ABS Blog http://www1.aston.ac.uk/abs-blog.rss By Dr John Blewitt, Director of the Lifelong Learning Centre, Aston University Business is immensely important. It generates wealth and creates opportunity. It provides people with what they want through the incredible dynamic of producing goods and services. For many people, the 'business of business is business' or at least this is how many people used to see it. But not anymore. Business does not operate in a social, environmental or economic vacuum. Most of us are now well aware of the massive challenges confronting the world in the 21st century – climate change, resource depletion, energy security, global poverty, biodiversity loss and a whole range of other risks and uncertainties. Given the immense power and potential of business to address these things it is now rather short sighted, indeed irresponsible, for business leaders and other practitioners to simply restate the old 'business of business' dictum. We are all on this planet together. In fact, we are part of it. We rely on it for everything including our capacity to generate wealth and opportunity. This means that many businesses are now looking seriously at their activities and missions from much wider, even holistic, perspectives. New business models are being developed that will ensure wealth and opportunity is continually created in such a way as to bestow wide ranging social and environmental improvements. To do otherwise is becoming increasingly unthinkable. A new MSc programme has been designed at Aston Business School to help existing and future business leaders to engage positively with the social, economic and environmental agendas through their business practices. There is a lot to do because a lot is at stake. Each week Carole Parkes and I will be offering our thoughts on issues of the moment and discussing some of the wider trends and tendencies that are affecting business, civil society and the environment everywhere. Find our more about the MSc in Social Responsibility and Sustainability. http://www1.aston.ac.uk/aston-business-school/news/blog/?blogpost=288 Fri, 10 Dec 2010 11:38:31 GMT 20101210113831 Fri, 10 Dec 2010 11:38:31 GMT 20101210113831 Fri, 10 Dec 2010 12:05:20 GMT 2010121012120520 By Cora Lynn Heimer Rathbone, Director of the Centre for Executive Development, Aston Business School I am back! Survivor of return Qantas flights to Hong Kong, untroubled by engine issues and dazzled by the lights of that amazing city. On the edge of East meets West, the city and its surrounding islands are a hive of activity, a confluence of different perspectives, impressive wealth, advanced engineering and teeming crowds scurrying in orderly patterns. Mall after mall displays branded boutique after branded boutique to the point that it all merges into one phantasmagorical unbroken line of luxury. No point shopping. Not many are. Price tags frighten even the most comfortably heeled. Those who grace the stores with their presence float between display cabinets, sometimes modelling a bag. Others, like my daughter – recently arrived, a young team-leader for a global player on a two-year assignment - nonchalantly try on the odd Rolex “not the one with the gold face but the one with the mother-of-pearl back. Yes that's it, with the diamonds.” I glance sheepishly at my own Rolex, gold-faced and diamonded, and smile at my justification some twenty years ago to splurge. A short one-hour ferry away, seemingly contrasting Macau beaconed. The quaint down-town displays its Portuguese roots as unsophisticated shop after unsophisticated shop around the pedestrianized area sells almond cookies - so dry that ten days on I can still remember the feeling of having my jaws temporarily cemented – and dried-meats in blood-coloured sheets that look like liquorish. That is one part of Macau, dominated by the unlikely ruins of St Paul's Church at the base of the city's fortressed walls. A short taxi ride away, across the water causeway, over an impressive expanse of suspended bridge, we came to The City of Dreams, Hard Rock Cafe and The Venetian. Imagine over 100 football pitches side by side, gambling machines and tables lined as far as the eyes can see and beyond, many filled with Chinese players, some empty but for the croupiers anticipating their guests. And this housed within a mega shopping centre the likes of which I, an American, had never seen before. In fact, the Venetian itself, within which the largest casino in the world is housed, is a replica of Venice, complete with sun-set sky, canals and gondolas with singing gondoliers. With the backdrop of this dramatic city and its surrounding islands, where mere mortals could be excused for thinking that not even the sky is the limit, one can see the benefits of superimposing multiple perspectives to break-down barriers of linear thinking. Why not then use this sure-tested approach most often associated with creativity and out-of-the-box thinking to inform and structure mission critical decisions? Indeed, how dare we make momentous decisions in splendid isolation, or in the company of those who share our perspectives, who like ourselves share similar experiences? Especially, but not exclusively, when we have the time, how is it that we fail to consult widely to inform a richer, fuller view of the issues at hand? Decision-making that, like brainstorming, brings in people with diverse perspectives is sure to be more robust than otherwise. Combine this with a clear auditable process that captures the ideas of different individuals, especially when each represents a different interest group, and you create a situation in which challenge and constructive debate is guaranteed to flush-out poorly considered and blinkered standpoints. By involving all who have a stake in the decision, all who see the decision-situation from a different perspective, in the process of decision-making, you not only enlist the different factions that those individuals represent but you also come closer to ensuring a richer decision, a balance