Education Commons^™

Executive Education For A New Reality: The Stakeholder Theory Comes Of Age, William R. Mcnay

Journal of Executive Education

The common practice in business organizations during the past century has been for executives to make decisions based primarily on what was in the best interests of owners and shareholders. This practice is being challenged. The new reality is that executive decisions must be based on the interests of both shareholders and employee-stakeholders if the firm is to be successful in the new century.

Creating A New Kind Of Hero At Wellstar Health System, Donald H. Campbell

Journal of Executive Education

When Dr. Marcus Welby practiced medicine things were different. A diagnosis was not always simple but a cure was never far out of sight. More importantly the roles of physician, patient, nurse and family were clear. The doctor was in charge. His actions were never questioned. Operating on an infectious disease model of medical care where every illness had a cause, an effect, and a cure, he was revered as the holder of the key to the cure. He held most, if not all of the information. Communication was typically one way. No one ever questioned the information, its source, …

Education For Management: Pros &Cons Of Using Case Method In The Xxi Century, Carlos Ruiz Gonzalez

Journal of Executive Education

This is a paper on the Case Method, or what is now frequently called “Participant Centered Learning” method. The main purpose of it is to make some reflections on the pros & cons of using this methodology Case Method in the XXI Century. The Case Method, which has been defined as a: “Teaching approach that consists in presenting the students with a Case, putting them in the role of a decision maker facing a problem,”(Raymond, 1998 and Hammond, 1976)is a methodology of learning that is specially suited to improve or ameliorate the competences required for management.

Executive Education And Business Strategy: Alignment Through Mission Control, William R. Mcnay

Journal of Executive Education

This paper examines the reasons why business organizations often fail to achieve anticipated results from their highly-regarded strategic plans, and this information is then used to determine what educators can do to help executives provide leadership in the firm’s total strategic management activities. The focus of the paper is on the importance of aligning executive education with the firm’s business strategy through “mission control.”

Finance Training And Team Building: An Example Of Finance Training Leading To Team Building, Sam G. Berry, William C. Sharbrough

Journal of Executive Education

This research describes and evaluates how a finance training exercise led to readily identifiable team building among the participants in an executive development workshop initially targeted as a “Finance for the Non-Financial Executive “program. The finance exercise required the participants to make financial/operational tradeoffs in their own section of the firm in order to

improve the return on assets for the corporation at large. The finance training workshop is used as a case study to provide observed behavioral inputs to evaluate and confirm that the finance training led to the team building. In order to confirm the emergence of team …

Wisdom From Executive Female Leaders: What Can Organizations, Executive Education Programs, And Graduate Students Learn?, Deborah B. Roebuck, Deborah N. Smith

Journal of Executive Education

This qualitative study focused on the perceptions and experiences of senior executive female leaders and sought answers to the following questions: “What can others learn from executive female leaders, What can organizations do to retain and advance female leaders, and How can executive education programs and institutions of higher learning better develop female graduate students for leadership positions?” Twelve senior leaders were interviewed who shared the opportunities and challenges they faced as they made their climbs to executive leadership positions.

An Experiential And Integrative Approach To Problem Solving And Decision Making, Zbigniew H. Przasnyski, Frederick G. Elias

Journal of Executive Education

This paper describes an integrative, experiential approach to teaching problem solving and decision making from two different perspectives: prescriptive theory using "quantitative" tools and models, and behavioral theory. Behavioral theory addresses both the cognitive and affective domains of information processing - what the decision maker does and how decisions are affected by habitual factors, personal values, psychological aspects, organizational context and external and internal pressures. The results of an online survey of the alumni of the first eight EMBA groups of a West Coast University using this approach are discussed. The survey provided data on three main areas concerning the …

Problem-Based Learning: Leadership Development Program In A Multi-National Company, Stephen M. Brown, Petra Garnjost, Stefan Heilmann

Journal of Executive Education

This paper reports on a development and implementation of a team leadership training program in a multi-national company. The European Engineering Company (EEC Group) had grown and expanded into many countries in a relatively short timeframe as a result of increased demand for the company’s products and services in newly developing countries.

Entrepreneurs And Education: Making The Marriage Work, Cliff Oxford

Journal of Executive Education

America has two great hopes: Entrepreneurs and Education. In the past, entrepreneurial-focused programs at universities have made “incubators” and “startups” front-and-center, at the expense of “Stage 2” entrepreneurial companies – those successful startups that are ready to expand and grow their brands. Stage 2 is a business stage that is both exciting and fragile, and is exactly where education can produce significant ROI. Innovative business schools and leading entrepreneurs are working to make education and entrepreneurship strategic partners, rather than competitors. Can this marriage work?

