremont
UK
Ian Burke - CEO/Chair, The Rank Group plc
Daniella Campari - Marketing Director, Wrigley UK
Paula Clark - CEO Dudley Hospitals
Victor Cocker - Ex-CEO, Severn Trent Water
Richard Dealtry - MD, Intellectual Partnership Consulting Ltd and expert in corporate universities
Prof Paul Forster – Chair of The Prostate Cancer Charity, ex-Chair/CEO Euro RSCG UK plc
Derek Randall - Exec Director, Severfield-Rowen plc
Olinga Taeed – Entrepreneur
Kevin Todd - Exec MD, Mitchells & Butlers plc
Helen Webb - Retail and Logistics Director, Sainsbury’s
International Business
Mr Alagappan - Former Chair, MCB Murugappa Group
Dieter Lange - Head of Central/Eastern Europe, Cap Gemini
Tom Friedewald – Int HR Manager, Man & Supply Chain, Imperial Tobacco Group
International Academic
Dr Craig McAlister - Dean, Crummer School of Business, Rollins College
Prof Thomas Froehlicker - Dean, HEC Management School, University of Liege
New International Partnersh
ip
Birmingham City University has recently approved delivery of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at Cork City College and Limerick City College in Ireland. The courses will be delivered under a franchise arrangement and will include the MBA (full-time), BA (Hons) Accountancy and Management, BA (Hons) Business and Management and BA (Hons) Business and Marketing.
The University has also approved franchise arrangements with Kaplan, Hong Kong and Singapore to deliver MSc Accounting and Finance (ACCA), MSc Accounting and Finance (Top Up), BA (Hons) International Finance, BA (Hons) International Business, BA (Hons) International Marketing and BA (Hons) Business Administration. The Business School has also entered into student progression agreements with institutions in Bangladesh, Canada, China, Malaysia, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates.
US Exchange ‘Beats Price of Petro
l’
Birmingham City Business School has once again hosted a group of US MBA students from the Crummer Graduate School at Rollins College, Florida. The capstone element of their MBA programme incorporated a live consultancy project with BCBS over the week 24-28 October 2011.
Fortel Services Ltd, located near Wolverhampton, is a preferred contractor to leading UK construction companies such as Balfour Beatty and Carillion. They provide labour plus specialist trades people as and when required. With a turnover of approximately £50 million, the company’s margin is being squeezed almost to breaking point. The challenge facing the group was to undertake a review of the company’s transport and logistics policy and arrive at preferred routes to move the company’s strategy forward, overcoming major issues, such as the price of petrol. Overseeing the project was Professor Mike Brown of Birmingham City Business School: “This was a particularly challenging consultancy, but the client’s openness and the delegates’ dedication means that this is a win-win situation for all concerned. I am convinced that when the final project report is presented, it will include important findings that will help the company move forward.”
Student Council - Making a Differenc
e
The Business School Student Council is a representative structure for students through which they can work in partnership with school management, staff and external partners for the benefit of the School and its students. One of the Council’s aims is to build a tighter community for home and international students for both undergraduate and postgraduate level whilst enhancing personal development, which they achieve through activities such as events, trips and volunteering projects.
On 16 May 2011, the Council organised a student trip to Alton Towers, negotiating a rate for 55 students to attend, whilst using the discount to make a donation of almost £700 to a charity that helps disadvantaged and homeless teenagers called Networkfour.
More recently, six Business School students from the Council were given the opportunity to take part in international travel scholarships in Ghana, Mexico and Nepal. Volunteering projects carried out by the students included building a support wall, teaching English on a one to one basis, and teaching classes in arts and crafts, sports and dancing.
Second-year undergraduate Accountancy student Joshua Bentley (pictured) said: “The Ghana trip was personally very rewarding and I would recommend BCBS student council volunteering activities to anyone as a tremendous experience and a great way of making a difference.”
Enterepreneurship Socie
ty
The academic year 2011/12 is proving to be another fast paced and exciting one, with many new activities and engaging projects developing for the Entrepreneurship Society. During 2011’s Freshers’ Fair the Society had over 130 students join, and is currently seeking to establish more student collaborative projects at the University.
At the end of the last academic year, the society elected and confirmed its first full student committee to organise more events, competitions, networking, and encourage collaboration between members. It will be headed by Alistair Narnor, Entrepreneurship Society President for academic year, 2011/2012. He will be assisted by Jonathan Colen, as Vice-President; Alex Gociu, as IT Director; Luke Oakley, as Finance Director; Bimal Colen, as Marketing and Communications Director; and Ioana Zamfir, as Media Director.