consideration of all mitigating factors in the decision that you ultimately take. http://www1.aston.ac.uk/aston-business-school/news/blog/?blogpost=284 Fri, 03 Dec 2010 14:47:34 GMT 20101203144734 Fri, 03 Dec 2010 14:47:34 GMT 20101203144734 Fri, 03 Dec 2010 15:04:46 GMT 201012031530446 By Professor Michael West, Executive Dean, Aston Business School If leaders are to increase their effectiveness, they have to understand and satisfy the three basic motivations that determine, shape and guide human behaviour. People have a need for growth and development, manifested in an inherent tendency to seek out novelty and challenges and to extend and exercise capacities to explore and learn. A two year research study with over 2000 U.K. managers showed that when managers moved into jobs where they had fewer opportunities for development, growth and creativity, their mental health declined more than the mental health of managers who became unemployed during the intervening period. People have a strong need for autonomy and control, at work and in life in generally. Studies of employees entering command and control hierarchical organisations, show that they feel frustrated by the lack of choice or volition. Finally, people have a deep need for belonging. The sense of belonging is built through frequent social and positive interaction. People need relative freedom from destructive conflict and negative feelings. If there is a constant conflict in their work organizations, the sense of belonging is threatened. People also require a sense of security in their relationships; threats such as job insecurity undermine the sense of belongingness. Leadership for employee motivation Leaders can help employees meeting these needs by engaging in a set of actions: Foster team workWorking in groups increases the individual's sense of belonging. People working in teams feel more socially supported, experience lower levers of stress and are clearer about their goals. Teamwork also leads to better organisational performance and higher levels of creativity and innovation. Leaders should offer visions and shape clear and challenging goalsPeople work more effectively if they are clear about their goals and if these goals are negotiated and challenging. Performance appraisal can be very helpful in setting clear and challenging objectives. Discussing their own goals increases people's feeling of control and having clear and challenging objectives maximizes the possibility for growth. Leaders should foster a culture of communityCulture has a major influence on employees' perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours. Leaders should foster a culture of community by having strong communication links, both formal and informal, between different levels of the organisation. The most successful organizations are communities, rather than simply places of work. Leaders should build bridges For organizations not to be simply industrial, commercial, material entities, leaders should focus on the value of positive relations between organizations and their wider communities. The best strategy is to build alliances, partnerships, joint ventures and encourage co-operative co-working between departments. People should be trained for both commercial reasons and for human reasons to help each other in groups or in departments or across organizations. Leaders should foster optimism Optimism has powerful protective effects in life for human beings, it builds belief and enthusiasm. Leaders can foster this feeling by using positive feedback, informing employees about their work, and they should do it in a positive way, emphasising the strengths and showing points for further development. The average satisfaction level of the employees was found to explain large part of the variations between companies' productivity. We also found that people management practices were the best predictor of the variations between companies in performance. The evidence is clear: leaders have to be people-focused. Creating organizations in which human needs are met means creating healthier, more productive and more profitable organizations and, thereby, a healthier and more productive society. The alienation of people in modern society can begin to be addressed if leaders take responsibility for building work organizations that satisfy human needs for belonging, growth and development and autonomy and control. http://www1.aston.ac.uk/aston-business-school/news/blog/?blogpost=280 Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:34:13 GMT 20101130133413 Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:34:13 GMT 20101130133413 Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:04:40 GMT 201011301420440 By Cora Lynn Heimer Rathbone, Director of the Centre for Executive Development, Aston Business School This is my second and maybe my last blog – ever. I fly Qantas to Hong Kong tomorrow, on November 11th. After two emergency landings last week, one of an Airbus A380 carrying 450 people, the second of a Boeing 747, both due to Rolls Royce engine problems, confidence isn't exactly sky high (excuse the pun). Nor is my certainty of actually taking flight as the airline's whole fleet of A380s has been (still is as I write) grounded for 72 hours. Then again, our flight is meant to be on a 747... Why am I not elated?!? And yet it is business as usual for Rolls Royce. I couldn't help smiling as I saw the FT front page announcement on November 9th that RR had won a $1.2 billion order from China Eastern Airlines together with an agreement to develop an environmental partnership. Strangely comforting as Cameron and colleagues were in China to promote bi-lateral trade, this endorsement balanced not only last week's failures but also a law suit by a rival manufacturer who claims that Rolls Royce's latest, and presumably faulty engine, was based on their design. Whilst investigations conducted by engineers of both Qantas and Rolls Royce are underway, the real and perhaps only hero of the story is the A380's pilot. Emergencies will