Recently in Business Education Category

I recently took a trip to China with the Executive MBA program. The overarching goal was to expose our MBAs to real-life international business practices and deepen their understanding of Chinese culture. It is the culminating experience of the program taught by faculty from the graduate schools of business of the University of Colorado at Boulder, Denver and Colorado Springs.  The seven-day trip consisted of a series of visits to Chinese companies.  It included tours of industrial plants and headquarters of companies, discussions with foreign managers, briefings by government officials, and cultural activities.  From my own experiences and feedback I received from the students, I'm happy to report that the trip was a resounding success. 

Our group of 42 students arrived in Beijing on Sunday, May 9, 2010. We had a packed itinerary and our first visit Monday morning was to the Olympic Stadium known as the Bird's Nest.  The stadium managers shared operational details regarding the planning and execution of the games and their strategies for the future success of the stadium. This is a large challenge as now that the Olympics are over, the stadium has no associated professional team to regularly fill the seats. They are looking into various entertainment and business events to create much needed revenue.



 All the visits on Monday, Wednesday and Friday were organized by the faculty and the visits on Tuesday and Thursday were the responsibility of the students to include topics of special interest to them or to their businesses.  Many contrasting experiences between doing business in the United States and China became apparent during the presentations and the ensuing Q&A.  We learned about restrictions, in the name of pollution control, imposed to some manufacturing facilities during the Olympic Games. While this made for better TV viewing abroad, it interested our students to learn that the restrictions caused scheduling and staffing issues with the manufacturers.

 

During a visit to the NBA China offices, we saw how popular basketball is in China with some very recognizable faces (Carmelo's and the Birdman's) adorning the entrance of the offices.  In another meeting, a discussion with a juice producer illustrated the issue of doing business in a country with China's population that has not been exposed to products that are already a mainstay in the western world.  Responding to a question about market share and the threat of other companies entering a particular market (in this case a vegetable-based drink), the Chinese executive told the group that the issue is not necessarily about holding market share but about increasing the interest of the larger population in the product.  In other words, a reduced percentage of a larger pie is a much better business proposition than just his company being the sole vendor in a smaller market. He welcomed the competition.

Visiting a state-run beer brewery, as well as listening to an executive from Xinhua (China's top official news agency) field a question about objectivity and censorship, gave valuable insight into aspects of Chinese culture for our Executive MBAs.

 

Future EMBA trips will continue to consider Asia in general and China in particular as a place of interest to our students. Also, given the growth and changes in international business markets, some economies in the south hemisphere -- mainly Chile, Argentina and Brazil -- may be attractive destinations in the future. These types of educational experiences are what bring top students to the CU campuses and the Leeds School of Business, and truly make our programs exceptional

I had the pleasure of meeting Kelly Brough, photo left, head of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce for lunch at Maggiano's in downtown Denver recently.  This was the first meeting for both of us and I was as eager as she to understand more about our two respective organizations. As it turns out, we share many things in common, the most obvious being a passion for education.

Unfortunately when it comes to education in Colorado, the statistics are grim: 47 percent of Colorado high school students never make it to college according to Colorado Department of Education. The Department also reports that at the same time, 36 percent of Colorado students never finish high school. And it gets worse as we are 48th (we very back and forth between 48th and 50th) in the nation for funding of higher education. Ironically, we have one of the most educated populations of any state, but this is because we have so many who come here from somewhere else. So, it's not our kids with those degrees, it's highly educated people who want to live here. And who can blame them?

For Kelly, it's not just a social or funding issue (though these are considerations), but a business issue. How does the state attract solid businesses if can't provide an educated workforce for the future?   Also, Colorado is no longer just competing on a national, but now we compete for enterprise on a global scale with countries like China and India?

During our conversation, it was clear that Kelly is game to take on the issue. She is reaching out to key Colorado business people to educate them about the challenges, but also the opportunities. She is using her position as a bully pulpit to convince anyone who will listen that the threat of Colorado becoming irrelevant due to its eroding educational system is real and that the time to address it is now.

Kelly also currently serves a committee on education appointed by Governor Ritter's tasked with identifying realistic solutions for problems in the state's educational system. There are no easy answers with regard to these issues and everything from school and institutional reform to innovative financing options are under consideration.

Will solutions be forthcoming? I don't know. But with passionate advocates like Kelly devoting their time, energy and talent to the cause, I am very hopeful and grateful for their commitment.   

Leeds School of Business was ranked 19th for sustainability in BusinessWeek's 2010 Undergraduate Specialty Rankings. And while infusing a greener way of thinking into higher education is growing in popularity across college campuses, the Leeds School has been committed for more than 20 years to the importance of teaching sustainable business practices through our coursework, centers, faculty research, conferences and community involvement.