The aim of this committee will be to ensure the smooth running of the society; and encourage, promote and support entrepreneurship at Birmingham City University. They will also continue to be supported by last year’s President, Roland Ruhumuriza – who will provide advice as an active member.
For this academic year, membership will continue to be open to all university students, staff members, alumni as well as associate members (including non-university individuals wanting to be part of the network). A membership fee of only £3.50 is charged, which includes access to all events, competitions and workshops for the whole academic year. Please contact info@bcuentrepreneurs.com to find out more.
Visiting Professorship Further Strengthens International Relationshi
p
Professor David Edwards, Director of the Centre for Business, Innovation and Enterprise (CBIE) has just been appointed Visiting Professor to the Department of Building Technology at the Centre for Innovation, Industrial and Institutional Collaborations (CIIIC) of the College of Architecture and Planning at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana.
Since March 2006, Professor Edwards (pictured) has been instrumental to the Department of Building Technology through devoted PhD supervisions and assistantship, collaborative research into innovative financing of infrastructure development in Ghana and enterprise innovations, joint paper publications in world-class peer reviewed journals and serving as a keynote speaker at the first Postgraduate Conference on Built Environment in June 2010.
The Visiting Professor appointment is the first of its kind in the College of Architecture and Planning of KNUST, and cements the longstanding collaborations with Birmingham City Business School.
Professor Edward Badu of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology said Professor Edwards “will bring vast experience and insights relating to research activities and his engagement with us will certainly stimulate and inspire research activities among faculty members within the Department and the College in general. The Department expects this appointment to serve as a catalyst for further breakthroughs leading to the discovery of new research areas and PhD completions.”
Birmingham City Business School and WCCC Partnership set for a Good Innin
gs
Warwickshire County Cricket Club (WCCC), based at Edgbaston cricket ground, is just one of the latest organisations to partner with Birmingham City Business School on a Knowledge Transfer Programme.
Having recently invested £32m in its facilities, Edgbaston cricket ground offered the perfect venue to host an event on 11 August 2011 to increase awareness of the funding and academic support available through these programmes. Set against the backdrop of the second day of the England v India Test Match, 40 senior decision makers from local businesses networked with companies enjoying success from such partnerships with the Business School.
Lucy Ayers, Director of Knowledge Transfer Programmes in the Business School said: “Knowledge Transfer Programmes fit very well with the practice based approach the Business School is so well renowned for and support our links with industry whilst also providing live and relevant case studies for our students.”
Part funded by grants, Knowledge Transfer Programmes enable businesses to tap into leading edge academic knowledge and expertise through a structured project to achieve their strategic objectives. A graduate is recruited to manage the project which lasts from 6-24 months and is based at the company.
Colin Povey, CEO of Warwickshire County Cricket Club said: “Working with Birmingham City Business School through a knowledge transfer programme is opening up real opportunities for us. The Club has recently invested £32m in the ground refurbishment and in partnership with Birmingham City University we’re gaining new insights into innovative ways to market the ground and enhance our relationship with the local community.”
Dual Audit Award Offers Students and Employers Savin
gs
The Centre for Internal Audit, Governance and Risk Management has recently announced an important new collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), which will offer both students and employers a significant advantage both in terms of cost and time.
Birmingham City Business School Centre for Internal Audit, Governance and Risk Management is the first body to be approved to deliver the qualifications of the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors under a Dual Award scheme through association with the University’s MSc Audit Management and Consultancy programme – with students gaining the MSc and PIIA/CMIIA status at the same time, subject to completion of an experience journal.
Given the excellent achievement rates of students within the University programme, where students’ average pass rates exceed 97 per cent, this offers a particularly cost effective way of achieving both a professional and academic qualification. The course programme will be delivered in full-time, block release and flexible learning modes.
Professor Robin Pritchard who heads the centre observes that the course is having considerable success following its redesign to deliver the syllabus in a manner that reflects best professional practice in the field, as well as an understanding of the theoretical aspects of financial, IT and management risk. Additionally, tutoring arrangements are both pro-active and student focused and visiting practitioners from industry and government guest lecture on each module. This adds significant experience from the public, private and voluntary sectors to course delivery and represents significant added value and an excellent learning experience.
Francis Nicholson, IIA Education Director said: “I am delighted to be launching this initiative in collaboration with Birmingham City University. We have been close partners for a number of years and the University has consistently delivered a very successful tuition programme as an accredited provider.”