happen when we least expect them. How we as leaders respond in those moments of surprise is the question. We can easily prepare for the expected. In a way, I can manage that which I know is coming. It's how we equip ourselves for the unexpected, how I lead in and respond to unfamiliar situations, that sets us and me apart - as leaders. Resilience, as in stressed metal, in the face of pressure is at the very least a distinguishing feature of successful leadership. Though some emergencies continue for extended periods, such as the BP gulf oil spill or the deteriorating devastation in Haiti nearly a year after the initial earthquake, it is often the immediacy of the early moments, hours and days that creates or destroys trust and that sets the course for the outcome that is to follow. So how do leaders in those situations make decisions? Back to my impending flight, much more of faith than fancy, I can't help but ask myself: how does the pilot, into whose hands I will certainly place my life tomorrow, make and prepare for making possible emergency decisions? Fortunately, the much praised pilot of that fated Qantas Singapore flight provided some insight. Many hours of training in the flight simulator meant that such extreme possibilities were practised as if they were somewhat more probable than not – supplementing his comprehensive understanding of the capabilities of his aircraft to perform as required in emergencies. His was not the mantra of the optimists (“Think positively; it will never happen!”), more the realism captured in the inimitable phrase of an executive participating in one of my customised programmes for an iconic global client: “stuff happens!” Let me not mix my metaphors much further at this stage. I am grateful that Qantas's pilots have strong exposure to simulators. I'm thankful also for the reminder that I as a leader need to envisage with my team the possibility of “stuff hitting the fan” – if only as an exercise in risk mitigation! Let's hope that this doesn't need to be my last blog post, that our pilot for tomorrow's flight has invested many hours in the simulator and that he/she is able to think laterally, to extrapolate those experiences relevantly, in the moment, should the need arise. Fortune favours the prepared! For further information about decision making under pressure view the second Aston Business School 'sixty second nugget', Decision-Making under Pressure, in which Dr Patrick Tissington spotlights key principles for decision-making in complex emergencies. http://www1.aston.ac.uk/aston-business-school/news/blog/?blogpost=264 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 12:59:38 GMT 20101112125938 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 12:59:38 GMT 20101112125938 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 14:06:34 GMT 201011121420634 By Graham Pearce, former Professor of Public Policy and Management, Aston Business School The task of boosting economic growth and tackling regional inequalities could be undermined by plans in the Coalition Government's Regional Growth White Paper to transfer powers to sub-regional consortia of councils and businesses working through Local Economic Partnerships (LEPs). There are considerable uncertainties and potential risks, I believe, arising from the current reshaping of responsibilities for securing sustainable economic development at the sub-national level. My conclusion, in a nutshell is this, below. And I invite you, the reader, to give your comment in a bid to gauge, as a region, our collective reaction: • LEPs will replace England's nine Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) but collectively will have far smaller budgets. The scale of resources available to RDAs has not been sufficient of itself to make a significant impact on regional economic disparities and without political clout and some financial incentive LEPs could prove ineffective. • The loss of RDA funds will be felt most keenly in Northern and Midland regions and, despite reassurances that resources for economic development will be distributed in favour of the less prosperous regions; reductions in public expenditure will exacerbate the longstanding economic disparities between the Greater South East and the rest of the country. • The Government expects LEPs to tackle a range of policy issues that contribute to creating the right environment for business and economic growth. But the task of effective partnership working requires a considerable investment of time and energy. Moreover, the new Partnerships will be reliant on multiple funding streams administered by a plethora of government bodies, whose own budgets are threatened. Their room for manoeuvre will be severely restricted. • LEP boundaries should reflect socio-economic realities, rather than administrative units. Nonetheless, the willingness of authorities to put aside local interests and provide a collective voice on issues that have a strategic dimension cannot be assumed. As the current bargaining around LEPs has revealed, parochialism remains a potent ingredient and rather than 'natural' economic areas LEPs are being defined according to arbitrary administrative boundaries. There is also the risk of unproductive 'place marketing' between LEPs to attract mobile investment and jobs. • There is an underlying assumption that the key groups representing business are both willing and able to engage in LEPs - factors that are highly variable across business organisations and geographical areas. As volunteers, business partners do not want to be part of bureaucratic 'talking shops'. Nonetheless, granting business interests an equal status with local authorities in LEPs may lead to undue prominence being given to economic considerations and may be incompatible with local authorities' remit to deliver sustainable development in a public and accountable setting. As such they are likely to replicate the weaknesses of legitimacy associated with the RDAs and unelected regional assemblies. • LEPs are expected to provide strategic leadership