Information Security Governance For The Non-Security Business Executive, Michael E. Whitman, Herbert J. Mattord

Journal of Executive Education

Information security is a critical aspect of information systems usage in current organizations. Often relegated to the IT staff, it is in fact the responsibility of senior management to assure the secure use and operation of information assets. Most managers recognize that governance is the responsibility of executive management. The primary objective of governance can be achieved when the members of an organization know what to do, how it should be done, as well as who should do it. The focus on governance has expanded to include information systems and information security. This article offers value to the executive by …

A Re-Interpretation Of Leadership Aligns Human Capital Management And Business Objectives, William R. Mcnay

Journal of Executive Education

Most business decisions during the past 100 years have been influenced by the shareholder theory, which mandates that the interests of shareholders are the key determinate in constructing operational plans and activities. However, this theory and its related practices are being challenged by the stakeholder theory, the “human capital” movement, and human-oriented leadership concepts which emphasize the importance of employee satisfaction and engagement in the attainment of organizational goals and objectives. This paper offers a re-interpretation of leadership that will lead to a major shift in the way educators and executives view the key role of employees in sustaining growth …

Deadly Diseases Or Innovative Practices: How Deming Would View Today’S Executive Mba Industry, Francis Petit

Journal of Executive Education

The purpose of this research is to determine how W. Edwards Deming, the catalyst who led the sweeping quality revolution worldwide, would view today’s Executive MBA sector. To determine this information, an examination of the Executive MBA sector will be conducted. In addition, various elements of Deming’s “Deadly Diseases” will be discussed and applied to the Executive MBA sector with the hopes of uncovering whether the “prevailing style of management” is indeed a problem. The main findings of this preliminary study indicate that the present style of management within the Executive MBA sector is causing “waste” and “losses”. The results …

Personal Inner Values – A Key To Effective Face-To-Face Business Communication, Chris A. Manning, Mark R. Waldman, William E. Lindsey, Andrew B. Newberg, Dorianne Cotter-Lockard

Journal of Executive Education

Effective face-to-face oral communication is crucial for organizational performance. Managers must communicate effectively with their subordinates, their peers and superiors to link organizational direction to those at all levels of the organization. In addition, face-to-face oral communications are fundamental to the messaging process between business entities, whether a person is acting for oneself or representing his/her company. Face-to-face oral communication that builds empathic trust and mutual confidence is essential in business, especially in light of the recent “crisis in trust” caused by the 2008 financial market “meltdown” and the widely publicized ethical failures in business that have occurred in the …

Measuring The Integrative Impact Of Managers, Entrepreneurs And Leaders In Sustaining Innovation: A Tool For Customized Executive Education Programs, Udo Dierk, Philip A. Dover

Journal of Executive Education

Three major decision-making archetypes exist in an organization: managers who focus mainly on the complexity of current issues, leaders who are responsible for facilitating change, and entrepreneurs who identify and develop opportunities. A measurement tool was designed (the MEL-Index) that allows a firm to assess the managerial, entrepreneurial and leadership capabilities of its key personnel as well as for the company as a whole. The current paper describes the application of the MEL-Index during an extended executive education program with a mid-sized German high-technology company. A one-hour face-to-face interview was conducted with 22 senior executives within two of the company’s …

Targeted Instruction For Executive Education: Blending Instructor-Centered And Participant-Centered Approaches For Maximum Impact, Matthew Valle, Kevin J. O'Mara

Journal of Executive Education

This paper addresses the imperative to assess executive education participant knowledge and skill/experience levels prior to program development so that programs better meet participant needs. As such, we provide a typology of participant types and develop strategies for providing an appropriate blend of instructor-centered and participant-centered course material to executive education participants. Our purpose is to present a blended view of executive education that allows for targeted knowledge and skill development for executive education participants within different learning environments and using different tools and methods of instruction.

Executive Education: Can It Be Too Good?, James C. Lockhart

Journal of Executive Education

A successful business school must serve two communities: the research community on one hand; and the business community on the other. However, despite the spectacular growth of business education over the last four or five decades, there has been growing criticism of the relevance of much business school activity: The academic-practitioner divide has emerged and largely refuses to close. To bridge the gap b-schools must serve both communities concurrently. Executive education is identified as being a critical strategy in the repertoire of b-school deans through which to do so. The aim of this paper is to discuss the construct of …

University Image And Its Relationship To Student Satisfaction: Case Of The Holy Spirit University Of Kaslik, Lebanon, Nehme M. Azoury, Lindos E. Daou, Charbel M. El Khoury

Journal of Executive Education

This work focuses on the study of the university’s image with the aim of explaining the components of image and attributes of student satisfaction. Our study investigates the relationships between the different components of the university image and to what extent they may affect the students’ satisfaction. Hypotheses were drawn setting the relationships between the affective, cognitive and overall image in relation with satisfaction. The results of the empirical work carried out on a representative sample of 200 students studying at Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) demonstrate that the cognitive component of image is an antecedent of the affective …

Advisory Councils In Executive Education: Insights From Practice, Kevin J. Rose, Théres W. Stiefer

Journal of Executive Education

Various units within higher education rely on an advisory council to help guide policy, practice, and strategy. These boards usually consist of external business contacts or subject matter experts. In this article, we present a review of the use of advisory councils in higher education, with particular attention given to business education. We then provide advice and information based on our own experience with developing and maintaining an advisory council for an executive education unit. While there is no single best way to engage an advisory board for productive academic benefit, we provide several ideas for consideration in the hopes …