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SCHOOL NEWS
REPORTS & RESEARCH
Business leaders must become leaders in society
Report predicts major growth in IT outsourcing
IT outsourcing is set for major growth
according to a new report by Professor
Joe Peppard of Cranfield. The report
suggests that there is a pent up demand
in the market place for technology
which will cause organisations to
increasingly look to trusted outsourcing
partners. Professor Peppard commented:
“Computer hardware, software and
telecommunications are building blocks of
the modern ‘smart’ economy, as basic as
Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE
“Now is the time for leaders in business to
become leaders in society, they must lead
the transformation.”
That was the message from acclaimed CSR
expert Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE,
who was the guest speaker at the latest
Cranfield distinguished speaker evening.
DRA removal is a wake-up call for employers
Lord Hastings gave an inspiring lecture to a
packed room of alumni and current students. In
his lecture entitled ‘Getting a head for business;
keeping a heart throbbing for the poor’, he
talked about the need for business to drive
the sustainability and prosperity revolution to
guarantee that justice is done and freedom is
embedded in every corner of the globe.
Lord Hastings is Global Head of
Citizenship & Diversity at KPMG. Prior
to KPMG, he spent 12 years at the BBC
where he became the BBC’s first head of
Corporate Social Responsibility. He is
also a board member of Comic Relief,
Children in Need and the BBC World
Service Trust.
For the second year running, Cranfield
is ranked the top UK business school
for customised executive development.
The School’s customised programmes
are ranked 1st in the UK, 6th in Europe
and 12th in the world. More specifically,
Cranfield’s customised programmes are
ranked 1st in the world for both
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Management Focus | Autumn 2011
“For the second year
running, Cranfield is ranked
the top UK business school
for customised executive
development.”
international participants and overseas
programmes and 2nd in the world for
partnerships with other international
business schools.
In the open
programmes’ ranking,
the School moved up
to 27th in the world
(from 28th last year) and
now ranks 3rd in the
UK and 11th in Europe.
The School’s open
programmes also ranked 4th in the world
for the level of follow up, reflecting the
high levels of support unique to Cranfield’s
general management programmes.
Dr Emma Parry commented: “The removal
of the DRA is both a wake-up call and an
opportunity for those employers whose
performance management systems may not
be robust enough to cope.
Our research has shown that there are great
benefits to be gained by those employers
who are willing to make the necessary
changes in terms of addressing skill shortages,
retaining the knowledge and experience of
older workers and meeting the needs of the
markets and communities that they serve.
It will allow employers to move to a system in
which decisions about how long an individual
works for an organisation are based purely on
their capability, rather than on their age.”
year that within four years a quarter of
senior bosses should be women. Despite
the jump, only 13.9% of FTSE 100 board
places are held by women. The FTSE 250
figure is only 8.7%, up from 7.8%. The
number of blue-chip companies without a
single woman on their boards has fallen to
14, down from 21 in 2010.
Women are under-represented on FTSE 100 boards
The removal of the Default Retirement Age
(DRA) is an opportunity for UK employers
to consider how to manage their workforce
more effectively according to a leading HR
expert at Cranfield.
First in the World for international delivery
The recent Financial Times ranking of
executive education providers brought good
news for Cranfield School of Management.
iron ore and coal were to the industrial
era and represent about half of all business
spending on equipment. During the
downturn organisations axed headcount
and turned to IT outsourcing. This allowed
them to fill in the gaps without having to
commit to long term fixed costs. As the
global economy recovers, organisations
will need to increase IT outsourcing in
order to be able to respond quickly to
market demands.”
Women on boards
The latest figures from Cranfield’s
International Centre for Women
Leaders have revealed Britain’s biggest
companies have more than doubled the
number of women they are appointing
to boardroom jobs since Lord Davies,
the government’s champion of female
board representation, told businesses this
Management Focus | Autumn 2011
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News
Pioneering centre to support procurement and supply profession
The School has joined forces with the
Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply
(CIPS) to create the Centre for Strategic
Procurement and Supply Management
(CSPSM) at Cranfield. Adding to
Cranfield’s existing portfolio of research
centres, the CSPSM will be committed to
improving the leadership of procurement
and supply management across
industries, delivering quality, research-led
development and providing world class
links between business and academia.
Cranfield on iTunes U
You can now download interviews with
Cranfield faculty on the latest global
management issues from the Cranfield iTunes
U site. iTunes U is a section of the iTunes store
specifically for the education sector. It provides
a home and distribution system for digital
content which can be easily downloaded. It is
an innovative way to get educational content,
research and opinion pieces out to a variety of
audiences including students, alumni and faculty
all over the world.
Cranfield Management Research Institute (CMRI)
Thought leaders in trustworthy business behaviour
Professor David Grayson and Professor
Andrew Kakabadse have been named
in the Top 100 Thought Leaders for
Trustworthy Business Behaviour. The
list of the Top 100 Thought Leaders,
produced by Trust Across America
(TAA) and the Centre for Sustainability
& Excellence (CSE), recognises
individuals from the private sector,
academia and non-profit entities who
are making outstanding contributions
in championing business, social and
environmental change, in a transparent
and justifiable way.
BOOKS
Prof Andrew Kakabadse and Prof David Grayson
MIT Sloan Management Review
Prof Simon Knox, Dr Stan Maklan, Prof Joe Peppard
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Management Focus | Autumn 2011
Dr Stan Maklan, Professor Simon Knox and
Professor Joe Peppard’s article on ‘Why
CRM (Customer Relationship Marketing)
fails and how to fix it’, has been published in
the leading business journal the MIT Sloan
Management Review (MIT SMR). The MIT
SMR is recognised around the world for
leading the conversation among thinkers,
professors, and managers about the coming
changes in management practice that will
transform how people innovate and lead.
In the article they explore how marketing
investments can be managed for the
greatest return.
Bilderberg People
Professor Andrew Kakabadse’s latest book Bilderberg People explores the hidden mechanisms
of influence at work in the private world, and personal interactions, of the transnational power
elite known as the Bilderberg Group. Andrew gained unprecedented access to thirteen of the
Bilderberg members who agreed to give anonymous interviews. This exciting new book sheds
light for the first time on the critical question of who runs the world, and why they run it the
way they do.
Explaining Cameron’s Coalition
Dr Paul Baines has co-authored a book with Sir Robert Worcester, founder of the MORI
polling and research organisation which provides an insightful analysis of the 2010 General
Election. The book explores why Labour lost, why the Liberals failed to break through
and why the Conservatives did not win. It provides a comprehensive study on how public
opinion changed during the election.
Management Focus | Autumn 2011
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