for the coordination and integration of sub-national spatial and investment priorities, where certainty is vital for both private and public sectors. There is virtue in seeking to coordinate such policies to maximise the effectiveness of public and private expenditure but this will depend upon authorities and their business partners demonstrating a capacity to enter into collaborative and long-lasting commitments, with the risk of significant geographical variations. Furthermore, the need for statutory planning across sub-regions is not currently recognised. • The legacy of economic development knowledge and expertise in the regions, I think, should not be dissipated. Indeed, because there are economic opportunities and challenges that cannot easily be dealt with either nationally or locally, there remains a compelling case for establishing region-wide partnerships of local authorities, business leaders and other key partners to deal with strategic economic issues. http://www1.aston.ac.uk/aston-business-school/news/blog/?blogpost=263 Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:30:08 GMT 20101105153008 Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:30:08 GMT 20101105153008 Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:36:59 GMT 201011051533659 By Cora Lynn Heimer Rathbone, Director of the Centre for Executive Development, Aston Business School What sensations I experienced as the first of the Chilean miners emerged from the rescue capsule on October 13th 2010! Engineering at its very best had accelerated an unprecedented rescue. From an initial projection of four months, the miners were retrieved in less than 52 days. Amazing! And yet more astounding than that was the feat of human hope demonstrated by those 33 men. Having endured 69 days underground, they, relatively uneducated folk, emerged to immediately reconnect with loved ones - as well as their billionaire president. Talk about juxtapositions! Humanity united them, what else mattered?! How would I have handled it, controlled my emotions in meeting family, then, within seconds, the national leader? I flashed back to their ordeal. In particular those first 17 days must have been nearly unbearable. Trapped, incommunicado with the outside world, fearful of being forgotten by those above-ground who knew of their marginal activity, unable to do anything to start their own rescue, those men could have been excused for emulating “Animal Farm” – for descending into anarchy. However, quite to the contrary, by the time they were discovered through the tiny borehole, they had established an orderly co-existence, an organisation within which they could live together, at least until rescued. Rich psychological studies will follow, but eight lessons can clearly be drawn straight away. These men had: 1. Shared purpose: to survive, to be rescued, to retain hope despite being trapped in almost total darkness, unrelenting heat and with limited provisions. 2. Clear objectives: to maintain dignity through designated areas for washing and sleeping, to share resources like tooth brushes and food which was allocated carefully to ensure that what they had lasted for as long as possible. 3. Clear roles: from when they were discovered, the leader was obvious. As the rescue mission kicked in, new roles were added. A team communicator emerged to gather messages from individuals within the group, and a “medic” to ensure the hygiene and health of all. 4. Strong communication: even before the borehole, amongst the 33, communication had to be open and transparent. There literally wasn't sufficient space to uphold a “work persona” that was different to “the real me”. Verbal communication must have been negligible compared to the non-verbal messages that all could see. 5. Strong sense of belonging: there was no competition between the “team” that the 33 became and the other “teams” to which they individually belonged – their nations (the one Bolivian could have been ostracized), their families, their religious allegiances, their employer. Survival tied them together. 6. Shared meaning: fascinating how the most vociferous of the group, amongst the first three to emerge, chose to speak to the cameras and say “soy minero” – I am a miner - “y quiero regresar a serlo de nuevo” – and I want to go back and be that again. These men knew their “metier”, and were proud of what they did. 7. Strong sense of acceptance: I can't imagine how those individuals felt below, as their idiosyncrasies and most personal habits were exposed – day after miserable day. Notwithstanding, each stepped out of that capsule as unique personalities, unbroken, ordinary yet straight-shouldered, anything but diminished. And these are miners, honest fellows, not, dare I say, politicians or movie stars, not accustomed to the limelight. 8. Time to reflect: on who they each were, to be unique, such that the youngest declared he would “never again” descend to the “pit” whilst his exuberant companion had declared the opposite. This story of hope is in fact a remarkable example of team-work rarely seen in even the highest of high performing teams. http://www1.aston.ac.uk/aston-business-school/news/blog/?blogpost=257 Wed, 03 Nov 2010 12:17:27 GMT 20101103121727 Wed, 03 Nov 2010 12:17:27 GMT 20101103121727 Fri, 05 Nov 2010 10:48:06 GMT 2010110510104806 By Dr Pat Tissington, Associate Dean Business Partnerships, Aston Business School Having taken a short break from blogging, I'm returning to the fray with what I hope is an upbeat message - despite the frankly awful prospects of government announcements in October. So, to the awful bit first. I get the impression from the various polling and public opinion sampling that the general mood in the country is not completely opposed to government spending cuts on principle. But there does seem to be opposition when people are asked what they think about reductions in the services they personally get from government. Perhaps the whole thing is too abstract at the moment but it is going to become only too real come