The Business School Broadcast - 15th December 2017

In the worlds of business in general and marketing in particular, creative ideas are the most valuable currency.  Ideally, they lead to great success but, in some cases, can lead to colossal failure. To get ahead of the game, researchers from Columbia Business School faculty have identified a way to determine an idea’s perceived creativeness simply by looking at the words – and combination of those words - used to explain that idea.

Olivier Toubia, Glaubinger Professor of Business, and Oded Netzer, Professor of Business from Columbia Business School are co-authors of this first of its kind research entitled, Idea Generation, Creativity, and Prototypicality. Automatically evaluating thousands of ideas using the new online tool created by the professors they find that ideas with a good balance between novel and familiar combinations of words, are deemed to be creative.

A new survey suggests that employee engagement is a major leadership challenge for today’s organisations, despite it reducing turnover rates, improving customer loyalty and enhancing organisational performance.

The inaugural London Business School (LBS) Leadership Institute survey reported one-third of 1,248 senior directors and executives from 98 different countries rated the issue as their toughest challenge. It was the top priority for senior leaders at financial services, manufacturing and professional services firms.

“Disengaged employees are unable to put strategy into place effectively,” noted Randall S Peterson, Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Academic Director of the Leadership Institute at LBS. “The commercial imperatives are clear: without an effective strategy which the workforce fully supports, organisations suffer and results fall.”

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School is now accepting applications for its new Master of Science in Management (Master in Management) degree program. The program will help high-achieving students excel personally and professionally in today's dynamic marketplace. CUHK Business School expects the first intake in August 2018 to have 50 students including 50 percent international students.

In launching the program, Dr. John Lai, co-director of the MiM program at CUHK Business School, said, "Industry and society are changing. The world needs people who can innovate, create, and disrupt, which is why CUHK Business School decided it's time to develop graduates who can think critically and are flexible and adaptable. In all the MiM's courses, we're going to cover some of the most challenging topics demanded by industry leaders in the current marketplace."

Queen’s University Belfast has launched a new MBA program in response to the increasing demand from employers for MBA and business school graduates. 

Designed and delivered by Queen’s Management School, the MBA is a career development program for participants with postgraduate and relevant work experience who wish to build on strategic management and leadership expertise, and enhance their employability.

Professor Nola Hewitt-Dundas, Head of Queen’s Management School, said: “We are very excited about this new MBA programme as it directly responds to labour market demand and employer requirements. We really feel that we’ve got something that hits the spot in terms of the learning that executives need in today’s business environment.”