As an active citizen of what the Sierra Club recognizes as the greenest university campus in the United States, we train future business leaders to emphasize sustainability in all its forms -- economic, environmental, and social.

Our LEED-certified Koelbel Building is located at the heart of the New Energy Economy in Colorado, an exciting renaissance which will impact the business world far beyond the Rocky Mountains. The Leeds School provides a home base to our students as they pursue sustainable business opportunities, social enterprises and startup companies here in the innovative Boulder area and around the globe.

For example, our MBA candidates have interned at the National Research Energy Laboratory, the only federal laboratory dedicated to renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. Our students consistently place in national and international competitions in the cleantech sector and real estate. Through student organizations like the Outdoor Industry Club and CU Energy Club, Leeds School students are connecting with like-minded peers interested in eco-friendly business ventures.

As for alumni, we easily devoted recent issues of the alumni magazine Portfolio here and here to the contributions that our alumni and students have made in renewable energy technology, green construction, organic and natural foods, among other sustainability-related industries. For instance, distinguished alumnus and advisory board member Joe Pettus has led initiatives in green energy, carbon footprint reduction, and LEED-certified retail locations for the grocery chain Safeway.

Sustainability is a thread running through our Centers of Excellence. Faculty member Stephen Lawrence, academic director of the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship's program "Entrepreneurs Pioneering a Sustainable World," is a leading voice on how sustainability is now in the best interests of business success through a triple bottom line-- people, planet, profits-- and that these factors are far from mutually exclusive.

Our Center for Education on Social Responsibility (CESR) develops and delivers sustainability content across the Leeds School curriculum through its focus on social responsibility to consumers, shareholders and local communities.

Our Real Estate Center offers courses on sustainable real estate development and land use, which was galvanized by the recent hiring of Stephanie Gripne, a scholar with an extensive background research and industry experience in conservation real estate, as the new director of the Initiative for Sustainable Development.

Sustainability is at the center of our integrated curriculum, faculty research, student engagement, and alumni ventures. This culture of sustainability, with the Leeds School as a significant contributor, is shaping the next generation of business leaders with the understanding and values needed to achieve a cleaner planet and a more equitable economy.

There have been several recent studies linking higher education to a higher quality of life for not only individual graduates, but their communities. In a recent New York Times blog post by Harvard economics professor Edward L. Glaeser, research showed that not only does a higher level of education help an individual's career prospects, but that a community of such people multiply the effect for the entire community, educated and not. So a higher degree becomes an engine that drives a community's overall economic resilience and growth. As Glaeser states, "teach your neighbors well" and reap benefits that far outweigh just one individual's success.

Here at the Leeds School, we know that we help drive the success of our community and state through a variety of programs and pathways:

• Our faculty engage in research and research-based teaching to address current relevant issues ranging from green business innovation to the economic meltdown and recovery.
• Our energetic graduates, both undergrad and MBA who contribute their passion and knowledge and dreams to all levels of Colorado and national businesses spanning roles from C-level executives to entrepreneurs to a variety of positions in management, marketing, accounting and finance.
• Our Deming Center for Entrepreneurship and CU Real Estate Center which bring the best of real-world experience and cutting edge academic research to our students and the business community. 
• Our newly named Center for Education on Social Responsibility which rounds out our "whole person" values to deliver critical thinkers who are grounded in business fundamentals as well as in ethics.

And as University of Colorado President Benson has stated repeatedly:

"Higher education is not only good for an individual, it's also a societal good. Colleges and universities, particularly research universities like CU, create jobs, start companies, provide an educated work force and have a significant economic impact on a state (some $7 billion annually in CU's case, including the University of Colorado Hospital)."

I encourage you to share your thoughts on the value of higher education. For in these tough financial times, higher education and the Leeds School are here to help point the Colorado economy in a positive direction

A recent Wall Street Journal article by Diana Middleton states that "a small but growing" number of companies are choosing University Executive Programs over consulting firms for "timely real-life solutions to their problems."  

For those of us in academia, this is a very encouraging trend.  In the past there was a tendency to place a somewhat lower value on the consulting outcomes produced by universities compared to those from expensive consulting firms.  In other words, the value was linked to the price, with a large price difference (of at least one order of magnitude) between consultants and executive programs.  

However, in these challenging economic times, companies must deal with a number of problems, some related to increasing efficiency and others to increasing revenue. Companies can no longer afford to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to formulate creative and effective solutions and are now looking to the value-proposition offered by university executive and consulting programs.  