October when the announcements are due. Psychologically this seems to be a case of self interest with people being fine about pain so long as it involves other people but less enthusiastic when it affects us personally. Or maybe it has more to do with not yet knowing what the impact is going to be. It is some sort of economic phoney war currently which is likely to have it's Dunkirk moment soon. Those of us involved in the running of organisations will have experienced this sort of thing before. In order to get change moving, you must gain some general agreement that change is necessary. A popular way of doing this is the presentation of a "burning platform" - alerting people to an imminent crisis. In a recent talk at Aston Business School, Justin King who has performed a remarkable turnaround as CEO of Sainsburys, preferred to say this was making people acknowledge the reality of the situation. The reasoning is the same though - people are naturally resistant to change unless and until they realise there is no alternative; whereupon they can adopt it enthusiastically. It is perhaps the other side of the personal survival instinct we see in current attitudes to spending cuts. If staff become convinced that the survival of the organisation (and therefore their jobs) is dependant on change, the job of change management becomes straightforward. If they feel the opposite (i.e changes proposed wick jeopardise jobs), heels will dig in and creative effort will be devoted to resistance rather than innovating. So, where does my optimism come from? I recently met a group of senior public sector managers in a Work Foundation event. I was astonished at how upbeat they were about the future. Initially I thought they must be mad bearing in mind some were heading up departments which were planning for a 40% funding cut. But after a while it dawned on me that in fact they were relishing the challenge and with good reason. One told me "Actually I prefer a large cut. If you were told to cut by 5% or even 10%, I would be expected to deliver the same service. But when this becomes 25 or 30%, no sane person expects the same service level. What me and my management team have to do is work out what will continue to deliver and what to stop. We need to work out how to do this and make sure we take our stakeholders with us. It's difficult yes - but also very interesting." So, it is being regarded as an opportunity for serious thinking about what organisations are for, what their stakeholders want/need and of course a way of providing challenge for staff. I have found similar relish for the fight across the pubic sector. Privately many senior managers have also been energised by the rash of early retirements since many who are burned out have decided they have no stomach for the fight and allowed new blood to take over. So, perhaps the Great Government Cuts of 2010 will be remembered as the time when a new dynamism came to public services. To be fair, it is going to be pretty dreadful as well. This post first appeared on Dr Pat Tissington's blog for the Birmingham Post on 23 September 2010 To read further blogs please visit the Birmingham Post's Business Blog http://www1.aston.ac.uk/aston-business-school/news/blog/?blogpost=245 Wed, 29 Sep 2010 10:50:06 GMT 20100929105006 Wed, 29 Sep 2010 10:50:06 GMT 20100929105006 Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:24:08 GMT 201011051532408 By Dr Pat Tissington, Associate Dean Business Partnerships, Aston Business School With the school holidays fast approaching, it is now the time that we think about taking time off. And we should - even though the idea of having time when you aren't actually at work and still being paid for it, is a concept our great grandparents would have not understood at all. But should we take holidays - and should managers encourage their staff to do so? I always insist any staff reporting to me take their full allocation - and this even back when I was personally paying their wages out of my own money. Why? The business case for doing so is even more persuasive than the pretty good moral one. When I was running my own business, I was completely reliant on the ingenuity, intelligence and hard work of my team. In a way nothing has changed because of course I still am reliant on my team and colleagues, but I no longer physically write the cheques. So if they are not in the office, they are not productive? No. They can take their Blackberries with them and I can contact them from time to time when on holiday. Absolutely not! If someone is on holiday, that means no contact what ever - the only exception would be a major fatality but perhaps the readers would have other exceptions they might suggest? My view is that if you are doing your job properly, you should have planned sufficiently well to be able to cope whilst someone is away. You should also be organised enough so you work the hours you are contracted and no more - more on this topic another time. Time away (completely away) from work gives you time to re-charge, to re-set yourself and potentially start afresh. It is amazing how different things can look if you genuinely come to them after putting them to aside for a while. I recommend my students finish their essays at least a week before they are due, put them to one side and them only come back to them having left them for several days. My experience is that often you can see glaring flaws which were invisible when deeply engrossed. But you should plan for holidays - for yourself and your team. Make sure it is factored into project timelines, targets and that you have sufficient cover. It is completely pointless allowing someone holiday but not covering their work because if they will come back after holiday and essentially have to make up for the "lost" week or two. This is not a holiday. It is theft of your staff's time and shows a lack of planning and consideration. This sort of thing has a disastrous effect on motivation and therefore productivity. The best out of office email I ever saw said "I am out of the office until xxxx, when I return I will delete all emails so if your message is urgent, please re-send it after that day." When I tried it, how many emails were re-sent? One - and this was only to say "sorry for disturbing you whilst on holiday, the issue has been dealt with and I hope you had a nice time." I also got a complaint but this was only from a colleague who seemed to think I should be available to him 24/7. Sorry, but I try to be better organised than that. So, my rules of holidays: - insist your staff take all of their holiday- take most of yours- plan for it so there isn't a mountain of emails and a backlog of tasks when they return- do not look at email or check voicemail when on holiday- in fact, buy a cheap pay as you go phone ( you can get them for about a fiver these days) and leave your work mobile switched off and at home Now for two cautionary tales about Blackberries. A very high flying business person I know went on holiday to a smart hotel somewhere very warm. On the first day, her daughter threw the Blackberry in the swimming pool. Surely the sign of spending too much time on mobile email. The second is similar but perhaps more heartbreaking. I have a friend whose small son used to take it very seriously when he was given a wish - the sort of thing you get when cutting a birthday cake. His wish was always the same: please take daddy's phone away. Happy holidays! This post first appeared on Dr Pat Tissington's blog for the Birmingham Post on 20 July 2010 To read further blogs please visit the Birmingham Post's Business Blog http://www1.aston.ac.uk/aston-business-school/news/blog/?blogpost=234 Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:47:44 GMT 20100722094744 Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:47:44 GMT 20100722094744 Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:54:25 GMT 201007220995425 By Professor Nigel Driffield, Head of the Economics & Strategy Group, Aston Business School As the Birmingham Post reports, Birmingham city council, along with promotional bodies Marketing Birmingham and Locate in Birmingham, are looking to create a business 'A-Team' to bring in further foreign and domestic investment to the city. The newly appointed team could perhaps take a leaf out of the book of Manchester, and start by examining the evidence available locally. Too often local inward investment policy is a national evidence base, driven by a desire within Whitehall to focus on certain sectors. Locate in Birmingham have started well, by engaging some consultants to identify some sectors that are key for growth, from both domestic and inward investment. I sincerely hope that these are sectors where there is some local competitive advantage, not merely the same sectors that every inward investment agency always claim to be chasing, such as IT, films, biotech and green energy. While all of these are important sectors, likely to play a role in the UK economy, identifying sectors through top down policy seldom helps the local economy. Perhaps the biggest challenge, and one that may well fall on the new team with the demise of AWM is to distinguish between maximising inward investment, and maximising the benefits of inward investment. Most academic studies, irrespective of their regional focus suggest that the employment created does not justify the size of the subsidy paid to attract firms, so the challenge for policy makers is to seek inward investment that will embed in the local economy, have high levels of local input linkages, and contribute to the local skills base through training. This is easier said than done, and as UKTI has recognised nationally, an empirical question. This is also likely to differ from region to region so the team will have to identify what is good for Birmingham. The final challenge for the new team is that over the last 15 years, high proportions of inward investment have been funded by debt, and this funding is no longer available. Equally, investment from the USA is likely to decline as American firms retrench into home production. Historically this is the main source of technology transfer into the UK. Both national and local policy makers in the UK are then turning to cash rich firms from Asia, but they are looking to either acquire UK firms or establish themselves within Europe to protect relative new sales at a time when demand is uncertain. Investment from Asia is still strong if firms believe demand is there, but these firms create jobs with below average pay. Overall, the agencies concerned are right to seek to establish an “A team” but the focus must not simply be on selling the city. With budgets under pressure, and an emphasis on value for money, the new team will have to take all of these issues into account, and examine the best available evidence in deciding on target sectors, and even target firms. To give an example of what may be done, a team of academics from Aston Business School, working with the Manchester City Region identified a number of sectors, some traditional, some less so, that were in a position to benefit significantly from inward investment, building on existing competitive advantages. Similar work for Birmingham would help to build a new evidence base, and give the newly appointed team a flying start. http://www1.aston.ac.uk/aston-business-school/news/blog/?blogpost=231 Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:47:03 GMT 20100720094703 Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:47:03 GMT 20100720094703 Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:50:11 GMT 201007200995011 By Professor Michael West, Executive Dean, Aston Business School Reflecting on the World Cup it is easy to see that it offers a perfectly contained illustration of the workplace, in particular team working, in its rawest form. Although the misfortunes of the England team maybe at the forefront of our minds, watching teams that take risks, expend energy and create opportunities for individual and team success, provides us with an a exhilarating