I believe that the key to university consulting success is summarized by the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.  That is, "the school takes on clients only if the faculty members are interested in the project, or if it is relevant to their research, and if they are willing to work with the company on a follow-up.  Simple training programs are rejected in favor of programs that faculty members co-create with the client's senior executives."  Schools must recognize, just as Chicago has, the big difference between "simple training" and consulting.  Faculty members must find the projects intellectually stimulating and be interested not only in publishing results but also in a successful implementation.

At the Leeds School, consulting involves faculty, students and staff and is executed through our Business Research Division (BRD).  Currently, for instance, the BRD is engaged in an economic impact study for the possible relocation of the National Western Stock Show.  We also coordinate student projects with local companies such as Vail Resorts, Crocs and Coors, to name a few, through our Center for Business Integration.  And, we offer executive training through our Executive Education Program.

We know through successful projects and testimonials that we provided tremendous value to the companies that have engaged in projects with us.  I hope that the trend mentioned in the Wall Street Journal article continues and our consulting activity grows for the benefit of both our corporate partners and the Leeds School.

Sports-related business is an ever growing source of employment and new-venture opportunities for university graduates.  Here in our backyard, Denver is the home to five major sports teams: Broncos football, Rockies baseball, Avalanche hockey, Nuggets basketball and Rapids soccer. Jobs in the sports industry range from those within a professional sports team to sports facilities, apparel, management, marketing, media and broadcasting. Preparing students for jobs and opportunities in the sports and recreation industry is a natural fit for a specialized program within a business school.  

To that end, we are in the final stages of the approval process to offer a two-month intensive Business of Sports Certificate.  The program is a "business boot camp" for students interested in pursuing careers in the sports and recreation industry. It would combine core business training in management, marketing, finance, operations and accounting with specific topics that relate to the sports industry, such as union negotiations, venue utilization, revenue management and attendance, promotions and licensing, and information technology and ticketing.  

Classes are structured so in the morning, students will learn basic business concepts which will be integrated with industry specific sports' topics: the Economics of Sports, Sports Marketing, Sports Management and Leadership.  In the afternoon, students will be working in groups on experiential, researched-based projects. Each group will be assigned a specific project designed by one of our contributing partners: Alem Inter-national Management, CU Athletics, Denver Broncos, Kroenke Sports Enterprises (Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids & Denver Nuggets), Metro Denver Sports Commission, Phoenix Mercury, USA Rugby and Vail Resorts Management. Throughout the two months, students will have opportunities to work with industry experts in these professional companies and organizations.

There are great examples of successful programs in sports management, such as those offered by NYU's Master's of Science in Sports Business, a Graduate Certificate in Sports Business, and a Bachelors of Science in Sports Management. Our program is intensive and is offered to both business and non-business undergraduate students, distinguishing it from the NYU programs, and offering us a diverse pool of students.
 
The certificate curriculum is the culmination of more than two years of planning that involved Leeds faculty, University of Colorado Athletics and partners from the sports industry.  We are very excited about the opportunity to offer this new program and believe that will be of great benefit to those who choose to enroll.
 
For more information, please contact our Interim Director of Executive Education Robin.Miglarese@Colorado.edu.

In a difficult economic climate, the importance of a strong scholarship program in an institution of higher education is extremely important.  With declining financial support from the state,  Universities are forced to rely more and more on tuition for operational expenses.  Tuition increases are then necessary to keep up with the rising cost of delivering high-quality programs.
 
A case in point is an announcement of the California Board of Regents approving a 32% undergraduate tuition increase over the next two years.  In some states, in-state tuition is still within reach for a significant sector of the population but out-of-state tuition has become a luxury item in most cases.  At the same time, public institutions have a societal obligation to provide access to higher education to motivated students whose situation does not allow them to afford four years of tuition and fees.  As a scholarship student in my native Mexico, I had the opportunity to attend the prestigious Monterrey Institute of Technology.  Because of the partial scholarship that I received, I accelerated my degree and finished in 3.5 years in order to contribute of my family finances instead of draining them.

In a recent issue of Newsweek, former US Education Secretary Lamar Alexander made the case for a "three-year solution" to bachelor degrees on the basis of cost-efficiency and the competitive advantage of attracting bright, motivated students.  Alexander argues that "the three-year degree could become the higher-education equivalent of the fuel-efficient car."  The counter argument is that there are benefits to the full four-year college experience.  Looking back, I would have liked to have the flexibility of attending an extra semester to take additional courses, participate in university events and interact with professors and my fellow students.
 
This is why at the Leeds School one of our primary fundraising activities is to increase our scholarship funds.  While I believe that the three-year plan has merits, the savings might not be enough to allow many students with excellent qualifications and attributes the access they deserve to higher education. We believe there is a critical need for a focused effort to secure sufficient resources to provide scholarships.

Please click here to learn more about giving to our scholarship programs.