example. This may sound far removed from our day to day working environment but being part of an effective team can transform a workplace from the daily grind to a place of creativity and deep satisfaction. What we see in world-class football can be shared in business. High performing teams are very clear about their strategy and their objectives, they prepare carefully and they back each other up in the normal course of what they are doing, but also during crisis times. They communicate intensively the whole time they are engaged in the job. They are, however, not beholden to strategy but review and reflect on their performance – and will take decisive action for change when required. The key to successful successful World Cup teams – indeed any team - is shared, clear and challenging objectives. For a business the objectives might be to win a particular number of contracts, be the best in industry for customer satisfaction and win the award for the best employers in the region. It is vital for all team members to be clear about the team's objectives – and committed to them. And each team should have no more than five or six objectives – measureable and motivating. Individuals too should have personal objectives that are clear, challenging and ideally are measureable. All too often we see teams in organizations whose members assume they have clear shared objectives, but a little probing quickly reveals they are unclear and the content differs depending on which team member you talk to. Having a good leader is as essential to business teams as to world-class football sides too. Effective leaders have a vision; they believe in that vision and inspire others with that vision. They also take effort to build good relationships between team players – and do not tolerate people creating negative relationships within their teams. But if people genuinely are unable to work in a team they need to find alternative roles, anyone else should be coached to help them pull in the right direction. A positive, optimistic leader who inspires confidence in followers so that they feel they can achieve the vision is particularly important in tough times and when results may not be going they way team members want. When teams appear exhausted an effective manager makes a substitution to inject new life into the game. The same can happen in the workplace with new recruits. Businesses can often spend too much time trying to mould new employees to the team rather than benefitting from their fresh perspective. They need to ask new employees what they can bring to their new organisations, what surprises them about the team they have come into and what they would recommend. Communication between team members should be constant too, just as between players on the pitch. Teams have to take responsibility for the success of the team rather than leaving it all to the captain. And that is one of the biggest lessons business leaders can learn from World Cup managers about building a successful team – once you've trained your employees give them enough autonomy to find the best ways of meeting their targets. Hold employees accountable for achieving their objectives but give them the freedom to work effectively to achieve what needs to be achieved. This way when team members comes to work it does not feel like a place where they are playing listlessly through to the final whistle but somewhere they can enjoy the learn and grow and find the fulfilment of experiences of ultimate success that comes from being a part of a word class team. http://www1.aston.ac.uk/aston-business-school/news/blog/?blogpost=229 Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:50:54 GMT 20100716115054 Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:50:54 GMT 20100716115054 Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:50:54 GMT 2010071611115054 By Dr Pat Tissington, Associate Dean Business Partnerships, Aston Business School We have all been there - our employer is suddenly hit with some bad news. The market crashes or our main customer decides to go elsewhere or there is an accident at the plant. Perhaps the public sector organisation we work for suddenly has to change the way it operates as government policy changes. Indeed at the moment, the public sector seems most likely to experience these sorts of major Organisational challenges but the private sector has traditionally had these to cope with as markets and economies shift - just ask suppliers to the motor industry in the midlands. But I have been prompted to think about this by the performance of the England football team in the world cup - yes I know it is still a bit raw but there is a learning opportunity for us. Here's my take on the learnings (horrible word I know but one which is becoming a substitute for lessons - not sure if anyone can tell me what the difference is? But I digress) I am no football expert but one thing which struck me was the way the England team stuck to it's single game plan. Translating this to the world of work, the world about us is changing at a breath taking rate so we need to have multiple ways of response to shifting external conditions. We need to be able to flex our organisations to exploit new conditions and ditch old ideas when they no longer work. But how do we do this and maintain some coherence to our strategy? How can we be flexible but at the same time true to what it is we stand for as an organisation? Let me give you an example. I expect you know how Nokia turned itself from a rubber and timber business into a mobile phone giant? But there are examples closer to home. Could a motor manufacturer turn itself into a multinational builder and plumbing merchants? This is what happened to Wolsley - admittedly over a period of decades but nonetheless a fundamental change of direction. This sort of change is a massive risk - take the example (again local to the West Midlands) of Marconi. A well established business and world leader in the Defence electronics area - especially Radar. In the 1990s, a new management team decided to take a risk and re-positioned the business as a consumer telecoms supplier. Sadly this move happened at the time the dot com bubble burst and had a disastrous impact for the business which has in effect ceased to exist. So, my take on this is to be sensitive to how markets are changing - and be ready when the conditions shift. For example at Aston we have been planning for the cut in government spending on universities for over a year now. We still don't know what the real cuts are going to look like but we are as ready as we can be and have plans for a number of scenarios. I don't have sight of precisely what these scenarios are but, if they are well thought out, they will contain radical plans when appropriate but also clear ways by which we can maintain our core values and be true to our heritage. The lesson for the England football team? In short, if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you always got. Keeping the same structures, the same management team, the same ways of working is pretty inevitably going to give the same results. Why not take the opportunity to think radically - why were our players so tired? Was there a better playing formation? Should we have been prepared with a wider range of tactics? Was language an issue between management team and players? Still, there is one crumb if comfort. At least we didn't go out on penalties again! This post first appeared on Dr Pat Tissington's blog for the Birmingham Post on 7 July 2010 To read further blogs please visit the Birmingham Post's Business Blog http://www1.aston.ac.uk/aston-business-school/news/blog/?blogpost=228 Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:50:07 GMT 20100716115007 Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:50:07 GMT 20100716115007 Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:43:51 GMT 201007220994351 By Chris Harrison, Head of University Communications When I'm not working, I like nothing more than to watch a good film, and not many people make better ones than Christopher Nolan. The director of The Dark Knight, Batman Begins and some rather good non-bat-related movies such as Memento and Insomnia was interviewed in the latest edition of Empire magazine. I read with interest about his plans to direct the next Batman film and produce a reboot of the flagging Superman franchise. Towards the end of the interview, he said something which really struck a chord with me as a marketer: 'What you have to remember with both Batman and Superman… is that what makes those the best superhero characters there are, the most beloved after all this time, is the essence of who those characters were when they were created and when they were first developed. And you can't ever move too far away from that.' What made the Batman films so successful was not the script, acting, scenery or, in the case of The Dark Knight, the unfortunate death of one of the lead actors, although all of those things form part of the picture. It was that Nolan and his team understood what 'made' Batman. Bruce Wayne was a man driven by fear and revenge. His parents were killed in front of his eyes when he was a child. Despite his extraordinary wealth he was raised - and continued to live - in the gloomy, crime-ridden city of Gotham. Perhaps most tellingly, he was created in the late 1930s when most comic books turned as dark as the cloud hanging over Europe. Batman was never intended to be the luridly colourful, camp crusader of the 1960s (enjoyable though the Adam West series are) or the badly misguided Clooney incarnation in Batman and Robin. Nolan understood this and realised that to make a successful Batman movie, he had to get to the root of the character, and he did so with great skill. There are those in Hollywood and on the internet forums who would love Nolan to oversee a Superman 'origin story' very different to Richard Donner's; to turn the Man of Steel into a dark, brooding, introspective character (Superman 3, anyone?), inhabiting a Metropolis teeming with shadows, torrential rain and inescapable menace; to produce an existential look at what makes a Superman. But Nolan won't do that. He knows that just as Batman's humanity is what makes him special, it is his 'superhumanity', to coin a phrase, that makes Superman special. He says, 'a big part of [what makes them exceptional] is their individuality.' Marketers know very well the relevance of Nolan's approach to what we do. Every organisation is unique, each one with something slightly different to offer its customers, whether through its products, services or personality. This, of course, is what we call the 'brand'. A brand is something to be celebrated, utilised, but most of all, lived. All of the most successful brands actually exist, and that isn't intended to be a glib or obtuse comment. They thrive because the customer's brand experience closely matches or ideally exceeds the brand proposition. 'Spin' may win friends, but it doesn't keep them, long-term. Having learned to love and live our brands, we must back that up in our marketing plans. Too often we see or hear about 'Me Too' strategies where organisations spend vast amounts of money to 'counter' or copy what their competitors are doing; or they redesign their website or literature at great time and cost, to look like their rivals'. Sometimes this might make sense but it is not a sustainable option. It is far better to look at what works for us. Chances are it will be different to what works for them. So what conclusion can we draw from this? To return to the Superhero analogy, if we want to ensure that our organisation is a Dark Knight and not a Batman and Robin, let us embrace its individuality, celebrate it, and most of all, live the brand. http://www1.aston.ac.uk/aston-business-school/news/blog/?blogpost=227 Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:40:17 GMT 20100716114017 Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:40:17 GMT 20100716114017 Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:40:30 GMT 2010071611114030